Hi class!
It’s already been 6 weeks; can you believe that!? We’re over half way done with the blog! As I’m writing this I only have 44 days left until my flight back home! Crazy.
Anyway, this week we’re going to talk about Korean entertainment! Korea is actually quite famous for having an excellent entertainment industry, especially when it comes to music and TV dramas. I’ll be sure to make some suggestions if any of you want to watch or listen on your own!
Background
After the Korean war, Korea was left devastated, physically, culturally, and economically. After all the bad things that happened, Korea wanted to rebuild itself and become much more than the agricultural country it was before. In the decade following the war, Korea improved it’s economy to such a degree that it was called a miracle! In the wake of all of these improvements the country was making, many people took the opportunity to create brand new industries, like entertainment. From the 1950’s to 2000, Korea introduced things like movie theaters, television shows, and singing groups. While Korea was beginning to really enjoy these things, something very unexpected happened and people all around Asia began enjoying Korean entertainment culture! Before anyone knew it, Korean pop groups and TV dramas were being watched like crazy in Japan and China especially. This phenomenon is known as the “Hallyu Wave” and in some ways can still be seen today!
K-Pop
K-pop is one thing that Korea is very famous for. In fact, I believe many of you said that you had heard K-pop before. Remember Gangnam Style that was all the rage a couple of years ago? That was a very popular Korean song that got a lot of people around the world interested in Korean music!
The Korean music industry is known for being very intense. There are several large companies that create and run some of the most famous idol groups in the country. These companies usually hold auditions throughout the year to search for talented individuals (I even know someone who tried out!). If a person gets picked, they become a trainee and have to practice very hard night and day for years before they even have the chance to be chosen to join a group! There are also a couple shows similar to “American Idol” (one is called K-pop Star) that try to find super stars through a reality TV show.
Many groups that do debut, however, become incredibly famous. Many of the most famous groups have fan clubs and at some concerts, fans will even organize synchronized cheering! Because of this, K-pop concerts can be a lot of fun! I hope that I will get to go to one while I’m here! Below, I included a playlist of some songs that I hear on daily basis here in Korea. These are some of the most popular songs right now! I hear these on the street, in every store, and at the noraebang! Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve talked about the noraebang yet! “Noraebang” means “song room”, but it’s really just a place to do karaoke! You can go sit in a private room with you and your friends and choose from hundreds of songs to sing (even American music! It’s very popular!) – it’s coin operated and only cost usually less that twenty five cents a song!
Korean Dramas
Dramas are another think that Korea is very famous for, especially throughout the rest of Asia. Korean dramas are especially popular because they do an amazing job of evoking feelings from the viewer. It’s very difficult to explain why the dramas are so likable and addictive but I think the reason is because the shows play on emotions that are universal. Everyone understands what it is like to have feelings for someone, therefore if a story is about liking someone, they can relate and feel the emotions as if it was happening to them. In my opinion, it is because Korean dramas do this so well that they are so successful.
Even if you don’t think you would like to watch a drama, I suggest you try watching an episode! Even if you don’t want to watch it for the story, it’s amazing how much about Korean culture you can learn from watching a couple episodes! If you are interested in trying a Korean drama, you could use dramafever.com. Right now I am watching a drama called “Jealousy Incarnate” and I’m really enjoying it!
Korean Variety Shows
Variety shows are perhaps the least known of the things we’ve been talking about, but they’re outrageously entertaining. It’s difficult to describe a variety show because we really don’t have anything like it in the United States. I guess the most solid definition I could give is “an unscripted challenge-based reality TV show”. Typically, a variety show will have a set cast that is on the show every week, along with a weekly appearance by some famous celebrities. Each week the cast is given various activities or games that they must succeed at in order to win that week. These shows are incredibly funny due to the fact that they are unscripted and involve some pretty zany activities. Also, because the cast is the same every week, you can get to know the cast and there are many inside jokes on the show. Below is a segment from the show “Infinity Challenge”, Korea’s #1 variety show. On this week, the American actor Jack Black visited Korea and joined the show!
Korean Movies
I would say in terms of international recognition, Korean movies are not incredibly famous. There have been a couple movies that have been popular outside of Korea, mostly in other parts of Asia. There is one movie called “Oldboy”, however, that is quite popular in America and is even on one of IMDB’s most popular lists. Lack of international recognition, however, does not mean that Korean movies aren’t good! I’ve watched quite a few Korean movies that I’ve really enjoyed, sometimes it’s just hard to know which movies to watch!
Discussion
- Have you ever enjoyed entertainment from other cultures? From Korea? How was it different from American entertainment?
- Are there pros and cons of enjoying entertainment from other cultures? What can we learn from these kinds of entertainment?
- After watching a few minutes of the Korean music videos and variety show I included, how do you think they’re different than American MVs and shows?
- Also, last week I asked you all to provide me with some questions that you would like to ask to a Korean middle schooler. If you haven’t done that already, please do!
