SHIFTING CONSUMER PATTERNS IN SINGAPOREAN ......2.0 as spreadable media practice, Dal Yong Jin (Simon Fraser University, Canada) and Kyong Yoon (University of British Columbia Okanagan,

SHIFTING CONSUMER PATTERNS IN SINGAPOREAN AND MALAYSIAN MILLENIALS CAUSED BY OPTIMIZATION OF KOREAN POP

MUSIC BY THE SOUTH KOREAN GOVERNMENT AS A SOFT POWER TOOL

Koon Kit Nicholas Chow 5017-0913

[email protected]

DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO DR SAMUEL WONG SHENG MIAO FOR FULFILMENT OF THE MUS264: WORLD MUSIC MODULE AT THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO – SINGAPORE INSTITUTE OF

MANAGEMENT

APRIL 2018

Korean Pop Music Consumerism in Singapore and Malaysia 2

Table of Contents

Topic

1. Introduction

2. Literature Review

3. South Korean Government Optimizing Soft Power in Singapore & Malaysia

4. The Nature of Korean Pop and hallyu in determining the consumer behavior of Singaporean and Malaysian millennials

5. How the Development of Korean Pop Altered Consumer Patterns in Singaporean and Malaysian Millennials

6. Conclusion

7. Appendix

8. References


1. Introduction Introduction Korean Pop has been a driving force of influence and cultural entertainment in Southeast Asia. Ever since hallyu took root in Asia in the 1990s (Jin & Yoon, 2016, p. 1278), the prevalence of Korean Pop and its subsequent subcultures in Southeast Asian nations has been exponentially increasing. In 1998, South Korea exported an unconventional product in the form of Korean Pop to the world to recuperate from its poor economy at home (Bloomberg, 2017). Due to the success of Korean Pop and hallyu, the South Korean government saw an opportunity in how to increase its presence and power in the East Asian region. In Malaysia and Singapore, young millennials are consuming more Korean Pop than their predecessors (Lim, 2001). South Korean Pop music’s soft power, optimized by its government, has created a polarity in consumerism patterns from Singapore and Malaysian millennials. South Korea has always been looking outward for its music industry, because local consumption is not enough to keep the music industry afloat. The Korean Pop music was dampened by a poor economy in South Korea when it was trying to launch itself in 1998, as Korean consumers were unwilling to spend money on music when they struggled to put food on the table (Lie, 2012). In modern times, the industry revolutionized itself to become a highly industrial and marketing heavy industry. This shift of business model required a heavy initial investment before any talents are sourced and any music produced. By selling the product which is new South Korean pop created using new methods in South Korea alone, it would not be sufficient to even breakeven on initial investments (Bloomberg, 2017). Hence, South Korea has to once again rely on external revenue to ensure that Korean Pop remains profitable and sustainable. South Korea seems to have realized the potential of using Korean Pop and hallyu in general as a diplomatic tool, as well as one that will reap economic benefits for the country. In fact, it invested heavily into hallyu related initiatives, believing strongly that the Return on Investment (ROI) will be worth it (Business Korea, 2014). For a large part, we aim to explore how the South Korean government aims to spread its soft power to Singapore and Malaysia, and its current relationship with the two nations, both diplomatically and culturally. Why is this important to us? There seems to be an upward trend of more millennials in Singapore and Malaysia actively consuming Korean Pop music as a form of mainstream music, alongside Mandopop (Mandarin Pop) and English Pop (Lim, 2001). Korean Pop based events and concerts has also increased in their frequency in Southeast Asia, an indicator that the demand here is sufficient to hold fan-meets and concerts that require extensive logistical and business planning (Billboard, 2015). Given that Singapore and Malaysia both share a different culture from that of South Korea, we also explore the factors that make Korean Pop appealing in a local context, and how it has come to build a steady consumer base here. The demographics of Korean Pop consumers in Malaysia and Singapore will also be analysed in this dissertation, with their age, occupation, spending habits and attitudes


towards Korean Pop music and its corresponding subcultures. As South Korean pop evolves and develops itself, we would like to see the connections between South Korean media companies and the South Korean government, and the corresponding changes to the way South Korean Pop is branded, marketed and sold to the world. As a result of this shift, the consumer habits will also change to adapt to the new parameters. We explore if the evolution and optimization of Korean Pop affects consumer spending and consumption patterns in Malaysia and Singapore, and if it does, what reasons do consumers attribute to this change in their habits and behaviours. This dissertation aims to explore aims to explore how the optimization of Korean Pop by the South Korean government to act as better tools of spreading its influence affects the behaviors and spending habits of Singaporean and Malaysian millennial consumers. It explores how the regulations and interference of the South Korean government in Korean Pop production companies, trainees and guidelines on how they should be marketed to the world as a cultural product of South Korea affects the identity of South Korean Pop and how it is perceived by people who enjoy and consume South Korean Pop. Subsequently, we would like to see how changes to the identity of South Korean Pop bring about changes in the mentality of Korean pop consumers, and see if there’s a shift in their spending habits and behaviour towards the genre. Their responses to obvious optimization of South Korean Pop by the South Korean government should also give us insights on whether government involvement in a cultural product affects the consumer’s affection towards the cultural product and the country’s culture in general.


2. Literature Review Introduction To understand the issue of Korean Pop as a product and influence, a few good pieces of publications and journal articles have been sought out and thoroughly analyzed. The pieces generally discuss the nature of Korean Pop as a product of mass media, its implications of being recognized and promoted as a legitimate cultural and political export by the South Korean Government and the success of Korean Pop and the degree of its success outside the borders of South Korea. In the first journal article, The social mediascape of transnational Korean pop culture: Hallyu 2.0 as spreadable media practice, Dal Yong Jin (Simon Fraser University, Canada) and Kyong Yoon (University of British Columbia Okanagan, Canada) explores the integration of the Korean Pop culture with social media platforms and the cultural landscape of social media. In John Lie (C.K. Cho Professor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley)’s What Is the K in K-pop? South Korean Popular Music, the Culture, Industry, and National Identity, the identity and nature of Korean pop is taken apart to its core, allowing for a clearer view on how the genre is influenced to extent by contemporary Korean culture. The successes of Korean Pop beyond South Korea’s identity are also explored in this journal article. Lastly, Ingyu Oh (Professor, Graduate School of Developmental Studies, Hanshin University) and Gil-Sung Park (Professor of Sociology; Dean of the College of Humanities, Korea University) explores the economics and selling channels of Korean Pop under the influence of social media in From B2C to B2B: Selling Korean Pop Music in the Age of New Social Media. We also draw from several other publications and research papers to give us a background about Korean Pop, Korean culture, Korean government and consumer patterns in Malaysia and Singapore. We aim to draw parallels between what is established by these scholars and primary data gathered on the field by exploring and examining these literature in detail. The literature will also help us better understand the implications of primary data and suggest correlations between the data and the hypotheses.


