Currently, in South Korea, K-Pop stars hold the entire marketing world in their hand. From car to ramen commercials, K-pop celebrities have become of huge relevancy in advertisements, mainly due to the aftermath of the 1997 IMF, also known as the I’M Fired crisis. At the time, in an attempt to distract and placate their audience, many of which were frustrated by their financial struggles, many companies turned to a more “consumer-centered” marketing, using celebrities in an attempt to help relate to the public. Fortunately for the companies, their efforts were successful, and even now, just by turning on the television today, one can see that the strategy of utilizing celebrities for marketing purposes still lives on today.

As Dae Ryun Chang, a professor of marketing at Yonsei, points out in the article, “K-Pop Sells: Why Korean Pop Stars are the World’s Best Advertisers, by Rachelle D, “The use of celebrities in Korea appears to be quite effective whether it is a K-Pop or K-drama star […]. Koreans still tend to be communal in their viewing and listening habits. They’re sensitive to what’s popular and track popular search words and names and no doubt many of the celebrity choices are based on such metrics.” Or as Olga Federenkos’s puts it in her article, “South Korean Advertising as Popular Culture”, “advertis[ements] in postdemocratization South Korea revea[l] how advertising mutates as a social institution in late capitalism”. Companies understand well enough that many people watch their commercials, not for the product, but for the celebrity starring in it, and do their best to highlight them beyond anything else. The more famous the celebrity, the more famous the advertisement, and the more relevancy it holds in Korean society. For that reason, sometimes it is hard to discern whether or not a commercial is really an advertisement, as it does not push the actual product until the end. There are commercials, such as the BTS Puma commercial, where the members simply danced to their single, RUN, with a few words changed to promote the product:

Then there are others where the commercial is directed like a music video, with the idols singing a song about the product, dancing a dance alongside it:

Lastly, there are the commercials that are like mini-dramas, with a plotline and characters, only exposing the reason of the advertisement at the very end:

Unlike other countries, where advertisements are often skipped over and forgotten, commercials in Korea have become so greatly intertwined with pop culture, that there are even awards like “Best Female/Male CF Star” and “CF Model of the Year”. Commercials have become less about advertising the product, and more about spotlighting the people starring in it, in hopes that the audience feels enough of a connection to the celebrity that they buy the product. Whether or not this is a bad thing is up to viewers, advertisements are just another show of the uniqueness of Korea’s pop culture.

 

Article: https://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/94462/20140607/why-k-pop-stars-are-the-worlds-best-advertisers.htm

 

For years, Asian men have had their masculinity questioned. Online, it is not uncommon to see strangers accuse Asians of wearing a more feminine fashion or looking more ‘girl-ish’ than other races. According to Rachael Miyung Joo, author of ‘Playing Hardball’, many Koreans have even adapted this train of thought and have put pressure on their men to ‘man-up’. She discusses how male athletes are well-praised and a source of national pride in Korea, not only for their skills but for their muscular look as well. Joo heavily emphasizes how in Korea, not only are “the fit body has been understood as a productive body, not one leisure” but also are seen as proof that Asian men can be equal to their western counterparts. Joo pushes the view that Korea places pressure on their men to encompass more of the traditional western masculinity as a way to compete in the global market, as they feel inferior to white men.

However, one should note, for all that Joo has to say on Korea’s fascination with Western men, her article, ‘Playing Hardball’ was written in 2012 – a whole seven years ago – and a lost has changed in South Korea since then. In their article, ‘Flowerboys and the appeal of ‘soft masculinity’ in South Korea’, BBC News notes how South Korea has begun to slowly move away from the traditional western masculinity to one which resembles more of the Japanese flower boy look. They explain that “compared to the 80s and 90s, now there are a lot more soft masculinities – pretty boy images and gentle male images – represented in media, and consumers welcome and widely consume them”.

Just by comparing older Kpop videos to the newer ones, it is obvious how Korea has changed. For example, Jung Ji-hoon, also known as Rain, is a singer who many saw as one of the biggest trends from 2002-2006. Famous for his strong facial features and masculine body, he was heavily sexualized by his female fans and much of his male audience looked up to him as the ideal man. However, nowadays, just by looking at BTS, which many consider the face of Korean pop culture currently, one can see that a new ‘soft’ look is being pushed. In promotion for their album, Wings, BTS sported stockings, corsets, and skirts in a photoshoot (as seen below) and instead of rejecting the photos for not aligning with traditional masculine ideals, many of their fans and the general public praised the shoot.

Many more male K-pop idols are sporting a clean-shaven look and are beginning to wear makeup, uncaring about the small group of comments who may accuse them of being ‘gay’. Beyond celebrities as well, many Korean men are beginning to take part in more ‘feminine’ activities, such as wearing bb cream and utilizing skincare. While it is true that South Korea has not completely moved on from the traditional masculinity – sculpted abs and a strong jawline are still considered part of the male ideal – it is clear that Koreans are not as focused on the western world’s ideal male, and instead are paving their own type of masculinity and image.

 

Article Mentioned: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42499809

Photos: https://www.koreaboo.com/stories/bts-wears-dresses-skirts-new-gender-bending-photoshoot/