A recent article on CNA caught my attention. It was about the Korean girl group, ‘Wonder Girls’. Their song ‘Nobody’ has dominated the airwaves all over Asia, but it has managed to reach the guarded gates of America.
[Image from: Channel News Asia]
My first thought was, ‘Woah, Wonder Girls, really?’ I read the news ages ago about them opening for all the Jonas Brothers concerts; a real feat for any Asian music group.
If you remember our most recent COM101 lecture, we covered the topic of media globalisation. According to our notes “Asia is the fastest growing region… but it is not considered a major market for the global television programme…” partially due to differences in cultural background and language.
Ironically, western influence has a huge impact on Asian countries, even though we are from a different cultural background and some Asian countries do not utilize English as one of their primary languages unlike Singapore. In fact, it is starting to sound more like cultural imperialism instead of globalisation. It has always been the other way instead, that American culture dominates everyone else’s. We listen mostly to music from America, watch dramas from America and even embrace American food.
Which is why the Wonder Girls’ breakthrough in the US market really came as a pleasant surprise. Despite the fact that they sing entirely in Korean, and primarily adjust their appeal to their own Korean market, they still made it outside of Asia. With the aid of the Jonas Brothers, of course, and not to mention the endless preaching of famous celebrity blogger Perez Hilton who absolutely “love love LOVES” the Wonder Girls.
[Image from: Perez Hilton]
But it really makes one wonder. Are the girls popular because Asian culture is starting to appeal to the Western market? Or is it because of the American media which has somehow chosen to put spotlight on the Wonder Girls? So is the hype created by a shift in cultural tastes, or merely a manifestation of the mass media? Perhaps it’s a combination of both, though I’d like to think it were the latter.
As reiterated by my previous entry, medium is indeed a powerful thing. The appropriate medium, coupled with timely usage, is really a key to mass media regardless of the topic or issue.
November 1, 2009 at 9:03 am |
Advertising will play a big part in pushing the popularity of a particular pop group.
Wonder Girls, being from Korea, would aim to dominate the Korean market. But having achieved attention from other media players, to allow them to do the opening act for a US based group concert, they are opened to a wider spectrum and exposed to a bigger market.
Acceptance from the US market is a sure sign of telling us, globalisation is shifting the cultural tastes increasing the acceptance of different cultures;
November 1, 2009 at 1:19 pm |
I guess its time that people have started to realize the importance of appreciating different culture. Globalization has changed the way people see things especially with the advent of new media. We get exposed to various cultures through new media tools such as facebook and youtube. This increases our interest and inquisitiveness to learn about other cultures. Thus asian videos are making a mark in the western world
November 1, 2009 at 3:52 pm |
Hello, I think that in a way people do think that the grass over the other side is greener or fresher in a way
so i think that on my opinion to your question whether the western market is appealed by asian culture, I think to a certain extent it does appeal.for instance there are many movies that are filmed based on asian cultures and all nowadays.
yes and I absolutely agree with you that the western market has dominated Asia.I like how you explained a recent popular group and asked questions. and the pictures gives a clearer picture.
Lastly the song example makes your post even better.
good post.worth reading !!:)
good post, good examples.what more can a reader expect?
November 1, 2009 at 3:53 pm |
I feel that widely accessible communication channels like Twitter and television play a very big role in today’s knowledge economy. Therefore, it’s not really a surprise to me that Wonder Girls broke into the US market, considering they had a large advertising budget, and media support and clout from their parent company. Whether the female pop group will last in the US market is an entirely different thing though.
November 1, 2009 at 4:18 pm |
I think Nobody is overhyped by the media. Much as I love Korean songs and the cute dance moves, it is definitely overexposure that causes the Wondergirls to shoot up to the top of the popularity ladder.
Take for example the Flash Mob at Raffles Place (by HTC), where the dancers performed the Nobody dance. This also added on to the exposure of the song, adding on to the hype of the Wondergirls fever… And face it, we are too used to believing whatever the media tells us, so now that the media is saying Wondergirls is cool, we tend to follow suit. (See German movie Free Rainer that mocks this fact hahahaha!)
Also, Nobody has been translated into English and it is the English version that was broadcasted overseas… So are our Western counterparts really beginning to take to Asian culture? I think it’s just a coincidence that the song is really catchy!
November 2, 2009 at 1:28 pm |
I think Americans will always think that Asians are better and Asians will always think Americans are cooler. Look at how Americans wear cheongsam, while most Asians prefer dining at Western places. Maybe it’s because they dont thave that ‘experience’ in their country, so something new may come across as ‘cool’ to them.
As for Wondergirls, ‘Nobody’ is so publicised that everyone knows about them! it’s expected that they were given the opportunity to break into the US markets. Asian music is more and more appreciated in the world today. Wondergirls, wonderful!
November 5, 2009 at 4:23 am |
i think its the western countries are opening up to the Asian culture. this can be seen when Jonas brothers invited wonder girls to open up the show for them. It no wonder the americans are looking out of their country for more exposure. For example, gwen stefani used japanese dancers and instilled some japanese words in her lyrics. It is obvious that Asian culture is getting more attention from the westerners
November 8, 2009 at 1:49 am |
I guess it works both ways!
