There are several differences between the release and consumption
media of the United States and Korea. Unlike Korea, the United States has very
simple and free tendencies such as the ability to voice and publish political
criticism. For example, in Korea if people who work in the broadcasting field criticize
political issue that may cause the public’s mind to wander from what the
government wants them to believe, the government force the broadcasting company
to fire them immediately. The situation is the opposite in the United States. There
are so many kinds of talking shows that have hilarious commentary as well as
serious debate about political events. This is why Koreans respect, envy, and
yearn for the American way: free press.
According to a book written by Herbert I. Schiller, a renowned
American media critic, sociologist, author, and scholar, people who live
nowadays are going to listen and understand virtually all of their information
from media. So, the media should be free to share the all information with
everyone because through sharing information with the people, the country as a
whole will strengthen. Schiller compared the United States with mass
communication and an American empire.
After the first and second republic of Korea,
from the beginning of Korean government to 1987, Korean press was under government
control. However, in 1987, after the resignation of the dictator Jun Du Hwan, many
of the press laws were repealed due to their unjust nature and the relationship
between government and press improved. As freedom of press expanded, people
started to confide in and believe Korean press. Now, Korean press is rated as
not only a tool of government but also as a non-elected authority.
The
aggressive inclination of Korean press appeared since President Kim Yeong Sam’s
term. The conflict between the government and conservative press worsened after
president Noh Mu Hyun with participatory state. Nowadays each Korean press
company has some kind of political alliance with government groups that have shared
ideology. And president Lee Myung Park’s Media Law made those political
alliances more solid. Progressive party and Korean’s three
most biggest presses (Chosun,Joong-angandDong-a) are “alliance”. Since
other presses are tend to stay neutrality, with the power and aid form
progressive party the “Big Three” could get more than half of ratings. Many
people do realize this problem and try to read form other press. Sources:
Recently, most of the entertainment shows put emphasis on real variety. If we view scripted comedy program as the past trend, real variety
program leads the current trend. Also, a survey proved that the audience gives more
attention to real variety programs than scripted programs.
Unexpected situations create a more realistic program. The strength of real variety programs is that there is no
script, meaning that there is no way of knowing what will happen next and that it all unfolds naturally. In shows such as Infinite Challenges, after a mission is given, the MCs and guests need to solve the problem to win
the race. The program is more reality because the participants will have to react
naturally regardless of the circumstances.
However, the negative effect coming from
unscripted scenarios could have a huge impact on the program because if anything goes out of the ordinary, or someone does something inappropriate, the whole plan
could be changed and ruin the show.As a result, lately television entertainment
shows focus on real variety, unscripted scenario. Because it looks more realistic and brings more fun but unscripted scenario may ruin the shows.
Since May 12th 1956, television
broadcasting opened by HLKZ-TV, a commercially operated television station which was established by the RCA Distribution Company in Seoul with 186-192 MHz, 100-watt
output, and 25 scanning lines. 55 years later, there are 900 broadcasting
stations, including independent internet broadcasting stations, that actively show and
communicate through media. Important genres of television shows include variety
shows, dramas, new programs and documentaries.
Top 5 Korean Television Entertainment Shows
1.Gag Concert
·Gag Concert is Korean sketch-comedy
television program which considers as a best comedy program last long.
·“The
Power to make Korea laugh! The pride of Korean comedy! Gag Concert!”
·Infinite
Challenge is a well-known television entertainment program and also referred as
the first “real-variety” show in Korea television history. The program is
mostly unscripted and is challenge based.
·Running Man is classified as an “urban
action variety” and it is new genre of variety shows focused in an urban
environment. The MCs and guests complete the mission to win the race.
·Korean men are forced to join the army for 2 years of service because Korea is a divided country. Real Men is a reality show
featuring six male celebrities as they experience a week in the army.
·Dad!
Where are we going? Is reality show featuring five fathers and their children as
they travel to rural places. People find it interesting and easy to relate to, to see celebrity
fathers act the same as regular people.
Superstar K is a Korean television
talent show series which is held yearly. Superstar K (SSK) is looking
for a potential superstar who is talented in performance especially in singing. In 2013,
surely SSK had season 5 with high expectation but much to their demise, they did not get much
attention due to the predictability of winners and disorganized programs. After the top 10 were selected, the audience rating decreased fast because the overall level
of participants (compared to last year), was low.
