In this article we will know, how south korea became a democracy, when south korea got independence, when south korea and north korea divided, who rules south korea, why is south korea so popular, can south korea join nato, can south korea defend itself,
Greetings, friends! In the last 70 years, the fastest-growing developed economies in East Asia are known as the Asian Tigers. The Four Asian Tigers. These are Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. South Korea is one of them. Because this country is not only an economically developed country, but it has become a cultural superpower as well. South Korean song, Gangnam Style, is the first video on YouTube to cross 1 billion views. Squid Game is a South Korean TV show that became one of the most watched TV shows in the world. The most popular video of YouTube's most famous YouTuber MrBeast is also on Squid Game. Apart from this, South Korean bands like BTS and Blackpink are becoming famous all over the world. The popularity of K-dramas is increasing and South Korean films like Oldboy and Parasite are winning awards all over the world.
Parasite, in fact, became the first non-English film in history to win the Oscar for Best Film. Parasite. How is all this happening? Is it a matter of random chance that all South Korean things are becoming so popular in the world? Or is it a well-thought-out strategy of the South Korean government? Let's understand in today's article, how did South Korea become a cultural superpower? Let's start our story with 15 August 1945. The day when Japan officially surrenders, and World War II ends. Germany, Italy, and Japan have to face a huge defeat. But the country of Korea, which was under Japanese rule, gets its freedom. This is why 15 August is known as National Liberation Day in South Korea. Not only in South Korea, but also in North Korea.
Because at that time, North Korea and South Korea were not two separate countries. Instead, there was only one country, called Korea. It was only after the end of the Second World War, that the Soviet Union and America decided to divide Korea into two parts. A Southern Korea under the command of the US, and a Northern Korea under the Soviet command. The plan was to keep these two Koreas under the trustee ship for 5 years. Where the progress of Korea would be measured. And it would be decided what their future would be. After 5 years, the plan was to make Korea an independent country again. But unfortunately, that didn't happen. The tensions between the US and the Soviet Union increased, and the Cold War began.
In 1948, the United Nations tried to hold supervised elections in North Korea, but it wasn't possible. But US-controlled South Korea conducted the elections, and a new constitution was made. On August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea was established, which became a new liberal democratic country. Next month, North Korea was declared a communist country under a dictatorship. Two years later, in 1950, North Korea tried to reunify both the countries. Not by a peaceful agreement, but by an invasion of South Korea. This led to a war. A war that lasted for the next 3 years. It was called the Korean War. As a result, South Korea became one of the poorest countries in the world.
The country was so poor at the time, that its GDP per capita was even lower than that of Somalia and Haiti. These two countries are one of the most poorest countries in the world. Democracy also suffers because of this poverty. South Korean President Ri-Sing-Man adopts the path of authoritarianism. He amends the Constitution. The country starts to slip towards dictatorship. When the elections are called in 1960, it turns out that the elections were also rigged. There were protests all over the country. Due to these protests, Ri left the country. Elections were called again. In these elections, a new Prime Minister of South Korea was appointed. But shortly after, a military coup took place in Korea. General Park Chung-hee overthrew the government and established a military dictatorship.
He was assassinated in 1979. But after that, another military coup took place. Another new general came to power. It was only in 1987-88 that South Korea saw a revival of democracy. The impact of dictatorships over the years was also seen in South Korean culture. Censorship. In 1962, Park Chung-hee came up with a motion picture law. In the next 10 years, this law was revised 4 times. And made more strict. Under this, any film that was released in South Korea, its script had to be first approved by the South Korean government. Even after the film was made, it was often seen whether the approved script by the government matched the film or not. Which films were allowed by the government? Violent films were allowed.
There were a lot of martial arts films in South Korea at the time. Melodrama films were allowed. Propaganda films were obviously allowed. The government financed them. Ashleel films were also allowed, which were named as hostess films. in which there was a character who played the role of a prostitute or a bar girl. But was it not allowed to make films on any of the socio-political issues? It wasn't allowed to criticise the government in any way. No film could be made about any of the problems that were happening in the country. This was a huge contrast to today's Korea. Today, Korean content is so diversified and thriving. Gagnam style, BTS, Squid Games, are all over the world. If you don't believe me, you can go and watch it on Amazon Mini TV.
During the dictatorship, foreign songs were banned too. Look at this New York Times article from 1975. South Korea banned the foreign music. South Korea banned all foreign songs that didn't meet the moral standards. Two long blacklists were issued, with more than 260 songs. Protest songs, rock songs, folk songs. Bob Dylan's legendary song, Blowing in the Wind, was also banned in South Korea.