In Asian countries, Western shows etc are popular due to the media.
Similarly, the Wonder Girls are popular in the US for the same reason.
I guess this is just one of the outcomes of globalisation.
The exchange of ideas and information and the opportunity to learn about other cultures and communities.
Its good that it is finally working BOTH ways, and not just Asia accepting everything that comes from the west.
November 8, 2009 at 11:17 am |
well, indeed a feat for Wonder girls. But maybe truly the genre of music by wonder girls appeal to the westerners.
November 8, 2009 at 1:16 pm |
i liked “nobody” by the wonder girls. but to come to think of it, it is one of the few korean songs i know only. the song with its catchy tune and dance moves definitely was a hit in many countries.
globalisation at work again perhaps? while there is a huge export of american media products to the rest of the world, there are imports of foreign media products to the country as well. just that its imports and exports are very unequal as we can see few of such foreign media products being a huge success in the US. it is still hard to say if asian culture is indeed appealing to the western market. several factors such as the language barrier, in my opinion, still need to be overcomed.
November 8, 2009 at 3:59 pm |
The rise of the K-Pop! Soon with globalisation, it will all be a part of culture in even the most remote areas in the world! It’s interesting to note how the different cultures from different parts of the world try to influence on another and the end result is a melting pot of cultures.
November 8, 2009 at 4:57 pm |
I heard about this news over the radio (see another different medium)! It’s just surprising and annoying that this song can reach one of the tops on the US charts.
In my opinion, for this particular song it isn’t about the great the work is, but rather it’s the repeated message that the media chooses to display that made this song such a hit.
November 8, 2009 at 5:06 pm |
Firstly, I would like to point out ‘Nobody’ by the Wonder Girls has an English version (which is reasonably coherent) which they perform in the US. So I would think it’s adapting to the needs of the US music market and not so much cultural imperialism, rather like Korean artists releasing songs in Japan sung in the Japanese language. It’s adoption of language as a marketing strategy, I think, pushing into a foreign market on their terms. Also, the song has been packaged as a catchy song people can dance to easily, as well as overtones of pseudo-feminism (i hesitate to call it proper feminism, due to lack of concrete evidence) in the video, all aspects designed to appeal, and yes, media exposure plays a very important part too. However, claiming that American media dominates the market would be somewhat of a generalisation perhaps, since there are niche markets in Singapore for media of various genres; the Taiwanese idol dramas, Korean weepies, Hong Kong thrillers and so on. Lastly, I would think that idea of exoticisation may have a part to play in the success of the Wonder Girls. They are after all leggy, pretty girls who epitomise the Asian woman. You can’t go wrong with that packaging.
November 8, 2009 at 5:10 pm |
I think that it all started with them looking real good. Asian beauty has always been admired by the Western side of the world since the days of the geisha so it is no surprise that the Wonder Girls can make it big there.
I mean come on, let’s not pretend that WG are the first to break into the Western market. There were already multiple Asian artists who made it real big in the west before WG went over. Just to name a few, Boa was there, Rain was there and so were many other Japanese bands like L’arc En Ciel, X-Japan and so on. So why do we only focus on WG’s “breakthrough” into the western market?
Let’s just push the blame to the media. Let’s just say that they are the ones who over hyped about the girls. Let’s just say that advertising are at fault like they are most of the time. Oh! Why not just say that everyone’s at fault, everybody but you!
By you I don’t mean you Samantha, I mean everyone who uses the Internet and no I am not going to blame the net. Blame the user! It’s the users who post videos on Facebook and so many other platforms. It is us the users who typed “Hey you, check this out!” followed by a URL. It is you who spread the whole thing and cause this whole big phenomena.
Ok, it’s not even close to being a phenomena but hey, it is us, the users of the Internet that has control over what the media does, except if you are in a country that limits your rights over the freedom of speech and so on. It is us that influences the media.
To simply put it, put a group of really pretty girls dancing and singing online and it will spread like wild fire.
To end of this comment – Hey you! Check this out!
=D
November 8, 2009 at 5:15 pm |
K-pop is the next big thing and i want nobody nobody but wonder girls!
November 9, 2009 at 5:12 pm |
Mmm, i only knew of the wonder girls when one of my classmates shared about the “nobody” dance in class. we were all fascinated by the cute dance moves and catchy tune and lyrics that we all tried to mimic it. It then became the “it” thing in class. and before i knew it, i was sharing this cute little number with other friends.
I feel that this wondergirls hype is not really due to e rise in the appeal of asian culture or a shift in cultural taste, but as what uu mentioned that “medium is indeed a powerful thing.. The appropriate medium, coupled with timely usage, is really a key to mass media regardless of the topic or issue”. The wondergirls were packaged in such a way that it appeals to majority at this moment. I believe similar rara would be produced if the wondergirls were japanese or even russian for that matter. But surely, it has definitely increased the exposure of asian cultures to the western world, which could possibly then evoke a shift in taste.
Ahh. it’s been so so long since i’ve given much thought about things like mass media, globalisation and popular culture.. Thank uu for sharing your thoughts about this, i know my brain will be thinking about it for the next few days. (: