Discussion 1: Balancing Between Korean Nationalism and International Recognition for Korean Idols9/23/2018 I believe the best way for Korean idols to balance the need to be nationalistic while keeping the international audiences is to emphasize the entertainment nature of K-Pop. Using art as a way of communication, Korean idols could focus on their perfection in talent to distract political conflicts.
Given the historical relationship between Korea and its former colonizer, Japan, conflicts between the people of the countries are inevitable. However, entertainment is used as a bridge to connect the two countries from then to now. As Maliangkay stated in his article: “one has to acknowledge that Korean entertainers and entrepreneurs were trying to carve out a living as much as their Japanese counterparts, even if the implications of financial ruin for this two groups were very different” (2007: 68). Although almost never mentioned, the music industry is where people collaborated peacefully, because the Japanese government had censorship policies but allowed freedom as long as it followed the norms shaped by the Korean consumer market (2007: 68). Although some idol groups, such as BTS, have rejected collaborating with Japanese producers due to political views, groups like Girl’s Generation and SHINee have created a huge K-Pop market in Japan, given that their albums have reached the top chart position multiple times.
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