Superstar K
has gained much attention, considered that it is the biggest audition program. However
during season 5, the audience did not tend to watch because they were disappointed
performances. SSK needed to find the way to bring them back. The audience and critics are
waiting Superstar K season 6 to come out with improved and organized programs and a higher sense of unpredictability.
By: Neena Rouhani Edited & Published By: Neena Rouhani Whether in South Korea or the United States, sex sells. This is evident and essential when it comes to the success of music artists, in this case: girl groups. So who made it to the top and plummeted face first? Here's a list.
HIT: Girls' Generation (SNSD)
One
of the most well-known groups of Korean artists throughout the world is Girls’
Generation. This charming nine member, all girl, pop group has earned worldwide
fame through their angelic harmonies and killer dance moves. Girls’ Generation
has been featured on shows around the world, and right here in the U.S., such
as Late Show with David Letterman and
Live! with Kelly and were the first Korean
musical acts to perform on those shows (Wikipedia). Part of their claim to
international fame was their usage of English lyrics within their songs and
their hit song “The Boys” which was released in both English and Korean. They
have done international tours and have been endorsed by various companies such
as Samsung, Christian Dior, and Lipton Tea (Wikipedia). They also have been
involved with charity organizations such as the Make a Wish Foundation of
Korea. It may come as a shock to American fans that the group has been around
for about 7 years with no member replacements or group fallouts.
Girls' Generation's latest track released in Japan, "My Oh My".
MISS: Danity Kane
It
may come as a shock to American fans that Girls' Generation has been around for about 7
years with no member replacements or group fallouts. Many famous American
groups, with the exception of a few, fail to exist shortly after being
established due to internal disputes. U.S. made girl group, Danity Kane is a key example of why the American population has little to no hope for girl groups. DK was a five-member
group created by P. Diddy on the 3rd season of MTV’s Making the Band. The group came up on
top, initially selling over one million copies of their first album and having
three top 10 singles, however after 4 years, the group fell apart. So, where are they now? Aubrey O'Day (far right), has done some modeling for magazines such as Playboy and has been featured on broadway. Despite her plummet from fame, O'Day has been featured in various tabloids for less than desirable reasons. Aundrea Fimbres (center) continued on to be theexecutive producer of J-Live Entertainment's Next Big Thing Talent Show. D. Woods (second from right)left the group shortly after it's establishment. Dawn Richards (far left) went on to pursue a solo career and lastly, Shannon Bex went on to pursue a country career. Over the past week there has been gossip of the return of Danity Kane.
Danity Kane's chart topper "Damaged".
HIT: TLC
On
the other hand, we have groups such as Destiny’s Child and TLC. TLC was a trio including Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, rapperLisa "Left Eye" Lopes and singer Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas thatlasted
fourteen years, and may have continued if it wasn't for the untimely and tragic
death of group member and raptress Lisa Lopes. Prior to Lopes’ death, their fame
was untouched, considering their certified diamond album CrazySexyCool which topped 23 million sales worldwide as well as
their worldwide tour. Their hits included "No Scrubs", "Waterfalls" and "Unpretty", songs that continue getting play today. This year, a movie was released titled "CrazySexyCool" about the life of the three women and their road to fame and the aftermath.
TLC's emotional video for their hit single "Waterfalls".
MISS: 3LW
3LW, another famous trio, also achieved fame however after 4 years, similar to
Danity Kane, stopped releasing music and eventually disbanded. The members included Adrienne Bailon (right), Kiely Williams (left), and Naturi Naughton (center).Their break-up
was not as messy as that of Danity Kane, however there is debate that Naughton was kicked out. Williams as well as Bailon continued on to Disney Channel to become Cheetah Girls and Naughton went on to pursue an acting career in movies including Notorious and Fame.
3LW's first hit, "No More".
HIT: Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child - Version #1
Destiny's Child - Version #2
Destiny's Child - Version #3
Destiny’s Child began as a quartette comprised of Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett. The group’s history was tainted by member swaps, and lawsuits however, this did not affect their worldwide stardom. Their peak of fame occurred when they were three (Williams, Rowland and Knowles), with their album Survivor which had four #1 hits. The group lasted roughly sixteen years and after, Rowland and Knowles went on as solo artists. As we all know, one of those two reigned supreme.
