Panel Gives Korean Pop Academic Bent

Academia and South Korean stardom intersected Friday when Harvard’s Korea Institute hosted a panel discussion on the effects and future of “Hallyu” or the “Korean wave” of pop culture in East Asia.

The panel offered cross-disciplinary perspectives on the Hallyu phenomenon. The standing room only event featured Korean song writer and music manager Jin-Young Park and actress and television personality Jung-Sook Park—both famous in their fields.

Several members of the panel said the flood of movies, music, and television programs is an important force in breaking down national barriers in East Asia.

Jung-Sook Park described Hallyu as an “organic power,” with the potential to reduce cultural tensions across East Asia and contribute to a new regional identity.

Panelist David R. McCann, the director of the Institute, stressed that there is a long tradition of international cultural exchange in East Asia but said that this was interrupted by Western political involvement in the region, “and its puppet, Japan.”

“I see Hallyu as a return to human nature as it was seen before this aberrant century,” he said.

But another panelist, Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Eileen C. Chow, said that Hallyu is hardly a panacea for regional hostilities, and that the medium’s wide circulation reinforces South Korean nationalism.

Hallyu TV dramas are so popular in North Korea that border guards are being rotated to prevent them from dealing in contraband recordings, Jung-Sook Park said.

She added the Pyongyang elite is only about two days behind South Korean audiences on its favorite soaps.

Jin-Young Park struck a very different note as he began his presentation.

“What’s up, guys? Is it OK to say ‘what’s up’ in Harvard?” he said to the audience’s laughter.

Mixing analysis with self promotion, he talked about his recent attempts to break into the American music market and Hallyu’s increasingly international flavor.

“One of the artists I’m releasing this year is actually black,” he said, “I don’t think we should call him Hallyu.”

Jin-Young Park denied that his work was even part of the wave and said he was uncomfortable with attempts to steer Hallyu in a nationalist direction.

His stand led to a disagreement with Jung-Sook Park, who is a cultural ambassador-at-large for South Korea.

Responding to him at length, she conceded that the cultural issue was complex.