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American Influence on K-Pop

Korean pop music has effected the West and Korea alike in many ways. It also takes up many market niches inside the United States. The United States and South Korea have been long intertwined ever since the end of World War II and even till today. This reading has really overlapped with earlier readings we have had about the effect of the Korean Wave in Asia. In the 80’s and 90’s it was in the early stages of opening to the world and spreading around their culture. This bring us to K-pop and how is has expanded to the United States crossing over from Korea to the rest of the world.

The United States military started posting soldiers in Korea in 1945 after the defeat of the Japanese and ending their colonial exploits in Korea. In the South, the United States had taken control of the country and north of the 38th parallel the Soviet Union had control. In 1948, the two Korean territories decided to become independent nations. Then two years later the Democratic Republic of Korea attacked the Republic of Korea. After three years of fighting in 1953 they ended the armed combat but did not end the actual war. After the end of armed combat the United States decided to expand their protection of to include South Korea. This protection the United States was offering allowed for an economic relationship with the United States that would affect Korea for the rest of its time. Economic growth in Korea experienced 8% annual growth in the decades that follow according to the article. The article continues saying that the US military was essential in purchasing labor-intensive products. So that meant that Korean farmers were leaving the fields to go into manufacturing jobs. So, they had to start importing more and more food from the United States. This brings us to the growth of Korean industries and their spread across Asia and eventually into the United States.

In 1987, due to pressure from the United States government the Korean government was forced to open its markets and industries which would open up Korea to the world. Hollywood started to go into the Korean film industry and launch movies in Korea. Korean films were unable to keep up and protest began due to the unjust relationship with Hollywood. This developed into Koreans understanding that cultural industries were a possible area of economic growth for the country. This lead to chaebols which are family owned conglomerates to invest in the film industry. They wanted Korea to be a worldwide brand that spread around Asia and the rest of the world. This has developed into what we know as Hallyu, K-pop is one of those things that has allowed for Korean culture to spread to the United States and get its niche in the market. PSY and other K-pop artist have slowly but surely been able to crack the US culture barrier and impact its culture. Americans are now starting to adopt Korean culture such as studying Korean. South Korean pop culture has started to flow freely into the United states and is making a wave across the country.

Ter Molen, Sherri L. “A Cultural Imperialistic Homecoming: The Korean Wave Reaches the United States.” .” In Yasue Kuwahara ed., Korean Wave: Korean Popular Culture in Global Context (Basingstoke, GBR: Palgrave Mcmillan, 2014), 149-179.

State Controlled Economy to Market Controlled Economy

When the world started switching from a state controlled economy to a more market oriented economy. In the 70’s state controlled economies were becoming more and more ineffective in that they could not grow like other nations. The agencies and businesses chosen to control the economy was ineffective and not doing as well as if it was privately owned. This type of economy has been looked at controlling and ineffective. To answer the second part of the question about Asian countries and their economies. These countries have maintained control on their economies and made a simulated market-based economy.

When talking about when the world started switching from state to market oriented economy. The economies started to really change under the direction of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Regan despised state controlled pricing from his time during WWII rationing out tires. Margaret Thatcher was the prime minister of Great Britain who wanted to change it. Thatcher wanted to fix the issues with these government controlled companies by getting rid of them and making them private. She wanted to quit losing money and limit the power of the government. She could do this by gaining sweeping support of the British people after the Falklands War where the British defeated a small Argentinian force and was able to gain support for these economic changes. With more competition in the market it forced industries to be more cost effective and allowed the government to be greatly reduced. Thatcher broke up companies such as British Telecom, British Gas, British Airways, and British Steel. The country was slowly shifting from a producer led economy to a consumer led economy. Government controlled businesses were failing and the economy was in a bad state. These two major issues were the main reasons for the British to make the shift.

In Asian countries, the opposite route. The state plays a very important role in the market and continues to do so today. Government intervention was heavy handed in the economies of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. This was to increase competitiveness in the global market and remain sustainable. This government intervention needs to be looked at differently than when the United States and Great Britain had a more state controlled economy. The Asian countries noted were not at the same place developmentally. Post WWII Japan was destroyed by the war and needed to be helped rebuild the economy and country in a Roosevelt style. It is no surprise then that the economies of these countries would continue the FDR type of government intervention in the economy. Going forward I think there will be issues with the state controlled businesses with quality and workers’ rights. Public demand for the workers’ rights and safety standards are forcing governments to embrace the free-market economy. One thing that these Asian countries put a priority on is investing in technology and education. This allows for the growth in skill levels and forces higher wages to be introduced. The government taking charge of the economy allows them to push competition and create new companies if need be. I think eventually they will end up moving toward a more market based economy and move away from state controlled.