Authorâs Preface
I have been engaged in the teaching of the history of Korean popular culture for a considerable period of time. In addition, I have delivered lectures on this topic as part of a course on popular culture theory and as a standalone subject. It has long been apparent to me that there is a dearth of suitable literature for students to engage with. When considering the history of specific subsectors of popular culture, such as film, music, or broadcasting, there is a wealth of diverse research and numerous books that present a comprehensive historical account. However, it is challenging to find a single volume that synthesizes these disparate perspectives through the lens of popular culture. This gap in the existing literature is the primary motivation for writing this book.
The paucity of attempts to construct a comprehensive history of popular culture is not without reason. First, the concept of popular culture is not straightforward and is challenging to define in general terms. It encompasses both simple and complex elements. While specific cultural genres, such as literature, film, and popular music, are relatively straightforward in terms of their subject matter, the concept of popular culture gives rise to entirely different descriptions depending on how it is defined. Naturally, the term âculture,â which represents a potentially higher-order concept within the context of popular culture, is a complex concept with multiple layers of meanings. However, it is not necessary to delve into the concept of culture in this discussion.
One might suggest that the most straightforward way to define popular culture is to view it as the aggregate of various subgenre domains, including films, popular music, television, and popular novels, among others. This definition is convenient, but it fails to account for any phenomena that deviate from established genre forms. Consequently, it excludes such norm-defying popular cultural phenomena from the outset. Furthermore, the daily lives and sensibilities of the masses who actually receive and consume popular culture, the problem of social practice, and also the identity conflicts and cultural politics expressed through diverse cultural forms remain hidden.
In my previous book, Understanding Popular Culture (Hanul M Plus, 1st edition 1998, fully revised edition 2003, revised 2nd edition 2010), I proposed an indirect approach to the concept of popular culture, focusing on the problem areas that it encompasses. The problem areas of popular culture can be defined as follows: first, the culture of commodities produced by the mass media industry and consumed by consumers in the masses; secondly, the culture of everyday life, which is repeatedly received by the masses in their familiar lives; and thirdly, the culture of cultural politics as a platform, where diverse identities are expressed and conflicts are fought. This book shows how these three problem areas interact with each other and how they have changed over time.
In this sense, the history of popular culture is not merely the aggregate of the various subgenres of film, popular music, television, and so forth. It represents the times, encompassing not only the cultural texts and works themselves, but also the problems of production and consumption, or industry and markets; institutions and policies; ideological domination and resistance; technology and media; generational conflicts and differences; and the daily lives and sensibilities of the masses. Accordingly, the narrative of popular culture unfolds in a manner that presents and organizes the principal themes that characterize each era, interjecting all genres (of course, depending on the era, significant flows by genre become characteristic traits).
A further challenge in the narration of popular culture history is the division of time periods. If popular literature is regarded as a postmodern culture contingent upon popular media and communication technologies, the starting point in Korea is the Enlightenment Period, which spanned the late 19th to early 20th centuries. The period of formation of modern popular culture, which has continuity with the current culture, is generally considered to be the period of Japanese occupation. The subsequent history was largely shaped by a series of political upheavals, including the April 19 Revolution, the May 16 Coup, the October Yushin Reform, the October 26 incident, the May 18 Democratization Movement, the June Uprising, and the establishment of civilian government. These events reflect the customary practice of narrating history in decennial increments, as evidenced by the changes in power structure that occurred during this period. Furthermore, this book adheres to the conventions of the same era distinctions. Nevertheless, it is important to recognize that peopleâs lives and cultures are not disconnected, but rather continuous. Despite the occurrence of political upheavals at approximately ten-year intervals, this does not necessarily result in alterations to the routines and cultural practices of the general public. It is inevitable that cultural change will entail a certain time lag. The public is often drawn to what is familiar, and popular culture is typically reproduced through customs. However, with shifts in the power structure, sociopolitical circumstances also change, with institutions adapting, technology evolving, and production and consumption practices undergoing incremental alterations. Concurrently, the emergence of a new generation enables the formation of a new workforce, providing impetus for cultural innovation. In this sense, a chronological narrative centered on political shifts offers significant advantages for the history of popular culture.
This book is divided into the following eras: the Enlightenment Period, during which modern Western newspapers were introduced; the Japanese colonial period, during which the foundations of modern popular culture were established; the period of Korean division, during which Cold War anti-communism was in full swing, until the post-liberation period of the 1950s; the 1960s, during which the entrenchment of modernization policies coincided with the rise of the military dictatorship. The 1970s saw the Park Chung Hee regime grappling with the contradictions that defined it. The 1980s were characterized by social conflicts and confrontations that erupted under the new military regime. The 1990s, in contrast, saw the beginnings of democratization. Each of these eras is discussed in separate chapters. The final period covered is that from the beginning of the 21st century up to the end of the 2010s. This saw the full force of digitalization and globalization sweep in. The chronological distinctions are mostly loose. Discussions of 1990s culture may mention films of the 1980s, or a segment on the 1960s may deal with 1950s culture. As previously stated, culture is a continuum and cannot be cleanly divided according to the era.
Given the comprehensive nature of popular culture, which encompasses a multitude of issue domains, it is inherently not feasible to attempt to address all things related to popular culture from the outset. This book primarily focuses on the cultural products that the general public engages with on a daily basis. In the contemporary era, the act of commuting on public transportation has become a multifaceted experience, with individuals engaging with a plethora of digital content on their smartphones. This includes browsing news and information, reading fiction on e-books, playing games, and listening to music, among other activities. Additionally, they consume video content on YouTube or other streaming platforms, catch up on previously aired television programs, and engage in digital communication with acquaintances. In the early 2000s, individuals utilized the subway environment for a variety of activities, including reading newspapers, completing crossword puzzles, reading fiction, listening to music through headphones, and texting friends. Despite the change in the medium in their hands, their behavior has remained largely unchanged and is, for the most part, similar to that observed back then. In other words, they consume culture. The book is mainly about the culture that is subject to public consumption, especially publications, movies, popular music, radio, television, comics, and sports. As the media formats for the public consumption of culture have changed over the years, the main topics of discussion have naturally shifted slightly.
The subject of popular culture began to be the focus of serious academic and critical discourse in the 1990s. This period was characterized by two significant developments: the progress of formal democracy and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. These events led to an explosion of interest in culture and a halt in social scientific or transformative problem-solving. Meanwhile, information technology has advanced exponentially, postmodern discourse has become increasingly sophisticated, and the new generation of culture has emerged as a matter of public interest. Following the 1990s and the heyday of cultural criticism, the status of cultural research has naturally advanced, while heightened attention has been paid to microhistory, daily history, and genre-specific cultural history. This has resulted in the production of numerous excellent studies in various fields. This book draws extensively on such research. It would be impractical to mention all the relevant studies, but I would like to express my gratitude to the many researchers who have made significant contributions to the various fields of the humanities, journalism studies, sociology and beyond, even by undertaking the painstaking task of excavating and securing primary sources.
As expected upon the conclusion of a book, I find myself experiencing a sense of regret. My ambition to interpret the intimate desires and sensibilities of the public of each era through the lens of popular culture was, regrettably, too ambitious. During the revision process, it became apparent that several pivotal issues had been overlooked. However, given the extensive nature of the task, I merely applied partial improvements. My objective was to produce a work that would display academic rigor while also being engaging and accessible to a wider audience. Despite these efforts, my desired outcome was not fully achieved. I acknowledge that this is merely an interim result, and that I will pursue a more comprehensive and systematic history of Korean popular culture at a future date.
Chang-nam Kim
Spring 2021