TRANSNATIONAL CULTURAL TRAFFIC IN NORTHEAST ASIA: THE “PRESENCE” OF JAPAN IN KOREA’S POPULAR MUSIC CULTURE by Eun-Young Jung M.A. in Ethnomusicology, Arizona State University, 2001 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2007 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Eun-Young Jung It was defended on April 30, 2007 and approved by Richard Smethurst, Professor, Department of History Mathew Rosenblum, Professor, Department of Music Andrew Weintraub, Associate Professor, Department of Music Dissertation Advisor: Bell Yung, Professor, Department of Music ii Copyright © by Eun-Young Jung 2007 iii TRANSNATIONAL CULTURAL TRAFFIC IN NORTHEAST ASIA: THE “PRESENCE” OF JAPAN IN KOREA’S POPULAR MUSIC CULTURE Eun-Young Jung, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2007 Korea’s nationalistic antagonism towards Japan and “things Japanese” has mostly been a response to the colonial annexation by Japan (1910-1945). Despite their close economic relationship since 1965, their conflicting historic and political relationships and deep-seated prejudice against each other have continued. The Korean government’s official ban on the direct import of Japanese cultural products existed until 1997, but various kinds of Japanese cultural products, including popular music, found their way into Korea through various legal and illegal routes and influenced contemporary Korean popular culture. Since 1998, under Korea’s Open- Door Policy, legally available Japanese popular cultural products became widely consumed, especially among young Koreans fascinated by Japan’s quintessentially postmodern popular culture, despite lingering resentments towards Japan. Because of the sensitive relationship between the two countries, however, the extensive transnational cultural interaction between Korea and Japan—including popular musical interaction, one of the most important aspects--has been intentionally downplayed by Korean scholars and by the popular Korean press. My dissertation theorizes what I call the “presence” of Japan, through its popular music, in contemporary Korea. I identify three major shifts in the presence of Japan in Korea from the 1980s to 2006: the “illegal” presence (1980s-1997), the “transitional” presence (1998-2004), and the “newly sanctioned” presence (since 2004). It is my contention that popular music plays a crucial role in shaping Korean perceptions about Japan, and those perceptions define a central iv focus of my dissertation. The research I present in the dissertation is organized around four areas of investigation: the kinds of "presence" Japan has had in the contemporary popular music scene in Korea since the 1980s, the kinds of forces that have been instrumental in shaping Korean’s consumption of Japanese popular music, the adjustments in Korea’s cultural politics in response to transnational cultural flow from Japan before and since 1998, and Korean reception and responses to the Japanese “presence” in Korea—its meanings and implications. I address these issues within the political and economic context of Japan-Korea relations, whose impact on musical practice and musical taste is complex and dynamic, demanding a multi-disciplinary analysis. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................XI LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. XII PREFACE..............................................................................................................................XVIII 1.0 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 AIM AND OBJECTIVES ................................................................................... 1 1.2 RESEARCH ISSUES AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK....................... 4 1.2.1 Kinds of Japanese “Presence” in Korea’s Popular Music since the 1980s ......................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.2 Forces Shaping Korean’s Consumption of Japanese Popular Music ...... 6 1.2.3 Korea’s Cultural Politics in Response to Transnational Cultural Flow from Japan before and since 1998............................................................... 8 1.2.4 Korean Reception and Responses to the Japaense “Presence” in Korea – Its Meanings and Implications..................................................................... 9 1.2.5 Scope and Delimitations ............................................................................. 10 1.3 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................. 12 1.3.1 Transnational Cultural Traffic: Globalization/Localization.................. 12 1.3.2 Modern Political History of Korea and Japan: Colonial and Postcolonial ....................................................................................................................... 19 1.3.3 Korean Popular Music and Culture.......................................................... 21 vi 1.3.4 Japanese Popular Music and Culture....................................................... 23 1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY..................................................................... 28 1.4.1 Primary Sources.......................................................................................... 29 1.4.2 Audio and Video Recordings ..................................................................... 30 1.4.3 Internet Sources .......................................................................................... 31 1.5 CHAPTER OUTLINE ...................................................................................... 32 2.0 KOREA AND JAPAN: CULTURAL RELATIONS AND POPULAR MUSIC TRADITIONS ............................................................................................................ 37 2.1 RELATIONS BETWEEN KOREA AND JAPAN ......................................... 38 2.1.1 Pre-Colonial Era to 1997............................................................................ 38 2.1.2 Since the Beginning of the Open-Door Policy (in 1998) .......................... 43 2.2 INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE AND KOREAN POPULAR MUSIC.. 45 2.2.1 Introduction to Japanese Popular Music.................................................. 46 2.2.2 Introduction to Korean Popular Music .................................................... 57 2.3 INTRODUCTION TO POPULAR MUSIC INDUSTRY IN JAPAN AND KOREA................................................................................................................ 75 2.3.1 Brief Outline of Popular Music Industry in Japan.................................. 76 2.3.2 Brief Outline of Popular Music Industry in Korea ................................. 81 2.4 SUMMARY REMARKS................................................................................... 86 3.0 JAPAN’S ILLEGAL PRESENCE ........................................................................... 88 3.1 ILLEGAL PRESENCE OF JAPANESE POPULAR CULTURE IN KOREA AND CULTURAL “ODOR” ............................................................................. 88 3.1.1 Manga/Manhwa .......................................................................................... 90 3.1.2 Anime ........................................................................................................... 92 vii 3.1.3 Character Goods ......................................................................................... 97 3.1.4 Computer Games ........................................................................................ 97 3.1.5 Television and Film..................................................................................... 98 3.1.5.1 Television............................................................................................. 99 3.1.5.2 Film. ................................................................................................... 101 3.1.6 Magazines, Fashion, and “Style”............................................................. 102 3.1.7 Cuisine........................................................................................................ 103 3.2 ILLEGAL PRESENCE OF JAPANESE POPULAR MUSIC IN KOREA AND CULTURAL “ODOR” ........................................................................... 104 3.2.1 De-Japanizing Korea and Purifying Korean Popular Music ............... 105 3.2.2 (Un) Hidden Presence of Japan and Pirated Cassettes in Korea ......... 111 3.2.3 Roo’Ra Incident in 1996 and the Hiding Ninja in Korea...................... 121 3.2.4 X-Japan and Korean Fans ....................................................................... 123 3.3 SUMMARY REMARKS................................................................................. 125 4.0 JAPAN’S TRANSITIONAL PRESENCE............................................................. 127 4.1 PUBLIC DEBATES ON THE OPEN-DOOR POLICY .............................. 127 4.1.1 Anti-Open-Door Policy............................................................................. 132 4.1.2 Pro-Open-Door Policy .............................................................................. 134 4.2 PROCESS OF THE OPEN-DOOR POLICY............................................... 136 4.2.1 The First Round/Stage (from October