Literature Review: The Identity of Korean Pop and how it could be used to act as a tool of political and economic gain, and how other nations use pop music as a tool of soft power. The definition of ‘soft power’, ‘political gain’ and ‘economic gain’ Soft power is the use of cultural influence, in this case Korean Pop and its subcultures, to achieve better diplomatic relations between the countries initiating the projection of soft power, in this context – South Korea, and the country who is receiving the influence, Singapore and Malaysia. Political gain, in the context of this paper, is defined as the increase of diplomatic intimacy between South Korea and Malaysia/Singapore, the ability to use Korean pop as a negotiating chip during times of diplomatic disagreements, and the influence of the Korean government in projecting influence and manipulating the viewpoints of foreign nationals thousands of miles away from the Korean peninsula. A positive perception of the Korean government by Malaysians and Singaporeans is also a product of political gain, as this perception is a valuable consequence that the Korean government can utilize as proof of its Economic gain, in the context of this paper, is defined as the inflow of cash to South Korea from the export of Korean pop to Southeast Asia. Also, cultural validation of South Korea by Malaysians and Singaporeans is another aspect of political gain. The validation enables sectors like tourism, entertainment and electronics to command higher appeal among Malaysians and Singaporeans, indirectly driving the bottom line of product profits upwards, and benefiting Korean companies in South Korea and abroad. What is Korean Pop, and how does it achieve political and economic gain? Korean Pop, other than being a tool that truly spreads culture beyond the geographical region that the Korean Peninsula is based in, is also a tool that aims to help the Korean government spread its influence and image to countries in a move of soft power. The two main benefits that South Korea gains from establishing this soft power in other nations is the political and economic gain that it receives. Korean Pop in its essence, is not pure Korean culture but rather a result of extensive branding, marketing and modifying its nature to best appeal to the masses. This impurity arises from the “unexpected mixing and mingling of cultural materials” Jenkins et al, 2013 (as cited in Jin & Yoon, 2016, p. 1286). It might seem that Korean Pop is tweaked within the limitations of Korean culture to present an image and sound that fans would want to consume. As a result, pure Korean cultural notes might be traded in place of mixed elements which will capture more audiences and keep them engaged for longer. This is reemphasized by Lie, who says: “Yet as a matter of traditional culture, there is almost nothing "Korean" about K-pop” (Lie, 2012). South Korea achieves political gain by winning over the hearts of foreign citizens. It presents itself as a very likeable and relatable country through the use of its culture and cultural exports (Lie, 2012). By winning over the hearts of citizens, they have foreign advocates for their causes, despite many individuals not relating the South Korean government to hallyu and Korean Pop (Lee, 2005). This phenomenon is known as nation branding, and is very effective in influencing citizens of other countries that a nation is more appealing than it is, due to selective portrayal and careful presentation (Iwabuchi, 2014).


How did Korean Pop reach its stage of global influence, especially in the Southeast Asian region? One of the reasons Korean Pop has spread its influence on the scale that it has reached nowadays is also due to the consumer spending patterns in South Korea. The nation was greatly impacted by the 1997 IMF crisis [sic], driving local music consumption down (Lie, 2012). Furthermore, digital music piracy also began rapidly proliferating the country, forcing the hand by music producers and the country to look to the exportation of its music to increase the inflow of cash into the country (Lie, 2012). The validation of the apparent pervasiveness of Korean Pop in the Southeast Asian region, saying “the hallyu phenomenon has been evident in the East and Southeast Asian regions since the late 1990s” (Jin & Yoon, 2016, p. 1278), reassures us that Korean Pop, as one of the branches of the greater Korean wave, is obvious in the geographic region in which primary data for this research paper was collected. Hence, it reassures us that the choice of location to be analyzed in the research paper will remain relevant and meaningful. Korean Pop tends to carry subtle political undertones amidst all its flashy idols (singers) and thriving cultural notes. For one, it presents “the first sign of how a country ‘in between’ can find a niche and reposition itself as an influential cultural mediator and creator in the midst of global cultural transformation” Ryo, 2009 (as cited in Jin & Yoon, 2016, p. 1279-1280). Where countries are increasing defense spending and using tools of diplomacy to encourage support and diplomatically relations, South Korea will be able to use the highly unusual tool of Korean Pop to capture the most important asset of a nation, its people. This will indirectly lead foreign nationals to develop a sense of adoration for South Korea, often before understanding the nature of South Korea’s governance and identity (Jin & Yoon, 2016). The modern economics of Korean Pop An interesting point to be considered is the shift of major studios attitudes towards how they want their Korean Pop to be consumed. For one, music videos and music are liberally released on video-sharing site YouTube with “minimal royalty fees” Oh and Park, 2012 (as cited in Jin & Yoon, 2016, p. 1280). This is worth noting, as it gives us a glimpse of Korean Pop producing labels in how they are willing to take a gamble between greater reach and reduced royalty payments on social media. It is important that we see how much economics of scale drive the Korean Pop music industry on the producer’s spectrum. Korean producers are decidedly profits focused, choosing to train Korean Pop singers in groups to gain an economic advantage. After all, “it is less expensive to train a group rather than individuals one by one” (Lie, 2012). This apparently simple money saving technique lays the foundation for the attitude that media companies adopt towards maximizing their profits from the sale of Korean Pop. This relatively straightforward act of placing emphasis on profits begins the slippery slope of Korean media moguls in maltreating their cash-cows, often leading to overworking, physical and emotional distress (SBS PopAsia HQ, 2017). The Korean Government’s Influence and Optimization on Korean Pop ecosystem and regulation of exports


The Korean government steps in as promoter and censor of Korean Pop, treating Korean Pop as a product of culture. The government supports Korean Pop through “favorable financial arrangement to cultural promotion” Sakai, 2012 (as cited in Lie, 2012). We see that South Korean politicians favor this as a tool that helps them get popular support among voters. A classic example of this is when 1997 South Korean president Kim Dae Jung “promised to devote one percent of government expenditure on cultural content” (Lie, 2012). He is not the only one, with “conservative Lee Myung-bak, elected in 2007…” trying to promote “…Brand Korea and enhance South Korea’s soft power.” (Lie, 2012). An interesting point made by Bougon, 2002 (as cited in Lie, 2012) defines Korean Pop as a “representative national culture and industry”. It is unheard of to assign industrialization to music production, and yet that’s how the industry seems to present itself now, with the backing of the South Korean government. Training camps and studios churn out singers and idols by the batches, with a new Korean Pop group debuting every now and then. The saturation of Korean Pop is much higher than most other musical genres. The currency of Korean Pop in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia and its success in spreading Korean Culture Korean Pop, through its extensive advertising and marketing in the Southeast Asian region, has captured large fan bases and achieved popular status among Singaporeans and Malaysians (Lim, 2001). There aren’t many unique characters in the local music scene. It’s not that Malaysian youths are not interested, but there is a lack of local talents who are on par with international artistes,” she said. Another reason Faie gave was that K-pop artistes’ fan servicing was one of the best compared with local artistes. That is one reason why many are attracted and are loyal fans. The artistes appreciate their fans and they make the effort to organise fan-meets. For me, I was attracted to the K-pop culture because of the positive vibes they portray and the constant cheerful tone they set. This got me interested to learn a new language. It even got me interested in their economic growth, how they excel in work and how they were once far behind Malaysia and today they are one of the leading countries in technology” (Faie, 2017). In addition, Faie said there was also a narrow mindset among Malaysians. Hence the controversial comments over the recent vigil held by scores of fans in KL for the late K-pop star Jong-hyun who was believed to have committed suicide due to depression although he was at the height of popularity. “In Malaysia, nothing is allowed (semua tak boleh). It isn’t surprising that youths have shifted their attention to the artistic scene of other countries,” (Faie, 2017). There is also a large Muslim majority in Malaysia, and the suggestive nature of many Korean female artistes and their suggestive clothing is not accepted well by the Malaysian Government. Hence, touring South Korean artistes usually tend to reconsider their stage-outfits for Malaysian concerts (Faie, 2017). A Global Reflection about Soft Power Despite its delay compared to Japan, who was pretty well established in terms of culture and technology, South Korea managed to completely reinvent itself and create a manufactured entertainment and cultural environment, even surpassing it in recent times to become one of the most prominent cultural exporter in the East Asian region (Lie, 2012). However, Japan has seen what Korea’s Pop Culture and cultural exports have done in terms of financial invigoration to the South Korean economy and its subsequent increase in soft power in the South East Asian region, especially among countries like Philippines, Indonesia,


Singapore and Malaysia (The Economist, 2018). The Japanese government now wants to emulate South Korea’s successes in optimizing hallyu and intends to re-invest in its local entertainment infrastructure and talents in order to make them appealing to the global masses once again under the “Cool Japan” plan (Iwabuchi, 2014). Japan can take this opportunity to soften anti-Japan perceptions in East Asia, in which most countries, including South Korea, once suffered under Imperial Japanese rule (Iwabuchi, 2014). Iwabuchi argues that “pop-culture democracy” is not meaningful engagement with internal cultural diversity, and that domestic implications of cultural diversity should be taken seriously. That is to say, using culture as a tool of soft-power and nation-branding cannot work in every situation. China is another nation that tends to use soft power, albeit alongside hard power to exert its influence over neighbouring nations. China’s soft power elements are more interesting. They do not export music or movies en masse, rather “they send doctors and teachers to work abroad, welcoming students from other nations to study in China, and paying for Chinese-language programs abroad.” (Council on Foreign Relations, 2006). This move seems to be fairly effective. In Southeast Asia, "Chinese culture, cuisine, calligraphy, cinema, curios, art, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and fashion fads have all emerged in regional culture,” says Eric Teo ( Singapore Institute of International Affairs), (as cited in Council on Foreign Relations, 2006). In a 40% increase from 2003, 110,000 international students were studing in China in 2004, a majority of them students from Southeast Asian nations like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. In the United States, the gold standard for soft power worldwide, American books, films and other media remain dominant in the world and hold massive influence. This is slowly becoming redundant as China is moving onto winning influence with infrastructural soft power, “signing lucrative trade and energy deals” and producing tangibles “like newly-built roads, hospitals and schools” (Council on Foreign Relations, 2006). The most obvious of China’s tools to achieve soft power is through the BRI (Belt Road Initiative). “It seeks to bring together the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road through a vast network of railways, roads, pipelines, ports, and telecommunications infrastructure that will promote economic integration from China, through Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, to Europe and beyond. To finance a share of these international projects, China contributed $50 billion to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank upon its founding, half of the bank’s initial capital. Beijing also pledged $40 billion for its Silk Road Fund, $25 billion for the Maritime Silk Road, and another $41 billion to the New Development Bank (established by BRICS states: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa).” (Council on Foreign Relations, 2018). By creating direct infrastructure such as this, China will reap the combined harvest of having strong soft power over nations that benefited from this generous infrastructural boost, and economic and political gain from having establish a trade route that ultimately opens up its economy to its neighbouring countries and beyond. In terms of hard power that could be used here, China could militarise parts of the Belt Road, with the reason of keeping it trade interests secure, therefore bringing a military agenda and advantage to itself (Council on Foreign Relations, 2018).


3. South Korean Government Optimizing Soft Power in Singapore & Malaysia

3.1 The Background and extent of South Korea’s Involvement in Singapore and Malaysia South Korea’s interest and active involvement with Singapore and Malaysia began in the 1950s, with a South Korea special trade mission visiting Singapore on 25th April 1950 (The Singapore Free Press, 1950, p. 5). This was part of a regional visit to strengthen ties between South Korea and what was then Malaya. Diplomatic ties between South Korea and independent Malaysia was established on 23rd February 1960 (Iqbal, 2016), while Singapore followed suit in 7 July 1971 (The Straits Times, 1971, p. 11), raising their relationship with South Korea to a Consulate General. The presence of bilateral relationships set the stage for South Korea to further increase and strengthen its influence within the region, using multiple diplomatic tools to do so. In 2008, 41 Malaysian students were awarded scholarships totalling 8 million Malaysian Ringgit, or about 2,206,089,861 Korean won(XE Corporation, 2018). Malaysian students will then pursue their tertiary education in South Korea, where instruction of material is likely to be presented in the Korean language, and where they will be exposed to Korean culture on an everyday basis. Trade figures have also shown South Korea’s usage of trade to increase influence in Singapore and Malaysia. “From 2004 until 2008, Malaysia's trade with South Korea increased by 6.7% from US$ 9.7 billion in 2004 to US$ 15.4 billion. In 2012, another 287 projects have been implemented with an investment of RM7.7 billion. The trade value reached US$ 10.8 billion in 2015, making Malaysia as the South Korea's 12th largest business partner.” (Iqbal, 2016). Singapore’s trade activity with South Korea also grew over time, as portrayed to us by Singapore’s imports from South Korea from 1995 to 2014, as shown by Figure 1.1. Singapore, being a heavily maritime nation due to its geolocation, relies heavily on shipping and its dominance in port services and facilities to boost its economy. South Korea, by fulfilling 3.56 billion USD worth of Singaporean ship orders in 2014, showed that it acknowledges Singapore’s prowess as a maritime nation (The Observatory of Economic Complexity, 2018). The ship-orders it receives from Singapore might be viewed by South Korea as a form of long-term mutually-benefiting commitment. Singapore reciprocated the trade activity by actively exporting to South Korea as well, to the tune of 115 billion USD in 2014 (The Observatory of Economic Complexity, 2018). A large part of that export basket consists of integrated circuits, many of which will probably end up in South Korean manufactured electronics and make their way back to Singapore (The Observatory of Economic Complexity, 2018).


