Chinese Users' Use of Korean Popular Culture Via the Internet
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Jungah Ahn : The New Korean Wave in China: Chinese Users’ Use of Korean Popular Culture via the Internet 47 http://dx.doi.org/10.5392/IJoC.2014.10.3.047 The New Korean Wave in China: Chinese Users’ Use of Korean Popular Culture via the Internet Jungah Ahn School of Journalism and Communication Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China ABSTRACT Although the Korean Wave originated in China, its presence in this country had been faltering for some time. Recently, however, Korean Wave star centered K-drama via online video websites, Korean Wave TV programs with high ratings, and idol group centered K-pop with glocalization strategies are all popular in China once again. The purpose of this paper is to explore Chinese teens and twenty year olds as the main consumers of Korean popular culture and the how preferred genres, motives, and behaviors of Korean pop culture use and Korean image affect one another. According to the study results, media use via online video service was most common, and among the preferred genres, K-drama has the highest usage rates. In addition, it was discovered that motives and behaviors associated with the use of Korean pop culture had a considerable influence on a positive Korean image. Key words: Korean Wave, Korean Popular Culture, Online Video Sites, Young Chinese Users, Use Motives and Behaviors, Korean Image. 1. INTRODUCTION years. It has spread, and changed the users, genres, usage, and behaviors of the consumption of Korean pop culture. It is China has used the terms ‘Korean Wave’ and ‘anti-Korean centered on dramas, K-pop, entertainment programs, and Wave.’ At present, three Korean genres play an important role Korean Wave stars, and continues to grow. This recent in the Korean Wave in China: young teen to thirty-something phenomenon has expanded and developed types from the centered dramas (from historical to trendy drama), idol groups earlier period of the Korean Wave. During the first Korean with powerful raps and dynamic, dancing centered K-pop (from Wave (from 1997 to the early 2000s), soap operas were popular HOT to Psy and EXO-M), and Chinese type entertainment among middle-aged women; during the second period (from programs, such as travel and audition programs that have the mid-2000s to 2010), K-pop was popular; and in the third recorded high ratings. period (after 2010), the Korean Wave star centered dramas, 2013 was the year when Korean pop culture became dancing idol centered K-pop, and Chinese versions of Korean popular in China again. Broadcasting two K-dramas, The Heirs TV programs formed the Korean Wave, and have been popular and My Love from the Star, on online video sites, importing the with Chinese youths in their teens and those in their twenties. format of nine Korean entertainment programs in total, and The previous study [1] - [5] regarded the spread of the broadcasting them on Chinese provincial satellite TV resulted Korean Wave to be the result of changes in the media in high popularity. Chinese provincial satellite TV imported the environment and the development of cultural proximity. In format of Korean programs and broadcast Chinese versions in terms of cultural proximity, the Korean Wave could easily be 2013: MBC’s I am a Singer (Hunan TV), Dad! Where are We diffused in Asia, similar to the cultural spread of Confucianism, Going (Hunan TV), SBS’s K-Pop Star (Shandong TV), Miracle where local, cultural, and linguistic proximity allow Korean Audition (Chongqing TV), KBS’s Immortal Song: Singing the popular culture to be easily transmitted and assimilated. In Legend (Dongfang TV), tvN’s Super Diva (Dongfang TV), addition, with Social Networking Services (SNSs), such as KBS’s 1 Night 2 Days (Sichuan TV), tvN’s The Romantic Twitter, accelerating the effects of the Internet and the rapid (Guizhou TV),and Mnet’s Super Star K (Hubei TV). Four changes of the media environment, the Korean Wave spread Korean programs have been chosen for importation, but have toward the middle of Asia, South America, Europe, and beyond. not yet been broadcast. This study aims to investigate Korean pop culture in terms The popularity of Korean pop culture is revealed in the of usage behaviors, preferred genres, and the relationship continued use of the term ‘Korean Wave’ for more than 10 between the motivations and behaviors of Korean pop culture use and the Korean image by genre, with a focus on Chinese students who are in their teens and twenties. * Corresponding author, Email: [email protected] Manuscript received May. 29, 2014; revised Aug. 19, 2014; accepted Aug. 26, 2014 International Journal of Contents, Vol.10, No.3, Sep. 2014 48 Jungah Ahn : The New Korean Wave in China: Chinese Users’ Use of Korean Popular Culture via the Internet 2. LITERATURE REVIEW which means that the diffusion of the Korean Wave is not by SNS in the case of China. 