The Birth of Korean Cool: How Korea's Pop Culture Conquers the World | K-Pop, K-Drama & Global Influence | Perfect for Culture Enthusiasts & Trend Researchers
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SKU:40176320
Product Description
A FRESH, FUNNY, UP-CLOSE LOOK AT HOW SOUTH KOREA REMADE ITSELF AS THE WORLD'S POP CULTURE POWERHOUSE OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURYBy now, everyone in the world knows the song "Gangnam Style" and Psy, an instantly recognizable star. But the song's international popularity is no passing fad. "Gangnam Style" is only one tool in South Korea's extraordinarily elaborate and effective strategy to become a major world superpower by first becoming the world's number one pop culture exporter.As a child, Euny Hong moved from America to the Gangnam neighbourhood in Seoul. She was a witness to the most accelerated part of South Korea's economic development, during which time it leapfrogged from third-world military dictatorship to first-world liberal democracy on the cutting edge of global technology.Euny Hong recounts how South Korea vaulted itself into the twenty-first century, becoming a global leader in business, technology, education, and pop culture. Featuring lively, in-depth reporting and numerous interviews with Koreans working in all areas of government and society, The Birth of Korean Cool reveals how a really uncool country became cool, and how a nation that once banned miniskirts, long hair on men, and rock ‘n' roll could come to mass produce boy bands, soap operas, and the world's most important smart phone.
Customer Reviews
I'm a big K-Pop fan! I like it so much I'm writing my MSc thesis on it. I've been to Seoul, South Korea to visit and to do some research for my thesis. I wanted to understand K-Pop from within and I got glimpses on it but seven days are only sufficient to achieve just that, a glimpse, so apart from speaking to every Korean person I've met since I deciding to write my dissertation on K-Pop I needed to read a lot on the subject. The Birth of Korean Cool appealed to me for two reasons: one I wanted to understand the title's concept and two I liked what I read in the back cover. Needless to say I was not disappointed!This is a fantastic book! The writing is vivid and superbly well accomplished! At times I was so engrossed in my reading, going ah, really? I didn't know this. Yeah, now I understand, this is true! It's like receiving a history lesson in a light format or watching the play The complete work of Shakespeare in 97 minutes which addresses Shakespeare's work in a light and breezy, accessible manner! Divided into 15 chapters, the book showcases the time periods prior to the emergence of K-Pop, approaches K-Pop's training methods, plastic surgery among other topics and also shows the reader what Korea was like in the mid/late 08's and 90's. As a European when I read that South Korea had paid the loan given by the International Monetary Fund during the financial crisis, three years before the deadline I thought to myself: they should write several manuals on the subject and ship them to Southern Europe! It was impressive! No wonder South Korea is one of the four Asian Dragons/Tigers. No wonder their economy is blooming!The Birth of Korean cool is a delightful book and well worth the investment!