Figure 1.1 South Korea Exports to Singapore (The Observatory of Economic Complexity, 2018)

Figure 1.2 Singapore Exports to South Korea (The Observatory of Economic Complexity, 2018)

3.2 Physical Reinforcement of South Korean Presence The relationship that South Korea has with Singapore and Malaysia is substantially intangible by nature. Hence, South Korea’s government has established a few physical and tangible reminders of its involvement with the region.


The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in both countries serve as important diplomatic reminders of the relationship that both nations possess. Physical reminders are not limited to diplomatic purposes however. Cultural centres are A more distinct example of South Korea trying to establish cultural presence in Singapore and Malaysia can be seen through their setting up of Korean Plazas in both countries, under the Korean Tourism Organisation’s direct supervision (Korea Tourism Association, n.d. ). Both centres are designed to facilitate the introduction and exposure of Korean culture for Malaysian and Singaporean nationals who have interests in doing so. As they are not allowed, under the Travel Agents Act (Chapter 334) (as cited in Korea Tourism Association, n.d.) to make any reservations or tourism arrangements, they fulfil the sole purpose to provide information on tourism in South Korea and spread Korean culture. These centres regularly hold cultural events including “Korean Language Classes… K-Pop dance class… and food making classes” (Korea Tourism Association, n.d.), which reinforces the interests of people who were already interested in Korean culture in the first place. The most important aspect, however, should be the fact that the Korean Plazas in both countries are used as staging areas for hallyu gathering and fan meets with Korean pop music idols, with the Singapore branch playing host to Kim Jeong Hoon, Kim Gang Woo, FT Island, T-Max and Brown Eyed Girls (Korea Tourism Association, n.d.). Ultimately, the centres act as a physical beacon to remind Singaporeans and Malaysians that Korean culture is available to them if they want it, with it being right at their doorstep. Korean Festivals are also an element used by the South Korean government, through the Korean Embassy to engage citizens and spread influence. The Korean Embassy in Malaysia hosted the Korean Pop World Festival 2017, which consists of dancing and singing competitions as well. Winners of said competitions get to visit South Korea for the finals, and stand a chance to win prizes and fame (Korea Embassy in Malaysia, 2017). These festivals are an important cultural tool to show the ties between South Korea and nations with which it has diplomatic relations. It is significant enough that the finals for such festivals are broadcasted on Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) as a full-program and aired “in a number of countries” (Korea Embassy in Malaysia, 2017). 3.3 Soft Power as a form of Inspiration Another place that we might find Korean influence is through the establishment of language centres in both Malaysia and Singapore. According to Miss Kim, a South Korean language teacher based in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, a large majority of her students were motivated to learn the language based on their interest in the culture of South Korea, hallyu, or to achieve fluency in preparation for tourism to South Korea. She has not had an individual student (a student that was not sent to Korean Language classes by a corporation or government entity) who came to the Korean language class citing professional development or desire for employment in South Korea as a reason for learning the language. Language centres often facilitate the mingling and communicational exchange between individuals who are exposed to Korean soft power. There is rarely a case where her students do not know at least a facet of South Korea’s culture during the very first class,


when students are required to give self-introductions and state what they know about South Korea. Miss Kim herself is a testament to the powerful influence that is South Korean soft power. Born in Malaysia in 1974, she was first exposed to Korea through the 1990s hallyu wave. She was accepted to the prestigious Seoul National University to study Korean Language and Literature as an undergraduate and came back to start her own language centre. She affirmed that hallyu and Korean Pop music were the main reasons that she went to South Korea, fell in love with the country and decided to dedicate her life to exposing others to the language and culture. It is important to note that the South Korean government sits behind a veil in this propagation of Korean soft power. Ms. Kim notes the absence of knowledge among her students about South Korean politics and the South Korean government. The government and the country seemingly remains as two separate entities among her students’ points of view. 3.4 South Korea Government’s Optimization of Korean Pop as a tool of soft power After South Korea’s government has successfully exported Korean Pop as a cultural product to nations all over the world, especially in Asia, they then have the task of deciding which way to best optimize the medium to effectively spread soft power to its target nations. There are two sides to South Korea’s soft power, in particular the economic and political gain it can achieve from successful influence by soft power. “These different aspects of Korean culture all rise together,” Jeff Benjamin, a writer for Billboard magazine says (Bloomberg, 2017). What he was referring to was the common benefits that Korean technological companies such as Samsung, “…Korean beauty products, Korean television shows and dramas, and Korean food companies.” (Benjamin, as cited in Bloomberg, 2017). It is therefore in South Korea’s best interests that Korean Pop is successful in its appeal to foreign consumers, as its successful impact might produce trickle over effects to other South Korean products, which benefits the nation’s economy. Korean Pop producers are infamous for overworking their talents and exploiting their creative freedom (SBS PopAsia HQ, 2017). South Korea’s government sees this as a threat to the wellbeing of the people who are essentially the faces of the industry, and hence stepped in to initiate changes. The South Korean government directly investigated the eight major music labels in Korea “SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, Loen Entertainment, FNC Entertainment, Cube Entertainment, Jellyfish Entertainment, and DSP Media” (SBS PopAsia HQ, 2017) through the Korean Fair Trade Commision (KFTC) and “implemented changes to six contract clauses that were deemed to be unfair” (SBS PopAsia HQ, 2017). South Korea has a vested interest to ensure that the personal wellbeing of South Korean superstars is taken care of, as major negative emotions, such as during the suicide of Shinee’s Kim Jong-Hyun (Vox Media, 2018) is not good for the overall image of the Korean Pop industry. Under the KFTC, the legal system is also optimized for stakeholders in South Korean pop music. Hitherto, legal cases that covered trainees’ contracts with studios were usually