It was only in the 1990s, when democracy came back, that things slowly started to change. The 1993 Hollywood film, Jurassic Park, became very popular all over the world. And he earned a lot of money at the box office. The Presidential Advisory Board on Science and Technology of South Korea submitted a report to the South Korean President, mentioning that this one Hollywood film had earned so much revenue, that it could have sold 1.5 million Hyundai cars. After that, the government thought that media production should be promoted as a strategic industry in their country. This year, a Korean film, Seo Pyong Ye, was released in the Korean cinema. Not many people expected this film, because at this point in time, was only a Hollywood hit in the South Korean box office.
But this film was based on traditional folk musical storytelling. And people loved it so much in Korea, that it became the first Korean film to sell more than 1 million tickets. Only in the capital of South Korea, Seoul. Now the Korean government realized that there was a lot of potential in the media industry. They had the idea of making the Korean culture a global export. And the government played a very proactive role here. It is important to talk about the Korean economy as well. Why was the Korean government so focused on exports? Between 1962 and 1989, Korea's nominal GDP per capita had increased by 50 times. From $104 in 1962 to $5,438 in 1989. General Park had nationalised many private banks in the country.
Because of the dictatorship, Park was in control of almost everything. What would be the interest rate in the country? Who would get tax benefits? How would the foreign exchange be allocated? And how would licenses be given? Import and export licenses were under the control of the Pak. And the Pak used this control to promote chaebols. Chaebols is a Korean word which basically means big family businesses. They were saved from foreign competition and the government allowed them to exploit labour in the country. If you remember, I did a case study on Singapore, on how the developed country of Singapore was formed.
A small country, whose domestic market is very small. Due to poverty, there is a shortage of domestic savings. There are no natural resources in the country. This means that if the country wants to grow, it will have to focus on export. Export-oriented industrialization. Like Singapore, South Korea also focused on this. Many manufactured items, wigs, stuffed toys, shipbuilding, automobiles, home electronics, products, chemicals, semiconductors, were put on the export list. Our country would export all these things to the world. And this way, our country would grow. When it came to exporting, the government thought of exporting the Korean culture as well. For this reason, in 1994, the Korean government established the Cultural Industry Bureau. Removing the old motion picture law, a new film promotion law was introduced in 1996.
In the previous law, it was written that such films cannot be made, or that such films cannot be made. Censor on this, or that. Now it was decided to make what was meant to be made. All the filmmakers and artists in the country, work with their full creativity. Meanwhile, the government was submitted a media policy report, which raised concerns about how the Koreans would compete with those big multinational foreign companies. Soon, Chabols like Samsung, Hyundai, and Daewoo, started expanding in the media sector as well. Literally, domestic film production, foreign film import, distribution, exhibition, all these companies started doing all these things. These companies didn't have a shortage of money, so for the first time, proper film production was done. Market research was done on the taste of the audience.
MBAs and graduates from prestigious universities were hired in film companies. And with Chebol's help, big budget films were made. Like this Suiri film, which was the first Hollywood-style big-budget blockbuster film in the Korean film industry. This melodramatic action film used Hollywood storytelling, but the content was strictly Korean. It was actually produced by Samsung on a budget of 2.4 billion won. And the year it was released, more people came to watch it than the Titanic blockbuster film in South Korea. It became Korea's highest ever-grossing film of its time. After this, the Koreans also became interested in watching their local films. Film production companies were encouraged to show their films outside of Korea. But in 1997, there was a terrible financial crisis. Global markets worried that other Asian countries might have similar hidden flaws.
The Asian Financial Crisis. Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea had the worst impact on the three countries. The IMF had to help these countries. But the IMF kept some of its conditions. In the economic crisis of South Korea, Chaebols and crony capitalism were held responsible. A lot of illegal insider trading was seen. Tax evasion. Indirect cross-ownerships were seen. The International Monetary Fund told the South Korean government that if they needed help, they needed to clear up the mess. The South Korean government came up with 8 new rules regarding Chaebols. One of the rules was that these big local family-owned businesses should not be allowed to enter any type of business. They should only focus on their core sectors. This is why companies like Samsung and Hyundai are not in the business of film production today.
After these new rules, Chaebols removed their businesses from film production. And the new small players got a chance to enter this space. This financial crisis not only broke Korea's economy, but the international image of Korea also fell. Korean President Kim Dae-jung thought that culture was a very good tool, not only for reviving the economy, but also for rebranding the country. Today, Kim Dae-jung is a highly respected person in South Korea. He is also known as the culture president. It was because of him and his successor Roh Moo-hyun, that a cultural revolution was seen in South Korea. Interestingly, Kim Dae-jung is the only Korean to win the Nobel Prize. So what steps did he take to make a change? First, the allocation of money.