Arguably the most famous Destiny's Child song, Say My Name which peaked at #1.
By: Jeong Yeon Seok & Neena Rouhani Edited & Published By: Neena Rouhani Until now, we have talked about the history of American and Korean
Music. From now on, let’s talk about recent American and Korean Music as well as their similarities.
Let me start off with American Music. Firstly, as we have advanced in
computer technology, music software technology has also advanced. This means that some
programs for music creation also have been developed. As a result, many electronic music is coming out to the world. Secondly, most of recent American
music is being led by idol stars or teenage singers. Justin Bieber is an example of a successful teen singer. He had humble beginnings as a
Youtube star. He uploaded his cover version of “So Sick”, Ne-Yo’s song, and Bieber slowly began to grab the attention of the public. His song, “Baby” was released
2010 and his music video hit 934,303,860 view which is 2nd highest
viewed video on Youtube. Another American style of music is a music that makes people laugh. The most recent one is “The Fox” by
Yivix. This song is a innovative song which is not common, unlike songs that mainly
talk about love, memory, social criticism; that is why “The Fox” gained popularity.
Now, let’s talk about recent Korean music.
Korean music also is being led by idol stars same as American music. And
these many idol stars started to advance abroad with their music. We Koreans,
call this situation “Hallyu”. For example, an idol group Super Junior placed
1st for 110 weeks in Taiwan's music chart and Kara which is a
girl group, took the first place on Japanese Oricon music chart. Also Wonder
Girls enter the US Billboard Hot 100 music chart with their song “Nobody” as
the first Korean group ever. After Wonder Girls, there came a now worldwide superstar from S. Korea whose hit was heard all
over the globe. He goes by the name of PSY. His video on Youtube
for “Gangnam Style” collected over 1,826,494,555 views. The reason
why this song became so famous is because of its comedic nature and feel good rhythm, and of course no one can fail to mention the “horse riding dance”. His fame became widespread and he was featured on many international talk shows, such as The Ellen Show.
Although geographically, South Korea and the United States are thousands of miles apart, musically, they go hand in hand. Western influences have spread throughout the east and in turn, Korea has also given back through its newly found fame in the fashion, film, and music industry. Who knows, maybe sometime in the future we will see Justin Bieber and PSY get together to make musical magic! Sources:
By: Joon-Sup Kim Edited & Published By: Neena Rouhani
The history of Korean music exemplifies the formation of art through combining vocal/instrumental sounds for beauty of form or emotional expression. It is also influenced by the Chinese and the Mongols and religious inspiration through Buddhism. Korean music also worked as a bridge between China and Japan since Korea is located just between these two countries. In the Ancient era, which is also known as Koryo era, Korean music represented Shamanism which was a long-lived transition in Korea. It was also developed in the agricultural area since the majority of the population was working in farms. People used music to pray for a good harvest for the year. Ancient Korean music always used musical instruments such as Pyongjong, Saeng, Piri, Taegum, Komungo, Haegum, etc. However, as histpry progressed into the modern period, vocal music became more popular than instrumental. People started to write and perform music based on their emotions, feelings, and wills. Western cultural influences especially boosted the Korean music market. After the Korean War, western investments started entering South Korea and lots of genres such as R&B, jazz, ballad, rock, and rap flourished. The 1990s is considered the turning point for Korean music. The world became interested in Korean music and it was increasingly gathering fame. The 90s were also a successful period for vocal groups which were popularized in western culture. During the 21st century, the K-pop genre began spreading out to other regions of the world as part of the global Korean wave (Hallyu). Since the mid-2000s, a huge portion of the East Asian music market has been dominated by K-pop idol groups. Currently, Korean music has began influencing Western markets as well. For example, Psy’s Gangnam Style became one of the top tracks on the Billboard Hot 100 and Youtube. In the past, Korean music was more ritual and traditional that tribes or small groups of people used to share their emotions and time with; nowadays, however, music became one of the most useful ways to communicate and influence one another in Korea and globally.