brought to Seoul Central District Court. Under KFTC’s intervention, all authorized courts in South Korea can now handle cases that cover trainee contracts. The KFTC head issued a statement, saying: “Protection of trainee rights will be strengthened further with the rectification of agencies’ contracts with trainees. This will create an environment for agencies and trainees to sign fair contracts with each other.” (SBS PopAsia HQ, 2017). South Korea’s government continues to support hallyu, the root of Korean Pop with direct monetary investments as well. In 2013, South Korea’s budget for hallyu-relates expenses “increased by 27.3 percent, equivalent to 70.4 billion won (US$68.7 million)” bringing the total to “327.9 billion won (US$319.9 million)” in 40 functional business areas (Business Korea, 2014). The South Korean government also adopts a hands-off approach to give the studios more room to do what they do best, producing and cultivating Korean Pop. This has allowed studios to create schedules for idols that included “includes two hours of exercise, four hours of dance and choreography classes, two hours of vocal training, followed by three hours of language studies”, according to a 2009 report by Edward Chun for MTV Iggy (South China Morning Post, 2018). The Korean government has opaque views on when it deems necessary to help South Korean music labels and production companies and when to help trainees and superstars. This hands-off approach applies to censorship as well. According to Vox, “Though government censorship of South Korean music has relaxed over time, it still exists, as does industry self-censorship in response to a range of controversial topics” (Vox Media, 2018). South Korean censorship is under the purview of the Korean Communications Commission (KCC), modelled after the United States’ Federal Communications Commission (FCC). “The difference is that the KCC is a subordinate organization of the Blue House,” (도헌, 2008) which means that the President has a lot of control over censorship, and could particularly mean direct involvement from the Blue House (executive office of Korean head of state) on matters which involves protecting national interests. With the creative freedom that studios get, South Korea’s government is assured that Korean Pop is adopted abroad, and can use its influence over music labels and studio executives to influence other nations through Korean Pop.


4. The Nature of Korean Pop and hallyu in determining the consumer behavior of Singaporean and Malaysian millennials 4.1 Understanding the Survey Both quantitative and qualitative research has been used in this research paper. Quantitative research is done through an online survey. The mode of surveying is chosen for its time effectiveness, convenience and ability to reach a greater demographic and record higher response rates as compared to physical surveying (flyers, questionnaires). The survey was designed to encourage accuracy, with logic routing specially designed to route respondents to the correct follow-up questions once certain parameters are triggered in previous answers. Survey questions are also designed to encourage respondents to fill in information that gives us a better financial insight into the economics of Korean Pop. Qualitative research aims to define and shed light on the decision-making process and psychology of the focus group in making their purchase decisions. This is done exclusively through a focus-group interview with four respondents who are specifically chosen from the pool of survey respondents to best represent the target demographic. A physical focus-group interview session was held, and the discussion recorded. The discussion will be analyzed and edited for clarity and will be used to support hypotheses that could be drawn from the quantitative research. Response Rate & Respondents A total of 153 visits were made to the survey link, with 143 unique visits logged during the period in which the survey was accepting responses. The average rate of completion for users who visited the survey link and completed the survey sequentially was 78% or 14.82 questions (out of a total of 19 questions). The average time taken to complete the 19-question survey was 2 minutes and 03 seconds, not adjusted for the removal of outlier entries. After removing submissions that were outlying and/or incomplete, the final number of acceptable survey responds stood at 133. (See Appendix A) Respondents are geographically limited, through the survey question no.2 “Which country are you from?” (See Appendix A). The total number of respondents of the survey is 133, after removal of repeated, incomplete or outlying entries. Out of 133 entries, 100% of them came from a Southeast Asian nation. From this response, we managed to identify and narrow down two countries to focus qualitative research on in order to best represent the majority of our target demographics. The two selected nations, based on frequency of respondents, were Singapore (n=57) and Malaysia (n=51). ‘Thailand’, the other option presented as a standard option in survey question no.2 logged 3 responses. 22 responses were logged to the ‘Others’ option, with the following makeup: Indonesia (n=5), Vietnam (n=5) and Philippines (n=12).

Table 1.0 Country Count Percentage Malaysia 57 42.86% Singapore 51 38.35%


Thailand 3 2.26% Others Indonesia 5 3.76% Vietnam 5 3.76% Philippines 12 9.02%

Respondents were for the main part students (n=104), and most within the ages of 19-25 years old (n=123). Hence, the majority group to be paid special attention to would be respondents that met these two criteria. After eliminating respondents who did not have an overlap between these two factors, we end up with a final pool of 100 students who are within the ages of 19-25. This group will be defined as the target group and will be used as a benchmark for internal comparison in later stages of this research paper. 4.2 The Korean Pop Identity and why it attracts Singaporean and Malaysian millennial consumers Korean Pop came from the hallyu’s umbrella of Korean cultural offering to the world, but it has since outgrown its origins. It’s now a 4.7 billion USD industry, with influences and reach in many nations around the world (Bloomberg, 2017). Korean Pop, in its essence, is tremendously different from many other musical genres in the world. It is a highly industrialized industry. Where many recording artistes and musical superstars tend to conceptualize their music based on unpredicted creative inspiration (Prebble, 2018), Korean Pop music has a different approach. A team of songwriters, technical directors and musical producers churn out songs not unlike an assembly line, and they are then recorded, filmed and released synonymous with marketing efforts by studio executives (Lie, 2012). Economies of scale is the main cause of a Korean Pop industry that is so clinical in nature. Just as how Korean artistes are trained and groomed in groups to improve the profit margins (Lie, 2012), producing songs in this arrangement of collaborative and group setting is more efficient and offers more money-making opportunities as compared to the unpredictable release schedules of artistes who have creative freedom in deciding when to release new music (Bloomberg, 2018). Other than its subtle nods to Korean culture and the obvious use of Korean language, modern Korean Pop does not really have an identity that ties to Korean culture in reality. It is largely fabricated, designed to appeal to mass audiences and subtly perfectionist (Jenkins et al, 2013). Korean Pop is very particular with its presentation that factors such as “how easy it is to sing live, how easy it is for an audience to pick up and sing along with, the impact of its choreography, its costuming — are all crucial to its success” (Vox, 2018). Among Malaysian and Singaporean millennials, looks and the overall aesthetic of Korean Pop music idols are a large factor of why they are attracted to Korean Pop. This is why studios tend to encourage artistes to “put on strict body-shaping regimes and – in some cases – undergo plastic surgery.”, according to Professor Lee Dong-yeon (Professor of Cultural Theory, Korean National University of the Arts). This might hypothesize that Malaysian and Singaporean millennials place more value on the external appearances of idol compared to the quality of their music. Joey Chee, a market research analyst who was in the focus group, admitted that she did appreciate the external beauty of Korean artistes, and


