The program "I am a singer" takes 7 of the best most recognized singers in Korea (already establish singers, like other shows, they are already celebrities) and they compete against each other. The person who gets last place (7th place) is eliminated and a new singer comes in to take their place. There is a "challenge" every week, this past week singers sang one of the other 7 singers' hits and made it their own.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Idols ≠ singers (all the time)
Monday, March 21, 2011
Donations to Japan
As I am sure you guys are aware, there was a recent natural disaster. As the global community comes together, celebrities are also joining in helping organizations donating money and time. Just seeing the articles and stuff come out, I wanted to contextualize it within our class. Many Korean celebrities have been coming forth and donating money for Japan disaster relief. I am curious to know your thoughts on the topic. I originally wrote a different post a week ago, but I wanted to wait on it to see what other developments would come. I will adjust accordingly.
Korean celebrities from across the board are donating their own money to the cause. I am curious to know what your thoughts are. Do you think it is a marketing ploy? As you know, many Kpop stars are trying to make a crossover into Japan in this upcoming year. As we don't know yet how this will be affected, do you think that the donations were because of this? Actors Bae Yong Joon (star of Winter Sonata, known as Yon-sama for Japanese fans, hopefully you recognize his name $900,000 in addition to blankets, food, ect), Kim Tae Hee ($86,000), Ryu Si Won ($175,000, one of the hosts for SBS charity program "Gain strength, Japan"), Won Bin (~$186,000), Song Seung Hyun ($175,000), Jang Geun Suk ($120,000), Choi Ji Woo ($200,000) Lee Byun Hyun ($600,000), Ahn Jae Wook (~$100,000) . Celebrities Kim Hyun Joon (actor/singer $100,000), JYJ (Kpop group, disbanded from original DBSK $600,000 also raising awareness through their world tour) In addition to stars themselves, top music companies SM Entertainment ($1 mill), YG ($500,000), and JYP ($300,000) also donated collectively gathering money from staff and artists. Other: Kara's recent single - all profit will go to Japan.
Also, there is a "Pray for Japan" campaign going on, with celebrities like Big Bang, 2ne1, Wonder Girls, JYJ, INFINITE, ect through NAVER and a SBS Charity program held on behalf of Japan on March 16th (hosted by Ryu Si Won, Park Sun Young, and Kim Tae Hee, two of whom are listed above for personal donation).
I looked up, as well, US stars.
Sandra Bullock ($1 mill), Demi Lovato ($1 mill), Clint Eastwood ($1 mill) Kristi Yamaguchi ($10,000 ice skater), New York Yankees ($100,000). Additionally there have been tweeters urging others to support by donating to certain organizations (particularly the Red Cross) like Katy Perry (also donating sales of glowsticks to Japan, Justin Beiber, Lea Michele, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Ryan Seacrest, Kim Kardasian ect. Jack Johnson canceled his tour and is donating the proceeds. Lady Gaga raised $250,000 by selling $5 "pray for Japan" bracelets on behalf of Japanese disaster awareness and Charlie Sheen said every ticket sold, $1 would go towards Japanese awareness, Linkin Park's Mike S. created a t-shirt sold for $25 which all proceeds will go to Japan, Blink 182's frontman Mark Hoppus auctioning off rare collectibles on Ebay for Japan. Also, Black Eyed Peas is reportedly dedicating their music video to Japan, which was shot there.
Korean celebrities from across the board are donating their own money to the cause. I am curious to know what your thoughts are. Do you think it is a marketing ploy? As you know, many Kpop stars are trying to make a crossover into Japan in this upcoming year. As we don't know yet how this will be affected, do you think that the donations were because of this? Actors Bae Yong Joon (star of Winter Sonata, known as Yon-sama for Japanese fans, hopefully you recognize his name $900,000 in addition to blankets, food, ect), Kim Tae Hee ($86,000), Ryu Si Won ($175,000, one of the hosts for SBS charity program "Gain strength, Japan"), Won Bin (~$186,000), Song Seung Hyun ($175,000), Jang Geun Suk ($120,000), Choi Ji Woo ($200,000) Lee Byun Hyun ($600,000), Ahn Jae Wook (~$100,000) . Celebrities Kim Hyun Joon (actor/singer $100,000), JYJ (Kpop group, disbanded from original DBSK $600,000 also raising awareness through their world tour) In addition to stars themselves, top music companies SM Entertainment ($1 mill), YG ($500,000), and JYP ($300,000) also donated collectively gathering money from staff and artists. Other: Kara's recent single - all profit will go to Japan.
Also, there is a "Pray for Japan" campaign going on, with celebrities like Big Bang, 2ne1, Wonder Girls, JYJ, INFINITE, ect through NAVER and a SBS Charity program held on behalf of Japan on March 16th (hosted by Ryu Si Won, Park Sun Young, and Kim Tae Hee, two of whom are listed above for personal donation).
I looked up, as well, US stars.
