The Chinese Ban on the Korean Wave and 'Blue rather than Indigo' (connoting 'a student better than the teacher')

Romeo and Juliet in the Chinese Ban on the Korean Wave
The Chinese Ban on the Korean Wave and 'Blue rather than Indigo' (connoting 'a student better than the teacher')

Han Seung-bum, Director of KWRI (Korean Wave Research Institute)

The recent Chinese band on the Korean Wave keeps the K-Wave companies on edge. We hear that stock prices are tanking for entertainment industry and cosmetics companies while K-Wave stars are having difficulty getting into China market. And there is an analysis that the Chinese ban on Korean Wave is because of the Korean government's decision to deploy THAAD(Terminal High Altitude Area Defense).

Yen Wei, the editor for State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese agency for managing the Chinese media, disclosed in August on his Weibo account China's purpose in banning the Korean Wave. According to him, the ban on the Korean Wave is designed to protect the national culture industry of China and expand the local influence of the Chinese entertainment celebrities. Does the Chinese ban on the Korean Wave really exist, and can it achieve its goal as intended by the Chinese authorities?

We need to take a look at the Korean Wave. "The Korean Wave" was first born in the mid-1990s when Korean dramas became popular in China and Japan. Along with the birth of the Korean Wave, there was self-mocking criticism that "the life of the Korean Wave would be three years at the longest". However, the Korean Wave has continued to grow for over twenty years, expanding its scope of operation into dramas, K-Pop, TV shows, movies, games, animations, cosmetics, and Korean food. At the same time, countries as lovers of the Korean Wave have gone beyond China and Japan and now include Southeast Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa.

The world's most loved pop culture is the American pop culture. And in comparison, the pop culture of China, Japan, France, Germany, and Spain focuses on a single country or certain parts of the world. Except the American pop culture, the Korean Wave is obviously the only pop culture that spreads like a virus throughout the world. What are the merits of the Korean Wave that has quickly grown into the only pop culture that compares to the American pop culture?

KWRI has defined the biggest merit of the Korean Wave as "blue rather than indigo"(connoting 'a student better than the teacher'). In November 2011, the UK-based Financial Times mentioned KWRI's coinage, "the K-Wave as Blue rather than Indigo" in its feature on the Korean Wave. While the world is addicted to the American pop culture symbolized by Hollywood, Korea has created the unique pop culture called the Korean Wave by receiving the unfiltered version of the American pop culture and refashioning it. This means the birth of a student (Korea) who's better than the teacher (America).

In contrast, other countries, which are preoccupied with their cultural identity and uniqueness, have created 'their exclusive clubs'. It is common knowledge now that the American pop culture is a melting pot as a mix of various races and cultures. Korea too boasts a golden section of various cultures including the American pop culture as well as the cultures of China, Japan, and Europe and religions such as Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity. Unlike Japan and China, Korea as such a melting pot is pretty tolerant of foreign workers whose number is increasing year after year.

As mentioned earlier, the Chinese ban on the Korean Wave may fulfill its purpose of "protecting the national culture industry of China and expanding the local influence of the Chinese entertainment celebrities". Nevertheless, China will end up as its exclusive club, thus suffering from Galapagos syndrome. To take an example of our neighbor, Japan is ailing from the Galapagos effect from its isolated and backward pop culture which has resulted from its policy that focuses on its culture and people. And the cultural isolationism of China will have the Chinese popular culture circulating only in China and the Sinosphere. While Chinese food has captured the world's palate, Chinese drama, movies, and songs are not going to do that by a long shot.

Furthermore, the Chinese ban on the Korean Wave will lead to unexpected results. Some time ago in Korea, tobacco manufactured in western countries was banned. My first brush with smoking was with the western cigarettes I smoked out of curiosity. I was then a middle school senior and I was going to quit smoking in my thirties. When I was a child, my brother who was six years older than me removed the television set from home. So, I went over to my uncle's house every weekend to watch TV, which was an enthralling experience.

This is the so-called Romeo & Juliet effect. . The 15-year-old Romeo and the 13-year-old Juliet, who were still wet behind the ears, engaged in a love affair of the century that even braved death, because the opposition from the two families of the Montagues and the Capulets. Korea once blocked the Japanese pop culture. How crazy the Korean youths were about the Japanese culture in response! Do the Chinese authorities know the Shakespearean maxim: "The more thou damm'st it up, the more it burns. / The current that with gentle murmur glides, / Thou know'st, being stopp'd, impatiently doth rage".

To the contrary, the Chinese ban on the Korean Wave is likely to Chinese people's visits to Korea and increasing preference for Korean products. The Chinese authorities' thought of stopping the current will rather make the Korean pop culture (K-Wave) rage impatiently. In a nutshell, the Korean Wave will be loved by the whole world. For the melting pot of the Korean Wave has all cultures blended together.

