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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. This blog was viewed about 290,000 times in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 5 years for that many people to see it. Your blog had more visits than a small country in Europe!
Mark Russell’s article draws attention to the global impact of people behind the scenes of K-pop, like songwriters. At the same time, the story overlooks the role of Korean producers and songwriters on K-pop, especially those who bring their experience with American R&B and soul.
See on blogs.wsj.com
Great information on the ways in which the Korean government contributes to Hallyu culture.
See on www.namviet.net
This looks interesting, if it allows you to direct YouTube viewers to websites. But I wonder, given that YouTube viewers tend to view, if the annotation feature will generate substantially more traffic to websites.
See on www.labnol.org
This article explores the crossroads of Kdrama and Feminism. What I find interesting is that it does not define feminism, acknowledge the different brands of feminism and recognize the imposition of the Western concept of feminism on Korean cultural production.
See on www.hyphenmagazine.com
Another take on global Hallyu, this time from the Philippines, which has a large Hallyu following. Significantly, Hallyu needs to be studied within the cultural context of the respective countries. This article shows that Philippine popular culture provides a unique cultural context for Hallyu culturla production, like Kdramas. Rina Jimenez-David notes that emotion plays a large part in the appeal of Kdramas. This article also explores the possibility of using the South Korean model of supporting culture.
See on www.bworldonline.com
Helen Lee gives a slightly new interpretation of Gangnam Style by comparing it to a minstrel show. Lee identifies herself as Korean American, and writes, “I imagine my ambivalence about the video’s popularity might be akin to what I’ve heard some of my African American friends say about certain black rappers or shows on BET — that they are unintentionally propagating old stereotypes in the manner of a modern-day minstrel show.”
This is significant because it shows that different people are reading the Gannam Style phenomenon differently, bringing a different set of cultural lenses to it. There are a vareity of responses to the video, and in order to understand the video, especially in an American context, we have to weigh them.
See on www.urbanfaith.com
This story from The Korea Herald shows the international intellectual interest in Hallyu. In addition to scholars from Korea presenting on Hallyu, the story references an academic from Mexico who explores the role of fan clubs in Mexico.
Hallyu studies is truly global, not just confined to the East Asian region. It also involves a variety of aspects because it is a cultural movement that includes not just music but also other culturla production.
See on view.koreaherald.com
This article shows how interest in Hallyu is manifesting itself in higher education, offering advanced degrees in its study.
This program is different from other Hallyu offerings in higher education in that in addition to a focus on business, it seems to offer courses on K-pop and Kdrama, the cultural production at the heart of Hallyu.
See on www.hancinema.net
This article by Tom Coyner repeats many of the unfounded perceptions about international audiences of K-pop. While there is a discussion to be had about sexuality in K-pop, Coyner reduces that potential discussions with generalizations about fan motives regarding K-pop and a lack of familiarity with the K-pop fan scene.
While his observations about the role of sexiness in K-pop is dubious, what is outright incorrect is his assessment of American K-pop fans. Leaning on his son’s “street perspective,” he suggests that “the Korean Wave is indeed big, but only in pockets where Koreans and other Asians concentrate. There are non-Asian ethnic American fans as well, but he noted that most non-Asian American Korean Wave fans are very good friends of Koreans and a surprising number have had or currently have ethnic Korean lovers.”
This is just wrong. Not only are Asians not the only ones listening to K-pop, the major influences on K-pop come from a variety of musical genres in which there are few Asian participants: hip-hop and soul. One can participate in a culture without being friends with Koreans or being in an intimate relationship with one.
See on www.thekoreanlawblog.com
Jung Bong Choi and Roald Maliangkay solicit abstracts for an edited collection on K-pop. What makes this call different from some of the collections already available on Hallyu is the focus on fandom.
Fandom is central to K-pop, yet few studies have been conducted on fan activity and behavior in connection with the actual music culture of K-pop. The collection also asks for submissions related to the history of idol bands and group identity, two aspects that are connected to the K-pop fan experience.
Also, the collection describes Hallyu in its international context outside of East Asia, a welcome addition to work on Hallyu as a transnational movement.
See on interasiapop.org
Jun Ji-hye reveals the diplomatic benefits of Hallyu.
This article shows how international interest in Hallyu invovles an interest in Korean culture as well, prompting some to go so far as to visit the country. K-pop and Kdrama encourage an interest in Korean language, culture and history. Also, this established interest may also curb what Moore describes as a tendency for “Ugly American” behavior.
See on www.koreatimes.co.kr
