Analysis And Review Of The Documentary South Korea: The Silent Cultural Superpower

British Broadcast Company (BBC) is known for its string of documentaries on various phenomena, and its documentary on South Korea “South Korea: The Silent Cultural Superpower” quietly becoming a cultural superpower is one that has informed and enthralled its viewers as much as any other. From designing world-class automobiles that are driven everywhere in the world, to its world-class art, cinema and music, South Korea has done everything to improve its soft power and cultural presence in the West.

BBC's documentary "South Korea: The Silent Cultural Superpower" is a documentary in the expository mode, which attempts to disseminate information about South Korea’s silent cultural revolution and the positive effects of its music – especially K-pop, on cultures across the world. In this documentary, BBC’s Rana Mitter (2011) traces the growth of South Korea from invasion, subjugation and division to becoming an economic miracle – a nation to watch out for. While briefly touching upon Korea’s historic past – including its division into North and South Korea, the author suggests that despite the many political and military setbacks that South Korea has faced, within two generations, the country has turned its fortunes around and become a valuable member of the international community.

The documentary then moves on to discuss the cultural legacy of South Korea as is evident in Seoul's transformation into a design capital for the country. Mitter’s (2011) method of creating this contrast of sorts is extremely interesting, because it allows him to show how Korea's soft power has not only helped it boost its economy, but also its status in the world even while its reclusive neighbour – North Korea, continues to grapple with back-breaking poverty and other human rights issues. The documentary was aired on the History channel and is specifically created from a historical point of view keeping in mind its audience – history buffs and K pop enthusiasts. In his documentary, Mitter (2011) touches upon many aspects of Korean culture and soft power, but he provides a special focus on Korean Pop integration into American and British music culture. According to him, the synchronized moves, the bright flashing lights, perfect smiles and matching outfits of the K pop industry have already become a recognizable phenomenon worldwide simply because that is the kind of hold that K pop has over its audience.

Mitter (2011) calls K pop an iconic business that inspires dancers and singers everywhere. In America and Britain, K pop has become one of the most popular foreign music genres with groups such as BTS or the Bangtan Boys becoming increasingly popular. Korean artist Psy (2012) finds a mention in the documentary, as the release of his song “Gangnam Style” in 2012 helped increase K-pop’s influence in the West. Mitter (2011) suggests that the influence of K-Pop on American culture can be gathered from the number of American parody music videos to Gangnam Style almost immediately after the song was first released in the country. According to Jung (2010), K- Pop s greater in Western countries because the genre itself incorporates elements of pop, hip-hop and even R&B. The growth of K-pop in the U. S. has been termed by Anderson et al. (2014) as "Hallyu wave”, or the Korean wave. Mitter (2011) highlights how the Hallyu wave has reinforced the Korean diaspora in various countries – including the U. S. According to him, K-pop has made way for other Korean products in the Western markets – including Korean beauty products, foods, fashion merchandise, language and other entertainment. For the Americans, K-Pop is all the more intriguing because of its ability to introduce "point dances" – simple dance moves that become associated with a specific Korean pop song. For instance, the song Gangnam Style had some distinct dance moves that have become associated permanently with the trademarked song. In addition, K pop introduces a dash of sexualization to the popular music genre, with repeated sexualized dance moves, sultry clothing, and other over-sexualized content.

The inclusion of certain dance moves – such as locking and popping, has been imitated in the West as well – particularly in the U. S. , where such dance forms are becoming popular on various talent shows and dance-offs. According to Mitter (2011), some of the most positive influences of Korean culture – including K-pop, on the Western countries is that Korean celebrities help raise awareness about many issues. Anderson et al. (2014) concur with Mitter, suggesting that when American celebrities see K pop celebrities endorsing specific global issues, they also get involved in them, leading to an overall positive influence. Fan projects in Korea end up donating a lot of money to the charities or causes endorsed by their favourite celebrities, and this is a practice that is slowly becoming popular in the U. S. as well. In addition to that, Mitter (2011) points out that an increasing interest in K pop opens the doors to developing a greater understanding of Korea as a country, and its many innovations. Mitter (2011) specifically focuses on the green technologies that Korea is in the process of developing. In the documentary, Mitter (2011) showcases the electrical buses in Korea, which draw a charge from electrodes embedded in the roads. Some of the other important advancements, that Mitter (2011) thinks the world could learn from, is the movement from fossil fuels to green technologies.

Already, South Korea has cut its oil imports by nearly a third, and the U. S. – which has been identified as one of the most polluting countries of the world, can also learn a lesson from them. Mitter (2011) hopes that the cultural exchange that is currently underway between Korea and the West, would eventually include such technology exchanges as well. Already, K-pop has attracted a lot of American tourists to Korea. As Mitter (2011) documents, in 2010 along, Korea witnessed a whopping 9 million tourists from the West – many of whom visit Korea simply for witnessing the K-pop artists in live action. The Seoul international airport has repeatedly won the best international airport award for consecutive years since the mid-2000s and acts as the gateway for world's traveling consumers. Mitter (2011) brings in a lot of experts on South Korea, often making comparisons between cultural influences from other Asian countries such as China and Japan with South Korea, finally concluding that South Korea is far ahead in terms of its cultural influence than these countries. Some of the experts that Mitter (2011) brings in to this documentary, including Kyle Brule – the Editor in Chief of the magazine “Monocle”, to confirm that South Korea has had an unprecedented cultural influence on North America, Australia and Europe, and this is not just because of South Korea’s technology brands, but also because of the pop culture that has been appreciated nearly everywhere.

K-pop influence also brings in some refreshing changes in the American palate. As Americans become more curious about Korea and Korean culture, they also adopt some of its street foods and fast foods – all of which are many times more nutritious than the current American fast foods. Mitter (2011) shows his viewers the fermented moong bean pancakes that are served with pork and vegetables – which make one of the most popular fast foods in Korea. He claims that visitors to South Korea – both who come to visit the country as tourists, and those who come to live here and work, have increasingly favoured these healthier options for fast foods. K-pop has had an important role in introducing Americans to these tastes, by making a cultural inroad into the American psyche. It is now almost impossible to talk about Korea without thinking about Samsung, Hyundai and K-pop – which Mitter (2011) calls the country's most powerful cultural weapon. Many K-pop icons have now crossed over to Hollywood, with Korean directors, songwriters and musicians the following suit. Mitter (2011) points out some of the groups that have had an unprecedented impact on pop culture everywhere in the world. These groups include Girl Generation who claim that Korean music is easier to access and is upbeat enough to garner strong followings. Kyle Brule says that the biggest pull of K-pop is its neutrality. According to him, since South Korea is a U. S. ally, and has been non-controversial in the Asian political landscape, K-pop becomes a natural face for Asian culture for Americans.

Rana Mitter’s “South Korea: The Silent Cultural Superpower” is an informative documentary that traces the growth of the country from a historical kingdom to a technology and cultural superpower. Korea today produces both art and technology which are greatly appreciated in the West. More importantly, Korea creates pop music and exports it throughout the world – a feat that has made it extremely popular among people from all over the world. Mitter (201) moves from one South Korean cultural accomplishment to another one throughout this 48-minute documentary and he introduces many cultural experts who vouch for the rise of South Korea as a cultural superpower because of its mass scale cultural export to both Asia and the West. For America, this cultural export has been especially beneficial, since K-pop has helped many other South Korean cultural elements – including its healthy fast food and its green technologies make their way through North America and other western countries.