<Chinese>

中国限韩令的“罗密欧与朱丽叶效应”
中国限韩令与韩流“青出于蓝”

韩流研究所所长韩承杋

最近由于中国当局的限韩令措施,韩流相关企业处于极度紧张的局势。据消息称娱乐界、化妆品业界等股价大幅下跌,韩流明星进军中国陷入困境。此外还有分析称,中国限韩令的原因是韩国政府决定部署萨德(THADD,末端高空区域防御系统)。

今年8月,监管中国广播电视媒体的政府机构——广电总局的编辑负责人闫伟在自己的微博上指出了中国限韩令的目的。他表示,限制韩国艺人来华的意义,一是保护和促进民族文化产业健康发展,二是扩大国内艺人明星在国民中的影响力和号召力。究竟限韩令是否实际存在?中国当局是否能如愿达成预期目的?

首先有必要了解韩流是什么。1990年代中期,韩国电视剧在中国、日本热播,最早出现了“韩流”一词。从韩流形成初期开始,就有人自嘲地批判道“韩流最多也就持续3年”。然而,韩流持续发展了20多年,范围也逐渐扩大到电视剧、K-POP、综艺节目、电影、游戏、动画片、化妆品、饮食等领域。喜爱韩流的国家也从中国、日本逐渐增加到东南亚、中东、欧洲、南美、北美、非洲等。

全世界最受欢迎的大众文化当然是美国大众文化。相反,主要国家中国、日本、法国、德国、西班牙的大众文化仅在单一国家或特定地区传播。可以肯定地说,除了美国大众文化以外,唯一在全世界如同病毒般传播的大众文化就是韩流。快速成长为能唯一与美国大众文化决一雌雄的大众文化,韩流具有哪些优势呢?

本研究所把韩流最大的优势称为“青出于蓝”。2010年11月,英国金融时报(FT)刊登了一篇韩流特辑整版专栏,对本研究所的“韩流-青出于蓝”概念进行了研究。全世界陷入以好莱坞为象征的美国大众文化,韩国毫无保留地吸收美国大众文化,将此改编后,打造了名为韩流的独特的大众文化,成为了超过老师(美国)的弟子(韩国)。

相反,其他国家过度执着于本国的文化认同性和独特性,形成了“红粉联盟”。众所周知,美国大众文化是由不同的人种和文化相互融合形成的“大熔炉(melting pot)”。韩国也善于吸收美国大众文化以及中国、日本、欧洲等各国的文化,宗教也有儒教、佛教、基督教等多种宗教。这样的“大熔炉”韩国与日本、中国不同,对外籍劳动者十分宽容,外籍劳动者人数也在每年增加。

如上所述,中国限韩令“为了保护和促进民族文化产业健康发展,扩大国内艺人明星在国民中的影响力和号召力”的宗旨是否能成功还是未知数。但是,中国将经受“红粉联盟”、“加拉帕戈斯综合征”。以最近的例子来说,日本因实施仅为了本国文化和本国国民的政策而在国际上被孤立,陷入在竞争中落后的大众文化的“加拉帕戈斯综合征”困局。中国的这种文化闭关锁国政策将导致中国大众文化仅仅只在中国和华侨圈通用。虽然中华料理抓住了全世界人的胃口,但中国电视剧、电影、歌曲的这种可能性很低。

中国的限韩令还会导致意外的结果。很久以前,韩国曾禁止过洋烟。处于好奇心,本人第一次抽的烟就是洋烟。这是初三的事情,30多岁的时候戒了烟。小时后,年长六岁的哥哥说电视机是傻瓜箱子,强行把家里的电视机处理掉。于是,我每个周末去弟弟家都会看一整天的电视,没有比这更有趣的了。

这就是所谓的“罗密欧与朱丽叶效应(Romeo & Juliet Effect)”。“年幼无知”的14岁的朱丽叶和罗密欧即使死亡也永不泯灭的世纪之爱也是缘于蒙太古家族和凯普莱特家族的反对。韩国也曾限制过日本大众文化。出于对其的反抗,当时的年轻人对日本文化是多么地狂热?中国当局者会知道“越阻拦就越炽烈的是爱情,潺潺的溪水在被阻挡时也会变得湍急”这句莎士比亚的话吗?

限韩令很有可能反而增加中国人赴韩和购买韩国产品。要阻挡溪水的中国当局的想法将会使韩国大众文化的潮流(韩流)更加汹涌。可以断言,韩流会永远受到全世界的喜爱!因为韩流这个“大熔炉”里融合了所有文化。

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