The Inbetweeners: the Korean Animation Industry Negotiates the Global and the National
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GOLDSMITHS Research Online Thesis (PhD) Yoon, Ae-Ri The Inbetweeners: The Korean Animation Industry Negotiates the Global and the National You may cite this version as: Yoon, Ae-Ri. 2010. The Inbetweeners: The Korean Animation Industry Negotiates the Global and the National. Doctoral thesis, Goldsmiths, University of London. [Thesis]: Goldsmiths Research Online. Available at: http://eprints.gold.ac.uk/2529/ COPYRIGHT This is a thesis accepted for a Higher Degree of the University of London. It is an unpublished document and the copyright is held by the author. All persons consulting this thesis must read and abide by the Copyright Declaration below. COPYRIGHT DECLARATION I recognise that the copyright and other relevant Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of the above- described thesis rests with the author and/or other IPR holders and that no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author. 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This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. http://eprints-gro.goldsmiths.ac.uk Contact Goldsmiths Research Online at: [email protected] GOLDSMITHS COLLEGE UIVERSITY OF LODO THE IBETWEEERS THE KOREA AIMATIO IDUSTRY EGOTIATES THE GLOBAL AD THE ATIOAL AE-RI YOO A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the department of Media and Communications February 2010 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the (South) Korean animation industry in between the global and the national. Since the 1990s, the Korean animation industry has tried to shift from being a subordinated ‘in-betweener’ (i.e. subcontracting for the USA and Japan) to becoming an autonomous agent (i.e. producing its own animations). What exactly initiated this change? Can it be perhaps understood as the response to the globalisation process? Or, can it be, in fact, Korea’s constantly contested nationalism under the guise of capital force of globalisation? How does this change our understanding of globalisation as process? More importantly, how do animators experience globalisation in their daily lives and work conditions? To answer these questions, the thesis focuses on (1) how the local creative industry recognises and realises the dynamics between the global and national; (2) how the local creative producers experience negotiating local and global values in their daily lives and work. As Korea is a globally challenged nation with constantly contested national identity, the Korean animation industry is a potent site for examining ambivalent identity formation through these ‘in-between’ negotiation processes. People’s everyday experiences and ‘emotional’ struggles in-between the two major forces of nationalism and globalisation have been relatively neglected in research so far. This focus leads me to suggest the idea of ‘in-between’ not just as subcontracting but as a concept. In contrast to celebration of hybridity as ambivalence and/or resistance to both globalisation and nationalism, ‘in-betweeness’ captures the subjective experience generated from hybridity and realised through social and emotional tension in lived experiences and work. Being in-between is understood as a negotiation, transition and dis/juncture of different experiences of globalisation, along which Korean animators experience conflicts, dilemmas and confusion and hesitations about which 2 direction to head in. It results in the creation of an ambivalent and often agonized in- between identity. 3 TABLE OF COTETS TABLEOFCOTETS 4 LISTOFILLUSTRATIOS AD TABLES 8 CHAPTER1 10 CHAPTER2 29 2.1 GIDDES AD SCHOLTE’S VIEWS O GLOBALISATIO 32 2.1.1 GIDDES’ GLOBALISATIO 32 2.1.2 SCHOLTE’S VIEWS O GLOBALISATIO 36 2.2 GLOBALISATIO AD IEQUALITY 41 2.2.1 ITERATIOAL DIVISIO OF LABOUR 42 2.2.2 DIFFERIG SOCIO-HISTORICAL COTEXTS 46 2.3 GLOBALISATIO I THE KOREA COTEXT 54 2.3.1 KOREA’S UIQUE EXPERIECES OF GLOBALISATIO 55 2.3.2 KOREA AIMATORS I THE COTEXT OF GLOBALISATIO 64 2.4 COCLUSIO 70 CHAPTER3 RETHIKIG THECOCEPT OFI-BETWEEBEYOD HYBRIDITY 72 3.1 HYBRIDITY PATTERS 73 3.2 VIEWS O HYBRIDITY 76 3.3 HYBRIDITY AD GLOBALISATIO 79 3.4 THEORISIG THE COCEPT OF I-BETWEE BEYOD HYBRIDITY 84 CHAPTER4 CREATIVITY ADCREATIVEIDUSTRY I THEGLOBAL WORLD 88 4.1 COCEPTS OF CREATIVITY 88 4.2 CREATIVITY AS A ITERACTIVE PROCESS 91 4.2.1 CREATIVITY: EWESS, DIFFERECE, FAMILIARITY 91 4.2.2 CREATIVITY WITHI AD AGAIST COVETIO 93 4.3 CREATIVITY AD MARKET: SHIFTIG VALUES 98 4.3.1 CREATIVELY DRIVE: ARTISTIC ISTICT AD COMMERCE 98 