actively seek out artistes that she felt presented themselves well. She said that “feels that the value of K-Pop can be influenced by how well the genre and the artistes are presented to the world, and they are going a good job at marketing it now. However, this value only applies to the target market of K-Pop, which is the hardcore fans, and does not apply to all people who listen to K-Pop”. 4.3 Important Factors inherent in Korean Pop that drive consumer behavior Many potential factors could be attributed to Korean Pop consumer behavior, given the dynamism of Korean Pop. Among the participants in the focus group, a general consensus is believing that Korean Pop’s factors that drive consumer behavior are the same as other musical genres. The most important aspects, according to them, is quality of music and effectiveness of marketing. Price was not mentioned as a factor. It is important to note that the factors assigned here might be better applied in context that assumes students as the consumer. According to the question “What is your occupation?” (n=133), 78.2% (n=104) were students. Company professionals made up 12.76% (n=17) and creative professionals only made up 3.76% (n=5). An outlier of 5.26% (n=7) was present under the option “Other”. Accessibility seems to be a very important aspect in terms of shaping consumer behavior. Korean Pop music consumers, according to survey respondents seem to heavily favor streaming services as a method of consuming Korean Pop. An overwhelming majority (91.8%) of the 119 respondents who answered the optional question “Which of these music streaming services are you using/ have been using for the past 9 months?” (shown in Figure 2) chose Spotify as their response. It was followed by Apple Music at 24.7% and SoundCloud at 18.8%. Spotify maintains an active Korean category, with playlists featuring upcoming as well as current Korean Pop artistes curated by the company and released seasonally to users (Spotify, n.d.). In certain markets, Korean Pop has settled well with the streaming services medium. In China, “…QQ Music, which is owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd. and has 100 million daily active users. [sic] QQ’s most popular artist overall is Big Bang, a five-member Korean boy band with more than 11 million followers.” (Bloomberg, 2017). [cont’d in next page]


Figure 2 Percentage Breakdown of Streaming Services

YouTube also plays an important role, and the increasing availability of Korean Pop music and media on the video-sharing site affects consumer patterns radically, as we will delve into further detail in point 5.2. In 2016, “[Korean Pop music videos] were watched about 24 billion times, with 80 percent of views coming from outside South Korea” (YouTube, as cited in Bloomberg, 2017). As consumerism patterns begin to shift, some argue that Korean Pop needs platforms like YouTube just as much as YouTube needs Korean Pop music content. Sun Lee, head of music partnerships for Korea and Greater China at YouTube and Google Play, says that: “It might have been impossible for K-pop to have worldwide popularity without YouTube’s global platform”(Bloomberg, 2017). This might be untrue at the earlier stages of Korean Pop, but the world is becoming increasingly digital, and consumption through internet and streaming services are definitely more accessible compared to locating and purchasing physical albums.


5. How the Development of Korean Pop Altered Consumer Patterns in Singaporean and Malaysian Millennials 5.1 The Lack of a Middle-ground: Polarity of Preferences To understand how Korean Pop influences the Southeast Asian region, we must first look at how consumers are spending and absorbing the source material. This can be done by defining consumers and categorizing them, analyzing spending habits and economic backgrounds of respondents, looking at correlational data and links between statistical data and cross-referencing primary data with literature that was reviewed. In our research, two main consumer types were identified:

a) Hardcore Korean Pop enthusiasts who place very little emphasis on the financial value of money, ignoring price for the pursuit of Korean Pop memorabilia and products

b) Generic music consumers who consumes free Korean Pop or through a paid/free music streaming service, rarely spend money on Korean Pop, and are extremely price sensitive to Korean Music acquisition costs

Based on the outcome of the survey, it seems that there is no middle ground of data. There are rarely Hardcore Korean Pop enthusiasts who are not inclined to spend great amounts of money to purchase authentic Korean Pop merchandise. They also supplement their lifestyles with Korean Pop influenced fashion pieces, accessories such as bracelets and necklaces, phone cases as well as other memorabilia that usually come with a price premium. There are two main reasons which might explain why this observation was allowed to manifest, and they will be discussed in further detail in points 5.2 and 5.3. 5.2 How South Korean Music Producers Spurred Change in Millennial Consumer Patterns of Malaysia and Singapore As Korean Pop and its identity changes, the behaviors that it encourages from consumers changes as well. Malaysian and Singaporean youths are affected by these top-level changes by Korean Pop music label and producers, altering their purchasing and spending habits to adapt. Based on the actions of South Korean music producers to shift their music towards a mass media, no acquisition cost model (Lie, 2012), an overwhelming majority of respondents chose free music streaming services or sites like YouTube to consume Korean Pop. In fact, 51.9% (n=69) of respondents utilize free streaming services or YouTube to consume Korean Pop music videos and music. The tendency of Korean Pop consumers to upload content or music that they bought themselves, against copyright law, might inflate the availability of Korean Pop in streaming services such as YouTube and SoundCloud. The increased availability of Korean Pop content on these services will directly increase the appeal for consumers to enjoy Korean Pop music from these mediums, instead of paying a


hefty acquisition price to listen to the same music from legitimate sales albums. YouTube is a very good example of South Korean music producer’s actions, influenced by the South Korean government, to prioritize accessibility and long-term exposure over short-term profits. This seems to be working, as “views of videos by the top 200 K-pop artists have tripled since 2012” (Bloomberg, 2017). Other than producer/label-released music and music videos, a lot of non-professional “covers” where Korean Pop music fans sing their favorite Korean tunes to backing tracks, are also abundantly available on YouTube and SoundCloud, giving the opportunity for Korean Pop music consumers to express themselves and enjoy non-professional Korean Pop music, sung by amateurs. This option is not available for consumers consuming Korean Pop music through paid streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music, or through physical and electronic album releases. Malaysians and Singaporeans are also effectively spending more tourism dollars that is attributed to their adoration for Korean Pop. “In 2015, Korea earned USD 15.2 billion from tourism, attracting a total of 13.2 million tourists. With the international tourist numbers hitting 1.1 billion in 2014 and international tourist growth forecasted at an annualized rate of 3.3% to hit around 1.8 billion by 2030, the Korean government is planning to increase its tourism revenues to USD 10 billion a year. The side effect of this tourist boom has been an increased popularity of Korean cuisine. It has been gaining so much popularity that the Korean government is planning a “Visit Korea Years 2016 to 2018” project, connecting with the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics” (Martin Roll Strategy, n.d.). As we can see in Figure 3, Korean domestic tourism has grown 41.9% since 2006, which might be proof of Korean Pop’s development going on the right track to continually attract tourists and Korean Pop music fans to the country.

Figure 3. Korean Domestic Tourism Growth

To most other people who do not have such a great tie with K-Pop and its idols, the value of K-Pop is the same as any other genre of music out there that users listen to. The value of K-Pop can be influenced by how well the genre and the artistes are presented to the world, and they are going a good job at marketing it now. However, this value only applies to the


target market of K-Pop, which is the hardcore fans, and does not apply to all people who listen to K-Pop. They share similar thoughts to Joey in believing that the intrinsic value system of K-Pop is the same as almost every other genre out there. If the music sounds good, is produced well, and is marketed or branded well, then it’ll sell well with audiences. And when that music sells well, its demand and apparent value will rise. The intrinsic value will slowly rise as well. They feel that K-Pop is a genre that amplifies this lifecycle. For mandopop fans, the value system of mandopop might not be as apparent or dynamic as K-Pop, and not as responsive. It’ll be tougher to gauge the value mandopop fans place on the mandopop genre because it’s a relatively mature demographic, as compared to the younger and energetic fanbase of K-Pop, who is not afraid to put money where their mouth is to express and share how much value they place on K-Pop. For consumers who do purchase legitimate albums and digital music however, Korean Pop consumers in Malaysia and Singapore overwhelmingly use their own money for these transactions. 26.3% (n=35) of respondents belonged to this category, with their income categorized in the table below.

