The Birth of Korean Cool By Euny Hong
Reviewed by Michael Attard
Euny Hong is a journalist, graduate of Yale University, and author of three books. The Birth of Korean Cool, her second book, was published in 2014. She is Korean by race but was born in the United States in 1973. At the age of twelve, she moved to Seoul with her family. She states that Korea in 1985 was not cool. Note that throughout her book, Korea refers to South Korea.
After reading the first few chapters, I was wondering where she was going. One chapter is about “school thrashings” (i.e., corporal punishment). This was interesting but I did not see what this had to do with the Korean Wave, or Korean cool.
The chapter on, han, a purely Korean concept, did not enlighten me. This apparently is normal as, so I am told, only Koreans can understand the concept. Han arises from being wronged. Thus, “Koreans have han toward the Japanese.” Also, “Han is never-ending.” But Hong, quoting someone else, writes, “Han only occurs when you cannot achieve proper vengeance.” I was left pondering whether the Korean Wave was some kind of retribution.
In a chapter on kimchi, Hong continues on a path of negativity, discussing the inferiority complex that many Koreans outside of Korea had because of “smelly” kimchi. But then, like a bird changing direction in mid-flight, kimchi was discovered as being healthy. Ah, there was a click in my brain. All of these not-so-cool things of the past, actually, were driving Korea, to become “cool.”
I went back to the introduction and read it again. It is a quick history, from the poverty of post-war Korea to the modern day, where there are two Wi-Fi hotspots in every subway car. Hong’s message became clearer to me. The frantic pace of economic development, a total about-face from the normal modus operandi of the “Hermit Kingdom,” was actually a well-thought-out government plan. The wiring of the entire country for internet was not because Korea was ready to be barraged by uncensored and possibly seditious material, but rather “what Korea was planning to send out to the world.” Korea had discovered the concept of soft power.
But in 1997, the Asian Financial Crisis occurred. In Korea, this is referred to as “the IMF Crisis.” According to the author, Koreans felt shame. Years of effort to pull the country out of poverty ran into a wall. Something had to be done.
President Kim Dae-jung came to the rescue. He called in a public relations firm and tasked it with convincing the world that Korea was “on course and open for business.” No longer, he hoped, would Samsung be known as “Samsuck.”
Hong then redirects into what I was expecting. One specific topic, of course, is K-pop. But she also provides a wealth of interesting facts pertaining to Korean music, which I think most readers would enjoy.
She addresses the accusation that K-pop has been turning out singers and dancers factory style. The fact is that most of the songwriters behind K-pop are European. And those who do the editing have studied in the United States. The choreographers are from everywhere. But for years, especially in the 1970s, censorship stifled musical talent. This was a time when miniskirts were banned. Young men with long hair, if found on the street, would have their hair cut off, right then and there. If Korea was to have a pop music industry it would “have to be created from the ground up.”
Several aspects of Korean culture and history favored the expansion of K-pop. For example, Korean culture is perceived as puritanical and conservative. In most parts of Asia, this is a good thing. Historically, Korea’s victimization is something that many other countries can relate to. Korea never invaded anyone. Korea has not been an economic occupier. Other countries are already inclined to like Korea.
She tells an interesting story about the beginning of Korean television dramas. It began as a diplomatic mission, entrusted with the purpose of getting a Korean drama aired on Hong Kong television “by any means necessary.” Korean companies in Hong Kong were convinced (although that might not be the correct word) to buy ad time during the show. The Korean government paid for the dubbing into Cantonese.
The chapter on Korean cinema is titled “The Journey from Crap to Cannes.” In 1994, Korea’s Presidential Advisory Board on Science and Technology noted that the movie Jurassic Park made as much money as selling 1.5 million Hyundai cars. Korea consciously decided to go after some of that blockbuster action. Censorship rules were relaxed and tax incentives created. Still, building a Korean film industry had challenges. For a long time, Korean culture did not accept that show business could be for respectable people, and, “it wasn’t all that lucrative.” According to Hong, it was the founding of the Busan International Film Festival by government official Kim Dong-ho in 1996 that was the catalyst for change.
No story of Hallyu, the Korean Wave, or “Korean cool” would be complete without a look at video gaming. According to Hong, it was the IMF Crisis and subsequent high unemployment that gave birth to the Korean video game industry. Government and private enterprise once again joined forces. There were more tax incentives, and venture capital was found.
The book’s final chapter is called “The Ministry of Future Creation.” It actually exists today as the Ministry of Science and Information Communication Technology. The creation of the ministry had been one of Park Geun-hye’s core pledges during the 2013 election. At the center of success for this initiative has been cooperation between large and small companies. Hong refers to this as “voluntary coercion.” It is a model that has transformed Korea, so why argue with success? Without the proactive stance of the Korean government, we might still be waiting for “the birth of Korean cool.”
The Reviewer
Michael Attard is a Canadian who has lived in Gwangju since 2004. Though officially retired, he still teaches a few private English classes. He enjoys reading all kinds of books and writes for fun. When the weather is nice, you may find him on a hiking trail.