4 4.3.2 CREATIVITY AS ECOOMIC AD CULTURAL SOURCE 103 4.3.3 CREATIVE IDUSTRY I KOREA 109 4.4 COCLUSIO 120 CHAPTER5 WRITIGI-BETWEEERS’EXPERIECESOFGLOBALISATIO 122 5.1 BEIG WITH I-BETWEEERS: ETHOGRAPHY AD EVERYDAY LIFE 122 5.2 BEIG A ACTIVE HUTSMA 125 5.2.1 BEIG WITH AIMATORS: GETTIG THE HAG OF AIMATORS’ LIVES AT AIFACTORY 134 5.2.2 TALKIG WITH AIMATORS: TALK AD ITERACTIO 142 5.3 METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS AD LIMITATIOS 143 5.3.1 PERSOAL BACKGROUD 144 5.3.2 MYSELF AS A I-BETWEEER 145 5.3.3 OBSERVERS OBSERVED AD ITERACTIO 147 CHAPTER6 IEVITABLE EGOTIATIO:I-BETWEE THEGLOBAL AD THE ATIOAL 152 6.1 ITRODUCTIO 152 6.2 KOREA AIMATIO OEM IDUSTRY: PAST AD PRESET 153 6.2.1 HOW IT IS OW: THE PRESET: OEM AIMATORS’ DAILY LIVES AD WORK 153 6.2.2 HOW IT ALL STARTED: THE PAST 169 6.3 IVITATIO FROM THE JAUS-FACED GLOBAL OTHERS 183 6.3.1 ATURE OF AIMATIO PRODUCTIO: PULL FACTORS 183 6.3.2 THE LOCAL MEETS THE JAUS-FACED GLOBAL 187 6.4 COCLUSIO 196 CHAPTER7 ECOUTERIG THE ATIOAL:DOUBLECOSCIOUSESS ADEXPECTATIO 197 7.1 ITRODUCTIO 197 7.2 AUDIECE CRITICISM 199 7.2.1 DOMESTIC AUDIECES’ DOUBLE COSCIOUSESS 200 7.2.2 DOUBLE COSCIOUSESS EXPOSED 205 7.3 AUDIECE EXPECTATIOS EXPOSED I AIMATIO 220 7.4 COCLUSIO 226 5 CHAPTER8 LOSTI THEPATHBETWEE DIFFERET VALUES 227 8.1 ITRODUCTIO 227 8.2 STATUS OF ART AD ARTIST I KOREA 230 8.2.1 LITERATI, OBILITY AD ARTS I COFUCIA KOREA 231 8.2.2 EDUCATIO, SOCIAL STATUS AD ARTS I COTEMPORARY KOREA SOCIETY 233 8.3 TODAY’S AIMATIO AD AIMATORS I KOREA 236 8.3.1 SOCIALLY ISOLATED AIMATORS AD THEIR I-BETWEE EXPERIECES 239 8.3.2 AIMATIO AS ECOOMIC POTETIAL 252 8.4 COCLUSIO 266 CHAPTER9 I-BETWEEBEIGLABOURERS ADBEIG ARTISTS 268 9.1 ITRODUCTIO 269 9.2 AIMATIO AS A PROFESSIO: ITOXICATIG 3D WORK 272 9.3 AIMATORS’ POSITIO OF I-BETWEE: EGOTIATIOS 291 9.3.1 FIRST EGOTIATIO: CHOOSIG BETWEE POPULARITY AD CREATIVITY 294 9.3.2 SECOD EGOTIATIO: STRUGGLES I-BETWEE REALITY AD DREAM 300 9.4 COCLUSIO 318 CHAPTER10 I-BETWEE AS ADISJUCTUREBETWEEDIFFERET PLAYERSIGLOBALISATIO 320 10.1 ITRODUCTIO 320 10.2 KOREA’S CULTURAL I-BETWEE POSITIO 321 10.3 PUBLICITY AD MARKETIG 328 10.3.1 APPROACHES AD ATTEMPTS 330 10.3.2 PROBLEMS AD COFLICTS 337 10.4 STRUGGLES TO BE “SESED” 346 10.4.1 WHAT MAKES KOREA AIMATIO DIFFERET? 347 10.4.2 FIDIG CREATIVITY FROM KOREAESS 352 10.5 COCLUSIO 361 CHAPTER11 362 COCLUSIO 362 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY 369 WEBDATABASE AD WEB EWS ARTICLES 394 7 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIOS AD TABLES Figure1.1ImportsandexportsofKoreananimation20002004 17 Figure1.2 Profitsfromanimationexports 17 Figure4.1EffectofHallyu TourismMarketing112 Table5.1RatioofMaleandFemale Animators at Anifactory 128 Table5.2Interviewees 131 Table5.3Questionnaire:Respondents –Koreans 133 Table5.4About Anifactory 136 Table5.5Detailsofthe ParticipantObservationResearch 138 Figure6.1 A Portraitof An Animator 153 Figure6.2& Figure6.3Portraitsof Animators157 Figure6.4&Figure6.5Korean AnimationIndustry162 Figure6.6ew Village MovementSong 172 Figure6.71972 ewspaperHeadlines182 Figure6.8In-betweenDrawing 184 Table6.4HourlyDirectPayfor Production WorkersinManufacturing(Unit:U.S $) 185 Table6.5Scaleof AnimationIndustry 186 Figure7.1 ationalConflictsintheCyberspace 206 Figure7.2 MazingaZ (Japan)vs. Robot Taekwon V (Korea) 222 Table8.1PercentageofKorean’sInterestin Animation 237 Figure8.1 Animators’EducationLevel –2004 243 Table8.2Animators’EducationLevel–2005 244 Figure8.2 Animation’sOSMU 255 8 Table8.3Animation’s OSMUCategoriesofProduct 256 Figure9.1 Portraitsofan Animator 268 Figure9.2 Portraitsofan Animator 268 Figure9.3 Animator WHM,twentyyearsold,isworkingat herdesk. 274 Figure9.4 A Devoted Animator’sBodyFigure 278 Figure9.5 A Portraitofan Animator 287 Figure10.1 Korean TraditionalMaskin Wonderful Days 360 9 Chapter1 Introduction This thesis is about people working in South Korea's animation industry (hereafter, Korea), the world's third largest after the USA and Japan. Starting out initially as subcontractors for the likes of Walt Disney Co., the Korean animation industry now produces its own feature-length films, receiving kudos and government support, and winning numerous global awards. However, the majority of animators continue to work as subcontractors, facing wage and time pressures brought about by globalisation rather than the fame and financial rewards that accompany success in reaching out to global audiences. Through a study of the Korean animation industry, this research seeks to address a number of issues concerning the complexity of globalisation, and the tensions between global and local values.