Below $4,000 21 60.0% Below $2,000 8 22.9% Other 6 17.1% Above $8,000 0 0.0%

From the table, we infer that most of the consumers that are willing to pay the full price for Korean music albums are millennials who “grew up” with Korean media. They were in their infancies when hallyu or the Korean wave began sweeping over Malaysia and Singapore, and hence the impact of Korean soft power might have influenced them the deepest (Lim, 2001). Their salary range of Below $4,000 is commonly attributed to individuals that are at the mid-executive level (SingStats, n.d.) (Malaysian Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). If we follow the education systems of both Malaysia and Singapore, the age range of these mid-executive employees has a significant overlap with those that were born at the peak of hallyu. Their special fondness of Korean Pop, coupled with their higher spending power showed us that they do not hesitate to spend more in order to get original copies of their music, be it physical or digital. The utility that they placed on the possession of these assets heavily outweigh the acquisition cost, showing us that they might also feel like Korean Pop is more significant than their peers from other categories. The second most prominent group earns Below $2,000, typically fresh-graduates in both Singapore and Malaysia (SingStats, n.d.) (Malaysian Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). This segment has a tighter budget to work with, and if following the education system of both countries to determine their ages, have been exposed to Korean Pop at a later time than their counterparts who are at the mid-executive level. Their willingness to spend on Korean Pop shows that their commitment for the musical genre is higher, and that the weightage they placed on Korean Pop might be much higher than their peers.


There was an absence of individuals that earned Above $8,000, a good indicator that helps us ensure that our data remains accurate without any unwanted outliers. Following the approximate gauges of salaries provided by both the Singapore and Malaysia Department of Statistics, it is very unlikely that the target demographics of this paper will be earning more than $8,000 or MYR8,000. As a result of Korean music producers shifting their business models and creative direction based on the guidelines of the Korean Pop department in the South Korean Ministry of Culture ("How the south korean government made k-pop a thing," 2015), there was an effect in how consumers viewed their music. The increase availability of free music on YouTube in the form of music videos, coupled with the fact that a lot of Korean Pop music titles could be found in the extensive music libraries of streaming services such as Spotify Apple Music, and Melon, has pulled price-sensitive consumers to the free-end of the spectrum. To whoever that is still willing to spend however, price is no barrier for them, as the utility they assigned to digital and physical albums and EPs heavily outweigh the price they need to pay. Hence, price is not a problem to them, with an average of S$ 25.88 (mode = S$25.00) spent among 17 respondents who answered the question: “How much did your last purchase of Korean Pop album (digital/physical) cost?”. This reinforces the consumer type categories discussed in section 5.1 previously. An interesting phenomenon in the form of fan clubs also arose from this shift. Under the common adoration towards Korean Pop, strangers tend to get together and form collective groups that tended to associate themselves with a particular idol group or individual artist (Korea JoongAng Daily, 2001). Studios realised that they needed to capture fan club members, who are usually more passionate towards Korean Pop and wasn’t as sensitive to price, and hence catered their marketing to create better appeal these demographics (Korea JoongAng Daily, 2001). Hence, consumers who do not have invested interested in Korean Pop will continue to freely consume Korean Pop via YouTube or streaming services, while fan club members, under peer-pressure and intensive marketing by Korean Pop companies, will either move to the cheaper-end and become disenchanted with Korean Pop, or become more committed and willing to spend more money on music and memorabilia (Korea JoongAng Daily, 2001). 5.3 How the South Korea Government’s Optimization of Korean Pop is viewed by consumers South Korea pop music might just be a simple musical genre during its inception, but it has recently taken on a political taste, being used for anything from boosting ties with the People’s Republic of China to escalating tensions at the Demilitarized Military Zone (DMZ), the border that separates South Korea from North Korea (Dev, 2016). South Korea’s government obviously believes heavily in the influence Korean Pop music carries. It plays Korean Pop music over giant loudspeakers at the Demilitarized Military Zone (DMZ), letting tunes be heard deep into North Korea’s borders (The Politic, 2016). According to Jung Bong Choi, Professor of Cinema Studies at New York University, “[South Korean intelligence agencies are] sponsoring the trafficking of cultural products into North Korea. It is done


under the rubric of Christian charity, humanitarian aid, etc.” (Choi, as cited in Dev, 2016). Korean Pop is still used as an effective political tool in present times, with a delegation of Korean Pop idols sent to North Korea’s capital Pyongyang for a concert in May 31st, 2018 (The Straits Times, 2018). This shows that the South Korean government believes that Korean Pop has the potential to affect the politics of reunification with North Korea, and demonstrates to us the flexibility of Korean Pop to not only exert soft power abroad, but right at its direct borders. South Korea was not heavily involved in the affairs of historical and colonial Malaysia and Singapore, hence the negative undertones that it has to overcome with Japanese and Chinese markets are largely absent in this region, allowing Korean Pop, and general Korean culture to be introduced without a negative background (The Politic, 2016), which helps increase its acceptance rate in the region. In fact, the “pop culture it [South Korea] peddles is more palatable to other Asians than that of former aggressors, such as Japan or China” (The Economist, 2014). In a follow-up interview with one of the focus group participants, Bennex Ling, he said that he understood that the South Korean government was using Korean Pop, and generally hallyu to achieve its subtle agendas abroad. When asked if Korean soft power was present and effective in Singapore, he said yes, citing the positive views his course-mates and friends have towards South Korea, its entertainment and electronics industries. Joey also said that she can feel South Korea’s soft power in the region to some extent. She did not think that whatever South Korea’s government is doing to attain soft power should be viewed as negative. She said that an integration of culture among East Asian nations should be welcome and encouraged, as it will work to de-escalate inter-nation tensions and promote a less-hostile environment for East Asian nations. However, she did not agree that the increased presence of Korean companies and products in Singapore and Malaysia was due to the effects of hallyu; but more of companies moving to where businesses and opportunity will thrive, citing economic growth in both Singapore and Malaysia.