Sandra Bullock ($1 mill), Demi Lovato ($1 mill), Clint Eastwood ($1 mill) Kristi Yamaguchi ($10,000 ice skater), New York Yankees ($100,000). Additionally there have been tweeters urging others to support by donating to certain organizations (particularly the Red Cross) like Katy Perry (also donating sales of glowsticks to Japan, Justin Beiber, Lea Michele, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Ryan Seacrest, Kim Kardasian ect. Jack Johnson canceled his tour and is donating the proceeds. Lady Gaga raised $250,000 by selling $5 "pray for Japan" bracelets on behalf of Japanese disaster awareness and Charlie Sheen said every ticket sold, $1 would go towards Japanese awareness, Linkin Park's Mike S. created a t-shirt sold for $25 which all proceeds will go to Japan, Blink 182's frontman Mark Hoppus auctioning off rare collectibles on Ebay for Japan. Also, Black Eyed Peas is reportedly dedicating their music video to Japan, which was shot there.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Fan behavior: limited to Korea?
I came across this article on Justin Bieber when I was looking for information about the reaches of globalization. Justin Bieber's concert in a mall got canceled of thousands of fans that mobbed the mall. Or hospitalization of fans gathering for Bieber Sorry, don't know too much about Justin Bieber, but this reminded me of something in Kpop so I decided to blog about it really quickly.
Sound familiar? It sounds like a similar situation to when B2st temporarily stops concert due to fan stampede or Kara's concert in Tokyo.
I know I only used Bieber as an example, and I have some friends who passionately dislike/like him, but I don't think that he is an exception. If I researched further, I could probably go back into Nsync or even more recent artists where this has happened. I am just focusing on Bieber because I didn't know and I saw parallels.
Here is one more parallel:
Threats of females romantically linked to Bieber v. Backlash of revealing a couple actually dating (Shinee's Jonghyun and actress Shin Se Kyung).
Sound familiar? It sounds like a similar situation to when B2st temporarily stops concert due to fan stampede or Kara's concert in Tokyo.
I know I only used Bieber as an example, and I have some friends who passionately dislike/like him, but I don't think that he is an exception. If I researched further, I could probably go back into Nsync or even more recent artists where this has happened. I am just focusing on Bieber because I didn't know and I saw parallels.
Here is one more parallel:
Threats of females romantically linked to Bieber v. Backlash of revealing a couple actually dating (Shinee's Jonghyun and actress Shin Se Kyung).
Sunday, March 13, 2011
The screen quota on Korea
Screen quota. protectionist policy? Limiting the number of international movies? This was used as a way to build up the screen film industry in South Korea. Should it be used in other forms as well? Even though Kpop has a solid fan base, should there be limitations on other kinds of music? What about television? Too much American television in Korea?
Is this unfair protectionist policy from the government? If it is unfair, what would you have suggested that South Korean government should have done to help develop the Korean film industry? I definitely think that it is developing more and more, and the limit on the number of wait days that an international movie has decreased. Is it stable enough that it should be removed completely?
Protectionist policy was actually much more common when Korea implemented this policy, keep in mind. There were other countries that were using protectionist policy, as did the United States. It is rooted in two major political economist theorists: Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Both believed that the domestic industry should be protected by restricting imports. Smith, if you guys aren't up-to-date on the political philosophy is the writer of Theory of the Moral Sentiment, considered to be the foundation of laissez-faire. If that still doesn't ring a bell, Smith is considered foundation of later thought of "deregulation", and the thought that the market should rule and the state should actually have less role in the market. What are theorists saying about protectionist policy today? They suggest (for e.g. developmental state theory) that the state can play a role in limiting foreign direct investment and investing in domestic industry. This protectionist policy is not as strong in the developed countries, but what about developing countries that might need this kind of policy? In today's globalized world, is it possible to actually limit the role of globalization and foreign countries. Others say no, theory of hyperglobalists are saying that we are living in a Global Age, that the state's role has largely gone down, and it is now the age of global governance. The role of interest groups are more important than state influence. OR do you think more like transformationalists, who think that globalization is significant and new, but the state can and still does play a role in development, it just needed to restructure.
As I alluded to, can developing countries today implement protectionist policy like the screen quota?
And it is also applicable in other industries. Even today, there is an import tax on non-Korean cars that make Korean-made cars cheaper and more affordable.
Government role on the development of the film industry. This is also applicable to the Kpop industry as well, with censorship and also using the Hallyu wave to promote Korean culture. Where do these areas intertwine? Too much government role? Or just enough? Maybe not enough? Keep your own lense in mind when answering this question. What country are you from, and how do you feel about government role in your own country?
Is this unfair protectionist policy from the government? If it is unfair, what would you have suggested that South Korean government should have done to help develop the Korean film industry? I definitely think that it is developing more and more, and the limit on the number of wait days that an international movie has decreased. Is it stable enough that it should be removed completely?
