Mass media plays a critical role in the contemporary world as it reflects the modern culture and preferences of a particular audience. The rise of the popularity of multiple trends or ideas coincides with the emergence of some notions in society or the dominance of certain brands. The investigated article “Hybridity and the Rise of Korean Popular Culture in Asia” by Doobo Shim is also devoted to one of such cultural phenomena as it tends to explain the growing popularity of Korean content, its character, and factors contributing to the spark of individuals’ interest to it. The main objective of the given review is to improve the understanding of the topic by analyzing and critiquing the paper.
Summarizing the selected work, the author’s emphasis on the growing popularity of Korean popular culture should be admitted. Offering the idea that at the moment, food, music, TV dramas, and celebrities originating from this country become more popular, Shim tries to explain this process by admitting the hybrid character of all these aspects (25). The author is sure that globalization can be considered one of the factors that shaped Korean culture and transformed it into the cultural phenomenon that is demanded in various countries across the world.
Moreover, the researcher mentions the powerful impact of American pop culture, which became a part of the globalization discourse and affected individuals in various regions significantly (Shim 29). For this reason, modern Korean products can be considered the result of several cultures’ fusion and have a hybrid character.
Analyzing the paper, it is critical to determine its central purpose, issues, and whether conclusions correspond to the introduced goals. Hence, the primary aim of the given paper is the in-depth investigation of Korean pop culture because of its constantly rising popularity in some regions. The author also introduces several objectives, which are to research the nature of this phenomenon, its hybridity and explain to what roles globalization and American culture play in the given process (Shim 26). Providing credible facts about the current state of Korean movies, their popularity, and central motifs, the author manages to achieve the outlined purpose, which is critical for the research paper.
One of the main strengths of the selected work is its focus on the topical cultural phenomenon that affects populations in various parts of the globe. At the same time, Shim manages to outline the direct correlation between the globalization discourse and the rising popularity of Korean products (28). In such a way, it suggests a clear explanation of the observed tendencies and factors promoting their further development. It can be considered an effective approach that helps to understand the discussed issue and answer the most important questions related to the emergence and rise of this trend.
Another advantage of the paper is that the author explains the background for the appearance of the discussed cultural phenomena and defines the Korean wave. The author associates it with the media liberalization peculiar to the whole Asian region in the 1990s. It became a powerful stimulus for the appearance of multiple tendencies and trends in Korea and its television. In the course of time, they managed to evolve into a product that became popular in various regions of the world. Understanding these facts contributes to the better comprehension of the topic and creates the basis for further research.
The only drawback of the paper is that the author mainly focuses on the Asian region while Korean culture is becoming popular in various stages, such as Russia, the USA, and Europe. In such a way, the inclusion of these areas in the research can help to improve the understanding of the topic and trace the growth of the interest to the issue along with the factors that impact this process.
Altogether, Shim manages to conduct an in-depth investigation of the selected issue. In the paper, he achieves all outlined goals and provides the main arguments proving the hybrid character of Korean popular culture, the important role globalization plays in its evolution, and the main causes for its emergence. The document can be considered a good example of a research work that meets all requirements and helps to understand the discussed topic.
Work Cited
Shim, Doobo. “Hybridity and the Rise of Korean Popular Culture in Asia.” Media, Culture & Society, vol. 28, no. 1, 2006, pp. 25-44.