6. Conclusion Throughout this research paper, we’ve attempted to link up the phenomenon of South Korea’s government using Korean Pop music as an export to exert its soft power over Singapore and Malaysia and how the optimization of Korean Pop culture affects how Singaporean and Malaysian consumers spend their money on Korean Pop. We understood that Korean Pop, despite its initial begins as an export of culture, was discovered to be an effective political tool to spread soft power by the South Korean government. This resulted in Korean Pop’s direct manipulation and optimization to fit political undertones within itself and its affiliated subcultural products. The Korean government’s efforts and commitment to using Korean Pop music as a soft power tool was also discussed. This method was not an afterthought, as the South Korean has a dedicated department within the Ministry of Culture that catered to Korean Pop policy and acted as government oversight on the industry ("How the south korean government made k-pop a thing," 2015). South Korea uses Korean Pop music as an unusual tool for diplomatic passive-aggressiveness, as evident with its broadcasting of Korean Pop music publicly at the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) through loudspeakers and smuggled covertly into North Korea through its intelligence agencies (Dev 2016, Choi as cited in Dev, 2016). South Korean pop music consumers fall on two extremes. There is a group who enjoys Korean Pop music just as any other genres, and this group typically tend to use free methods to consume Korean Pop media, such as YouTube. On the other extreme, we have Korean Pop fans who are deeply committed and share a sense of affiliation with the Korean Pop culture. These fans typically grew up during the rise of hallyu (Lim, 2001), and do not mind spending a premium in order to obtain original copies of Korean Pop music. The regulation and ability to optimize Korean Pop by the South Korean government has encouraged South Korean music producing companies to change their approach, looking more towards reaching long-term exposure among Korean Pop consumers, and narrowing their marketing towards consumers that are likely to contribute to the economic gain of South Korea through their purchases of Korean Pop music. The change of marketing efforts from South Korean music producers and record labels will directly affect the consumers, which will have to adapt to new methods of consuming their Korean Pop. Most of it will be easy, as there is a significant shift of consumers that just migrated to free streaming services or video sharing platforms like YouTube to consume their Korean Pop. Among the individuals who do not mind paying for original Korean Pop music however, price isn’t really a barrier to purchase for them.


7. Appendix KPOP RESEARCH MUS264 FOCUS GROUP - SINGAPORE Venue: Skype/ Jewel Coffee Shenton Way Participants: Harry Cheng, Bennex Ling, Joey Chee, Brenda Cheong Day: March 17th, 2018; Saturday Time: 2:00pm – 2:43pm Profiles: Harry Cheng

• Studies BIS (Business Information Systems) at Singapore Polytechnic • 21 years old • Listen to K-Pop on an average basis, whenever it comes on in social/mass media or will

sometimes actively search for K-Pop to listen to • Hobbies are gym, badminton, watching movies

Bennex Ling

• Studies Industrial Design at Temasek Polytechnic • 21 years old • Self-identifies as a K-Pop fanatic, listens to K-Pop daily • Hobbies are cycling, sketching, travelling

Joey Chee

• Market research analyst at AQ Services Worldwide Pte Ltd • 23 years old • Listens to K-Pop daily • Hobbies are watching TV series, yoga

Brenda Cheong

• Air stewardess at Singapore Airlines • 23 years old • Listens to K-Pop on a semi-regular basis, often a few days out of a week • Hobbies are travelling, swimming


Discussion talking points: 1. The intrinsic value system of K-Pop 2. Does the purchase of physical K-Pop albums or memorabilia bring special value? 1. Intrinsic value system of K-Pop 1) Bennex starts the ball rolling by stating that K-Pop appreciation is transacted by two main

points only, commitment and monetary spending. a) He states that as idols put in hard work to train and prepare themselves for concerts or

EP/LP releases, the hardcore K-Pop fans show appreciation by often re-streaming the tracks repeatedly to bring the K-Pop tunes to top charts and in terms of streaming services, bring more monetary gain to their idols.

b) Another trait that hardcore K-Pop fans possess is their time commitment to K-Pop and its various subcultures. For example, Korean boy band Big Bang’s fandom aka “V.I.P” often pay their time commitment by engaging in discussions about Big Bang and doing tasks that do not bring much value to environments outside their fandom. i) An example of such activities:

(1) Creating Facebook pages and running the page as an admin 24/7 (2) Participating in forums meant for fans only (3) Creating detailed fan-appreciation videos and posting them to Youtube (4) Following up on personal news of band members

2) Joey agrees with Bennex’s point of view. However, she felt that to most other people who

do not have such a great tie with K-Pop and its idols, the value of K-Pop is the same as any other genre of music out there that users listen to. a) Joey feels that the value of K-Pop can be influenced by how well the genre and the

artistes are presented to the world, and they are going a good job at marketing it now. However, this value only applies to the target market of K-Pop, which is the hardcore fans, and does not apply to all people who listen to K-Pop.

3) Brenda and Harry share similar thoughts to Joey in believing that the intrinsic value system

of K-Pop is the same as almost every other genre out there. If the music sounds good, is produced well, and is marketed or branded well, then it’ll sell well with audiences. And when that music sells well, its demand and apparent value will rise. The intrinsic value will slowly rise as well. a) They feel that K-Pop is a genre that amplifies this lifecycle. For mandopop fans, the

value system of mandopop might not be as apparent or dynamic as K-Pop, and not as responsive. It’ll be tougher to gauge the value mandopop fans place on the mandopop genre because it’s a relatively mature demographic, as compared to the younger and energetic fanbase of K-Pop, who is not afraid to put money where their mouth is to express and share how much value they place on K-Pop.


2. Does the purchase of physical K-Pop albums or memorabilia bring special value? 1) Brenda states that she purchases K-Pop memorabilia from time to time, but it’s just a

merchandise to her. It brings as much value as any other non-perishable purchase, and does not hold a special meaning in her heart. a) Ultimately, Brenda feels that K-Pop memorabilia or albums do not bring special value to

the buyer.

2) Bennex states that even for hardcore fans, it depends. For him, it does a little, but for some of his fellow K-Pop fanatics, it holds a lot a of meaning. The purchases often come from weeks of hard work doing part-time jobs, or savings from weekly allowances. a) Ultimately, Bennex feels that K-Pop memorabilia or albums hold special value, under

different circumstances.

3) Harry states that for fans who are really into it, then the albums or memorabilia will hold special value for them. It’ll show that their appreciation for the genre and its artistes transcend beyond the digital landscape, and a physical copy of the album or posters of their idols for example, can be shown that the fan appreciates them enough to want physical items in their possession. a) Ultimately, Harry feels that K-Pop memorabilia or albums hold special value, for

hardcore fans.

4) Joey states that it depends on the circumstances really, echoing what Bennex said. For example, last time she used to be obsessed with Korean band Shinee, and when her classmates got her a Shinee photobook as a present, she attached special meaning to the album. Now, she just sees the Shinee album as another item. For Joey, she feels that whether special value exists in K-Pop albums or memorabilia depends on your attitude towards K-Pop and your adoration of the genre and its artistes. a) Ultimately, Joey feels that K-Pop memorabilia or albums hold special value, under the

right circumstances and attitude.




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