Protectionist policy was actually much more common when Korea implemented this policy, keep in mind. There were other countries that were using protectionist policy, as did the United States. It is rooted in two major political economist theorists: Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Both believed that the domestic industry should be protected by restricting imports. Smith, if you guys aren't up-to-date on the political philosophy is the writer of Theory of the Moral Sentiment, considered to be the foundation of laissez-faire. If that still doesn't ring a bell, Smith is considered foundation of later thought of "deregulation", and the thought that the market should rule and the state should actually have less role in the market. What are theorists saying about protectionist policy today? They suggest (for e.g. developmental state theory) that the state can play a role in limiting foreign direct investment and investing in domestic industry. This protectionist policy is not as strong in the developed countries, but what about developing countries that might need this kind of policy? In today's globalized world, is it possible to actually limit the role of globalization and foreign countries. Others say no, theory of hyperglobalists are saying that we are living in a Global Age, that the state's role has largely gone down, and it is now the age of global governance. The role of interest groups are more important than state influence. OR do you think more like transformationalists, who think that globalization is significant and new, but the state can and still does play a role in development, it just needed to restructure.
As I alluded to, can developing countries today implement protectionist policy like the screen quota?
And it is also applicable in other industries. Even today, there is an import tax on non-Korean cars that make Korean-made cars cheaper and more affordable.
Government role on the development of the film industry. This is also applicable to the Kpop industry as well, with censorship and also using the Hallyu wave to promote Korean culture. Where do these areas intertwine? Too much government role? Or just enough? Maybe not enough? Keep your own lense in mind when answering this question. What country are you from, and how do you feel about government role in your own country?
Monday, March 7, 2011
Artists or commercializing?
In the age of free media: pandora and youtube, hulu, ect. I wonder how many people are still all for "art for the sake of art". While I think that commercializing is not always the way to go, what options do artists have? The whole new youtube "anyone can be a star" phenom is interesting to me, because there is an expectation of getting things for free through the internet. It is also the age of instant gratification, where if I want to buy that song or that album, I no longer need to drive all the way to the store - I can download it in seconds.
The reason why I bring this up again is because of the b-boy scene and other areas of Kpop. Is b-boying too commercialized in Korea now? Or even in the United States? What about "Americas Best Dance Crew"? And what expectation do we have for this form of street art? Do people expect it to be free because it is a "lower" art form?
Would you pay to see a b-boy performance or would it be just cool to see it for free on the streets? If the b-boyers actually want to do this as a living, to support themselves, what are their options? Major yearly competitions or other smaller dance competitions require practice, which means not having another job or having another job and then as a side-job b-boying. Is that realistic? We saw the b-boys who were not from Seoul, not from rich families, who needed to provide for their families. Can they provide just as performers?
Perhaps it isn't the right venue to try and earn money. You aren't in it for the money. True. It's art, you love it, ect. However, when does it become detrimental to be a performer? An artist? But how about not to help financially support your family, but just even to support yourself financially? One of the b-boyers in Planet B-boy mentioned that he 'works to dance, not the other way around'.
There are a couple of shows featuring b-boys in Korea, including Ballerina who loves b-boy which features "Extreme Crew". Some randomly appear on television shows, variety shows, even some in Kpop (though this is more rare). For example, I had a clip up last time of the variety show Heroes where b-boys appeared on the show to teach female celebrities how to b-boy. Is this selling out? Or is it spreading b-boy? If it is becoming more "acceptable" in mainstream culture, is that bad or good? Would you rather have b-boy stay more underground or float to mainstream so more people know about it?
The reason why I bring this up again is because of the b-boy scene and other areas of Kpop. Is b-boying too commercialized in Korea now? Or even in the United States? What about "Americas Best Dance Crew"? And what expectation do we have for this form of street art? Do people expect it to be free because it is a "lower" art form?
Would you pay to see a b-boy performance or would it be just cool to see it for free on the streets? If the b-boyers actually want to do this as a living, to support themselves, what are their options? Major yearly competitions or other smaller dance competitions require practice, which means not having another job or having another job and then as a side-job b-boying. Is that realistic? We saw the b-boys who were not from Seoul, not from rich families, who needed to provide for their families. Can they provide just as performers?
Perhaps it isn't the right venue to try and earn money. You aren't in it for the money. True. It's art, you love it, ect. However, when does it become detrimental to be a performer? An artist? But how about not to help financially support your family, but just even to support yourself financially? One of the b-boyers in Planet B-boy mentioned that he 'works to dance, not the other way around'.
There are a couple of shows featuring b-boys in Korea, including Ballerina who loves b-boy which features "Extreme Crew". Some randomly appear on television shows, variety shows, even some in Kpop (though this is more rare). For example, I had a clip up last time of the variety show Heroes where b-boys appeared on the show to teach female celebrities how to b-boy. Is this selling out? Or is it spreading b-boy? If it is becoming more "acceptable" in mainstream culture, is that bad or good? Would you rather have b-boy stay more underground or float to mainstream so more people know about it?
You can use this for other areas of art as well. The sudden influx of people interested in musicals and certain musical actors after the show GLEE. The rise of youtube stars - would you pay for their music and their songs?
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