The readings for this week focus on the utilization of Kpop and how Hallyu 2.0 has given it a worldwide influence.  I was most interested in the concept of fan engagement with the music artists and their products.  While this connection can be found in any “fandom,” I feel that it is especially impactful in K-Pop, as both the fans and the artist / companies greatly benefit from fan engagement.  In K-Pop Idols, Social Media, and the Remaking of the Korean Wave, Jung notes how one of the only differences between the third and fourth (current) wave of Hallyu K-Pop is the dramatic increase of international attraction.  Jung cites fan-organized Flash Mobs as a type of “outreach” to get artists’ attention, in hopes of having them perform in their area.  While this often comes from the fans, the artists and companies mutually benefit from the organic exposure.  On the other side, labels often create competitions for dance covers, in which the artists’ labels, fans, and Korea’s efforts in utilizing K-Pop for Hallyu all benefit: “One of the biggest K-pop cover dance contests, 2011 K-Pop Cover Dance Festival, was supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Korean Culture and Information Service, Korea Tourism Organization, and Asiana Airlines, confirming Korea’s nationwide support of Hallyu K-pop” (82).  This festival alone had 1,700 international contestants, which proves how influential K-Pop cover dances have become.

Kent A. Ono and Jungmin Kwon’s Re-worlding culture? YouTube as a K-pop interlocutor notes how YouTube’s formation of easily accessible media has created “viral sensations” which gives YouTubers the potential to achieve overnight fame.  As many of these Flash Mobs and Dance Covers are uploaded to YouTube, it allows for K-Pop’s exposure to all, whether they intend to find it or not. In Pop Cosmetics and K-Pop Video Culture, Michelle Cho discusses the sensation of “reaction videos,” and highlights “[Very Funny] PSY Gangnam Style Music Video Reaction Collection.”  People who reacted in this video pointed out how Hyuna makes a cameo appearance in “Gangnam Style,” which gives the reaction video the aspect of fan interaction.  As we have discussed in recitation, fans clearly have power in how well a K-Pop idol can be received / promoted by other fans, and how fandoms are able to establish connections over seemingly small things such as noticing Hyuna’s cameo in “Gangnam Style.”

Through these readings, I continue to consider the impact of K-Pop as a cultural product and an international phenomenon (activity through dance and covers?).  As we continue to explore K-Pop’s origins and claims of cultural appropriation in its music and video production / idols’ aesthetics, I often wonder about the impact that urban dance has had on the industry and culture as a whole.  I know that many US choreographers such as Ian Eastwood, Keone Madrid, Sorah Yang, Ellen Kim, etc. have choreographed for K-Pop idols, and I would like to know more about the relationship between a choreographer and the artists, with questions of monetary compensation, recognition, and authenticity in mind.  I also wonder about how much crossover there is in fans of urban dance and fans of K-Pop (do fans of K-Pop become fans of urban dance, or does K-Pop take priority?)

I am very interested in the effect that music can have on the interaction between different communities, especially within the context of hip-hop and R&B, as there is a lot of give and take (both acceptable and unacceptable) between the African and Asian diasporas.  Crystal S. Anderson’s Hybrid Hallyu: The African American Music Tradition in K-Pop focuses on questions of cultural appropriation in K-pop artists’ use of elements from hip-hop and R&B.

“The 1980s and 1990s witnessed a shift from the repressive regime of Park Chung Hee, South Korea’s last dictator, to a more democratic and culturally tolerant environment ushered in by Kim Young Sam in 1992. Rhythm and blues and hip-hop represented musical traditions that spoke to the creative possibilities opening in Korean society” (292).  The shift to R&B and hip-hop seems somewhat natural to me, as I understand songs from both genres to (usually) generate from real-life experiences of suffering and oppression.  In thinking about how artists often use creative expression to speak out against their respective societies, I thought about the 2004 song “Dear America” written by Psy and N.E.X.T. which has very anti-American lyrics related to war.  In a CNN article, Psy said the song “was part of a deeply emotional reaction to the war in Iraq and the killing of two Korean schoolgirls that was part of the overall anti-war sentiment shared by others around the world at that time.”  According to the article, the girls were struck and killed by a U.S. military vehicle.  https://www.cnn.com/2012/12/07/showbiz/psy-apology-irpt/index.html

Much like how the debut of groups like Seo Taiji and Boys heavily contrasted “healthy songs,” I can imagine the emergence of Korean R&B and hip-hop to be considered “rebellious” at the time, especially within the context of a post-dictatorship society.

While the development of hip-hop and R&B in Korea (and other communities) seems natural, I find the execution of it questionable at times.  As he is one of the only Korean artists I know of, I will use Dean as an example.  Dean’s single “love” (feat. Syd of The Internet) “sounds” very R&B:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkNB5AsgZOc&ab_channel=COLORS

“Rhythm and blues and hip-hop are black musical genres, not because of who performs them, but because the genres themselves contain elements that reflect black aesthetics” (291).  I personally do not see any obvious cultural appropriation in this song, especially because it is a collaboration between Korean and African American artists.  I often feel that a song’s meaning and/or the artist’s intentionality behind the song can signal cultural appropriation, like in the current case of Ariana Grande and her newly developed sound / aesthetic.   Dean’s lyrics and performance are universal, so I do not think his existence as an R&B artist is a problem.

In the reading, Anderson states: “Similarly, the authenticity of Korean artists’ use of hip-hop is measured by how closely they conform to a U.S.-based hip-hop defined by discrimination and racism” (294).  Is this just because United States society is more diverse and might consider discrimination like racism more than Korea?  Additionally, I would like to further explore the topic of diversity and originality in K-pop (and music in general), as I have been interested in these topics for a long time and am also taking a class called “Afro-Asian Cultures” which considers the interaction between the African and Asian diasporas.  In the dance community, there is a parallel debate about the use of the term “urban” when describing dance styles, as the term does not credit the origins of moves/styles and therefore can be considered an appropriation of the dance style’s culture.