Introduction

• Published in: Korea observer Vol. 43; no. 3; p. 333
• Main Authors: Lie, John, Oh, Ingyu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul Institute of Korean Studies 01.10.2012
• Subjects: Artists; Business; Case studies; Children; Consumption; Culture; Essays; Families & family life; Fees & charges; Globalization; Internet; K-pop music; Korean culture; Korean language; Leisure; Mass media; Music; Musical performances; Musicians & conductors; Neoliberalism; Parents & parenting; Patriarchy; Popular culture; Popular music; Profit sharing plans; Royalty; Scholarship; Schools; Singers; Social networks; Society; Success; Turn of the century; Wealth; Women; Sweden; South Korea; Japan; France
• ISSN: 0023-3919; 2586-3053

Since the turn of the century, the Korean Wave (Hallyu in Korean) - consumption of and enthusiasm for South Korean popular culture outside of South Korea - has become a buzzword and a cultural phenomenon. Scholem famously retorted that though nonsense may be nonsense, the study of nonsense is scholarship. [...]whether or not we think of contemporary South Korean popular culture as nonsense, this particular slice of life is extremely illuminating about contemporary South Korea tout court. The contribution of the new social media to the K-pop industry is pivotal, as it allows globalized Korean music content to be freely distributed worldwide without any fees charged to fans, while music producers share with YouTube the royalty income to be garnered from global advertisers on the Internet. Since the profit sharing scheme between producers and distributors has not been always clear, many raised doubts as to whether K-pop producers are making sufficient profit to share with actual artists who in turn often sue their own managers and producers for alleged contractual breaches. Just as parents are expected to sacrifice their life, wealth, and leisure time for children's academic excellence, parents with children of poor academic track recordsare now sending their "precious" kids to the entertainment talent schools organized by K-pop managing firms.