2.1 Korean Popular Culture in China The associations between content and services and the Because of the value shift among the Chinese people and evolution of platforms mean not only the development of the diffusion of the Western style taste for consumption in the simple media devices, but also changes in the media and use 1990s, the reception of Korean pop culture starting from the environment since users can have access to services wherever end of 1990s appeared as a flow of foreign pop culture. Multi- and whenever they wish. The development of new functions for cultural China, with 56 racial cultures, is composed of different mobile devices, the rapid speed of wireless Internet, and new cultures, religions, and races, but they coexist and communicate video software have caused rapid growth in online videos [14]. in one national system. This means China has an open attitude There are Chinese video websites, such as Youtu, Tudou, to accepting other cultures. Therefore, these characteristics Soho TV, iQiyi, Xunlei TV, Tencent TV, LeTV, PPTV, etc. in have contributed significantly to the reception of the Korean China. The top ten Korean pop culture videos on the main Wave. More than forty national television channels [6] and Chinese online video sites (Youku, Tudou, iQiyi, Sohu, and high rates of dissemination also form part of the background of PPTV) on 15 May 2014 include as follows: for dramas, Doctor the Korean Wave. Stranger (SBS), My Love from the Star (SBS); for K-pop, Rapid changes in the media environment, such as online EXO-M’s Overdose, T-ara’s No.9, Jiyoung Baek’s Flash Back; video sites, greatly affected the influence of the Korean Wave and for entertainment programs, Superman is Back (KBS), on the young generation of Chinese: they prefer Korean pop Roommate (SBS), Chinese version Dad! Where are We Going? culture because of similarities to traditional Chinese culture, the (Hunan satellite TV), Super Diva (Dongfang satellite TV), etc. freedom and refinement of Western culture, as well as its non- [15] - [18]. exclusive social and cultural background. In addition, Korean There were 618 million (45.8% of the total population) pop culture is preferred not only because of its characteristics Internet users and 500 million (81.0% of Internet users) PC and but also its production system. For example, K-drama has a Smartphone users in China in 2013. Of these users, there were special system, which broadcasts and produces simultaneously, 4, 002,800 (69.3% of Internet users) online video users and 2, and has the power to engage an audience because viewers’ 004,669 (49.3%) mobile online video users. Internet users responses can be reflected immediately, which is different from consisted of age 10-19 (24.1%), age 20-29 (31.2%), and middle Chinese dramas with preparatory production systems. K-pop is and high school education (31.2%) and over college (20.9%) especially popular with younger demographics. It includes [19]. Chinese teens and twenty year olds consume the most pop dynamic and brilliant dancing, groups with Chinese members culture and entertainment, quickly accept new cultural products, that also reflect Chinese glocalization, and it embraces diversity, and have a relatively high frequency rate for using new media. so that both the group as a whole and the individual members Korean pop culture seems to play an important role in forming have unique identities and fan bases. a Korean image for the younger generation of Chinese. Previous studies of the Korean Wave have two This present study empirically investigates how Chinese perspectives: the first is the economic perspective, which teens and twenty-somethings consume Korean pop culture. It focuses on discovering the reasons for the diffusion of the also explores how motives and behaviors of Korean pop culture Korean Wave and the factors influencing its competitiveness in use and Korean image significantly affect preferred genres. To cultural industries and products. The second is the cultural examine the relationship between motives and behaviors of perspective, which analyzes characteristics of Korean pop Korean pop culture use and Korean image, this study begins by culture in terms of the audiences’ positions. For example, this identifying the motives and behaviors of Chinese students that perspective uses cultural proximity [1] - [3] and cultural are satisfied by using Korean pop culture. One way to explore hybridity [7] - [9] or the study of fans [10] - [12] to explain the the motives and behaviors is to apply the uses and gratifications Korean Wave. (U&G) approach. The U&G approach has always provided a cutting-edge theoretical approach in the initial stages of each 2.2 Online Video Sites: New Usage Space for Korean Pop new mass communications medium: newspapers, radio and Culture television, and now the Internet [20].