Week 2 - Katrina Shi

1. Remaking a country (cont.): Improvement

Last blog we elaborated on how South Korea was able to rebrand itself as a country of pop culture and fashion forward, this blog we continue to discuss South Korea’s efforts to mold its country’s image and what it can do to improve. As discussed before, South Korea’s widespread entertainment influence is due to its direct appeal to foreign populations. We can see this in the K-Pop industry, for example, with increasing US pop elements present in its music industry. However, the direct appeal does not come without criticism. A female K-Pop group Oh My Girl was accused of appropriating Indian culture with its song “Curry” and the Indian undertones present in its other songs. While that the group may have not meant to intentionally appropriate India’s culture, it certainly came off as such. More common trends that of culture appropriation include idols donning traditional African American hairstyles or the presence of Native American attire in music videos. What the South Korea pop industry can improve on is to avoid appropriating other cultures by researching certain histories behind certain trends, and avoiding using it in a disrespectful manner or just for the purpose of looking cool.

2. What government system would you prefer when thinking about re-branding a nation? State the nation you are thinking of and explain/justify your answer.

When rebranding a nation, I believe the best model of government to follow would be one of democratic socialism, in which democratic management of enterprises is executed under a socialist economic system. While many people call for a democratic government with an emphasis on capitalism, I believe that it is not enough for the government to simply encourage the industries in which the country uses to rebrand itself. In the example of South Korea, the government was not simply encouraging towards its entertainment industry; the government played an active role in fostering its culture image by establishing cultural policies and developing governmental plans for cultural development. While the government of South Korea may not identify as a democratic socialist government, there is no denying the active role in which the government played in shaping its cultural image, one that a solely democratic government would be unable to take on. Given South Korea’s success in rebranding its image, I believe that other countries who hope to rebrand their cultural image should follow in their stead, in which the government plays an active role in supporting, developing, and regulating the industries used to relabel their image. 

Sources: 

Dahir, Ikran. "This K-Pop Girl Group Is Being Accused Of Appropriating Indian Culture." BuzzFeed. Buzzfeed, Inc., 21 July 2016. Web. 

Nikki. "Today in "My Fav Is Problematic" - Kpop Version." The Orbit. Wordpress, 04 Oct. 2016. Web. 

Busky, Donald F. (July 20, 2000). Democratic Socialism: A Global Survey. Praeger. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-0275968861.

Yim, Haksoon. "Cultural identity and cultural policy in South Korea." International Journal of Cultural Policy, 17 September 2010. 8:1, 37-48.