In 1999, Kim established the Basic Laws for the Cultural Industry Promotion Project. $148.5 million was invested in this project. A specific department was created in the Ministry of Culture for Korean pop music. Second, the development of infrastructure. Multi-million dollar concert auditoriums were built. Culture industry departments were built in universities across the country. Norebanks started to rise across the country. Norebanks are basically karaoke bars where people can drink and sing karaoke. Third, Digital Korea. Many people believe that it became so popular because During the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone was sitting at home, searching for new content on YouTube and OTT platforms. That's why everyone started watching Korean dramas and TV shows. But actually, Kim Dae-jung had already started preparing for all of this. In 1998, for the first time, people living at home received broadband services in South Korea.
But broadband connections were promoted so rapidly, that by 2004, almost 12 million households had broadband connections. Korea got the title of the world's most wired nation because of this. Fourth, removal of censorship. Kim relaxed all the laws of censorship. Before this, as I said, if a film was made on the socio-economic issues of the country, it could be declared anti-national. It could be said that the enemy was promoting the North Korean country. And they could be arrested under the National Security Act. But Kim believed in artistic and creative freedom. The board review was completely cancelled, and an American-style age rating method was introduced. Now, the problems of the common man in the country could be openly shown in films. This is why films like Parasite became very popular all over the world.
Parasite won the Best Film award at the Cannes Film Festival, and it became the first non-English film to win the Oscar for Best Film. What was shown in this film? The extreme inequality of South Korea. The divide between the rich and the poor in Korea. It was shown in front of the world. But no one said that director Bong Joon-ho ruined the country's name. No one said that the country's poverty was being sold in front of the world. In fact, South Korean President Moon Jae-in himself praised the film. He called it the most Korean story. People in Korea celebrated that the film became so popular all over the world. And one of the major reasons behind its popularity is that the real issues in the film,
Not only the Korean audience, but the rest of the world can relate to it. Poverty, unemployment, crime, gender discrimination, are issues that are not specific to Korea. They are seen in other countries of the world as well. On an emotional level, this film resonated with everyone. If we go back to the 1990s, Korea had a generation of 386. These people were born in the 1960s in Korea. During the 1980s' democracy movement, these people were very politically active. By the early 1990s, they were in their thirties, and this was the first generation to get a chance to go abroad. You heard it right. Foreign travel for the Koreans was very limited before this. Just for tourism, foreign trips were banned for the citizens. The reason for this was that their government was concerned that foreign currency could see a depletion.
But when the economy improved, and liberalisation came, these bans were lifted. And these people of the 386th generation started going to other countries. They studied in foreign film schools. They travelled to see new perspectives in life and filmmaking. Many of this generation became famous film directors. Left-leaning directors who made important films on social issues. Bong Joon-ho and Kim Ki-duk are notable examples of this. Bong Joon-ho's film Parasite is well-known, but there's another film by him, Okja and Snowpiercer. This film also has critical commentaries on capitalism. On the other hand, Kim Ki-duk's film Peeta tells the story of a heartless loan recovery agent. This film won the Golden Lion Best Film Award at the Venice Film Festival. The most popular Korean film of that era was Old Boy by Park Chan-wook.
It's a violent dark revenge drama, which was unofficially remade in India. It was made under the name of Zinda. Officially, it was made a remake in Hollywood, with the same title, Oldboy. Dark thrillers used to be the most popular genre in Korea at one point. One of our villain films, was inspired by the Korean movie, I Saw The Devil. Bollywood film Murder 2, is a copy of the Chaser Korean film. Outlaws was copied by Radhey and Most Wanted Bhai. The Korean film industry didn't want the entire industry to be stereotyped, that they only made dark thriller films. many romantic and comedy blockbusters came from the Korean cinema. For example, Il Mare. A film released in 2000, the first Korean film to be remade in Hollywood, The Lake House.
Speaking of dramas, the first successful Korean drama was What Is Love? It was the first TV show to be officially exported to China. China was also shown on Central Television in 1997. Many believe that this was the first sign of Hallyu. The word Hallyu means the Korean wave. In the coming decades, the Korean wave spread all over the world. Hallyu had now reached the next level. Hallyu, also known as the Korean wave. K-wave. The Korean wave. The peak of the Korean drama wave was when Squid Games became the world's most-watched web show on Netflix. One question arises here, what is so special about Korean dramas that they are so addictive and popular? The main reason for this is emotional realism. If you look at it from an emotional perspective, the story is very realistic.
Secondly, the stories in this film are of people of different backgrounds. Whether it's historical Korea in Royal Secret Agent, or the world of journalism in Hush. Or a folklore fantasy in Tale of the Nine-Tailed. Thirdly, the K-dramas are visually appealing. Fourth, their writers are very creative in creating engaging storylines. An interesting fact here, 94.6% of the K-drama screenwriters are women. This is estimated by the Korean Broadcast Writers Union. If we talk about songs, Japanese content was banned in South Korea as a part of the decolonisation process. But Kim took Japan and South Korea's relations to the right path when they removed this ban. After that, Japanese pop songs entered South Korea, which is known as J-Pop. H.O.T. was one of the first-generation Korean boys bands.
Their 1996 debut album, We Hate All Kinds of Violence, sold 1.5 million copies. The band was formed by a company called SM Entertainment. Before forming the band, the company's founder went to the school with the kids and asked them how an ideal pop group should be. After that, they auditioned and picked the band members. Then they trained them and created their idol system. These ideas were initially taken from Japan, but today, K-pop has become famous on its own. Often, these talent agencies pick out idol trainees through street castings or global auditions. They train them not only in singing, but also in acting, dancing, and talking to the media. Then the company decides their stage name, stage personality, and their fan interactions. Some people even criticise this system by saying that these music companies work like factories.
Where their contracts are like slave contracts. But some argue on the other hand, that with the help of this system, everyone gets a chance to become popular on the basis of their talent and looks. This is how PSY's Gagnam Style gained popularity. Okay. A Korean song whose punchline was in English. Its tune was very catchy and it had an interesting dance step. Because of these reasons, it became so popular all over the world that in December 2012, it became the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views. Since then, many Korean songs have used this format. The entire song will be in Korean, but the punchline of the song is in English. Because of this, people around the world who don't speak Korean, are also appealed by this song.
Today, we see bands like BTS and Blackpink. A band of 7 boys, made by BTS, reached the White House and met American President Joe Biden. They also performed in the General Assembly of the United Nations. And their Dynamite song, the first K-Pop song to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify. The fans of BTS used to call themselves the BTS Army. You must have seen this trend on Twitter. And Blackpink, the band of four girls, was also very popular. And its fans used to call themselves the Blink Army. Because of all these things, the Korean soft power got a huge boost. Today, Korea is a cultural superpower. The benefit of which is not only given to the Korean economy, but also to the Korean tourism.
What do you think? What can we learn from this case study to make our country better? Let us know in the comments below. In my opinion, many things can be learned. First, we saw how the Chaebols caused the economic crisis in Korea. Chronic capitalism, monopolies, and wealth concentration are not good for any country. Some friends could run out of coal, electricity, ports, airports, gas, and others would be forced to buy free grains. This is not good for the country. And to a large extent, we see such monopolies in Indian cinema as well. There are a few big production houses, if you don't produce your film through them, it is very difficult to run your movie in any cinema hall. Secondly, censorship is not a good thing.
The reason for this is that whenever censorship is seen, it is always censored by serious artistic films with positive messages. In India, in the past, Kissa Kursi, India's Daughter, Urta Punjab, such films were censored. But films like Animal Grand Masti, are always removed from the censor's past. So it is better that there is no censorship. Third, the government needs to interfere in order for things to improve. In China's case study, I told you how Deng Xiaoping played a major role. In Singapore's case study, I told you how Lee Kuan Yew took a highly proactive approach. In Korea's case, we saw how leaders like Kim Dae-jung played a major role in the Korean wave. There are many states in our country whose population or size is larger than South Korea.
They have their own language, their own distinct culture. So if we can see the K wave in South Korea, why can't we see the Kumani wave or Kashmiri wave in our country? Why can't Gujarati and Haryanvi cinemas be made a global export? Why can't Manipur's rock bands be popular all over the world? It's very difficult for this to happen by chance. The government needs to make positive interventions. Take the example of Haryanvi Cinema. It started around the 1980s. But no one has come to the country yet. All the cinema halls in Haryana give their slots to big-budget Bollywood films. And Haryanvi has to struggle with the local films to get a screen in the cinema hall. That's why film producers don't want to invest money in the local industries.
It could be a solution for the state governments to reserve some slots in the cinema halls, for the regional films of that state. Or the government should promote mini cinema halls. Or the government should conduct open auditions of actors and singers, and budget to produce 25-30 local films. A lot can be learned from South Korea's strategy. And I'd like to say this to the entire state government, regardless of the political party. Take some proactive steps from your side.