Kim Dodds Reporting Live from Korea 
I personally have been able to enjoy shows from other countries. Once, when I went to Canada, they had an entire different selection of shows to watch, including Norwegian wheel of fortune. It was different because they spoke in an entirely different language. There are pros and cons of different entertainment. We can learn what the country likes to watch. I think that they are different because most of Koreas shows seem like game shows, rather than cartoons. See you next week!
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Thanks Vincent! Now that you mention it, Korea does have some popular cartoons but I’ve never actually watched them!
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I have been able to enjoy shows from other countries. Whenever I go to India, my grandparents would put on Indian Bollywood movies that I could understand without captions, but I never enjoyed them because they were all the same stories and had the same plot. It was different than American entertainment because americas diverse and we show the cultures that make up America in films but Indian films are the same Indian culture because most of India is one culture, so it would be hard to watch another countries movie or show without knowing the history and background of their culture. I think there are mainly pros in watching other countries entertainment because if there were cons, we would be criticizing other countries because their entertainment isn’t like ours.
Can’t wait to hear you next week!
-Anjana
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Interesting thoughts Anjana! Thanks!
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I have never really seen any shows or other forms of entertainment. I’ve probably heard some K-pop, without even realizing it. I want to watch one of the variety shows, they sound very different than American shows. There are many pros to shows and entertainment from different countries, for instance they’re culture. By watching they’re shows and music videos you can learn a lot.
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The variety shows are very fun! I recommend Running Man – it’s my favorite!
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Hi Kim!!
I was really excited when I saw that this weeks post was on music!! I have watched a lot of K-pop when meeting people who came from Korea in Elementary school. When the “Gangnam style” K-pop was popular I was in third grade and it started with one Korean showing the song to a teacher in class. I think it’s really different from our music in America in that the Koreans talk/sing a lot faster so it’s hard to keep up with what they’re saying when Korean is not your first language. I think that there’s mostly cons about watching/listening to Korean entertainment. Most of the music videos I’ve watched on YouTube with my friend from Korea have kind of inappropriate lyrics, especially for people under 10. The only pro I could see in the Gangnam style in piticular is the song is really catchy. One question I would ask a Korean middle schooler is, “Do you learn any languages in Korea aside from Korean?”
-Sophia H
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That’s great Sophia! I agree sometimes songs can be inappropriate but I think that a lot of American songs are too so maybe it just depends on which artists you listen to!
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I have enjoyed entertainment from China before. I can’t really explain it: I just feel like entertainment in China is different from entertainment in the US. You can learn a lot about countries by looking at what they do for entertainment. I know Gangnam style is originated in Korea. The people were different, and their “style” was also different.
Can’t wait to see what you post up next week!
From,
Harry
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I agree, some of the things that are different about entertainment between cultures are hard to explain! Thanks for the response Harry!
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Hello again
Like I said in the earlier posts, I am from Korea. And I agree with the little shows of Running Man. What I don’t agree is the title of the game show, there are female persons too! My parents watch a show about a murder mystery or watch a real scary thing that happened in Korea, the objective of that show is to figure out what happened and why. The funny thing is, whenever the crime scenario is put on television, the police figure out who “dun” it. Have you heard of the show “Happy together”? The show is pretty funny.
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You’re right Jemin, I never thought of the title but there are girls on the show! I wonder what would sound better though… I have heard of Happy Together but I haven’t actually seen it! What do they do on the show?
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Hi! I love this blog post. To think of it I have not enjoyed that much entertainment from other cultures. I think the pro’s of watching shows from other cultures is that you can see what they like. So then you may understand their culture and even their history. Yes I think we can learn from other kinds of entertainment. I think this because then we can see a glimpse into their modern day society and culture!
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Hello!
I personally enjoy looking at how different other countries TV shows and music videos. Gangnam style was very popular in Brazil as well, which was funny considering it came from a different country. Sometimes it’s hard to watch the dubbed movies but it’s actually really funny! Anyways I’ve got to do my math homework, BYE!!!
-Juliah L.
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Interesting, I didn’t know Gangnam style got so popular in Brazil as well! Thanks for sharing – good luck with your homework!
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Yes, there are pros and cons of watching international tv. You should watch it because of there are English subtitles on, you can pick up some words of the language, also, movies give us insight into the culture. What the language is like, want the people look like, and even what there homes and towns look like. You can learn a lot from movies/tv. Also, I would like to ask a Korean middle school student these questions. How long is a normal school day? How much homework is normally given? What after school activities do you like to do? I would love if they could amswer these questions. Thank you!
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Thanks Molly!
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Hello! I was wondering what the TV shows there are, and if the performances are public, or if they are in a theater thingy that you have to pay admission to get into, like in America?
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Korea has a lot of reality TV, variety shoes, and dramas as well as more serious stuff like news. As for performances… like musical performances? There are some street performers and sometimes famous people will do performances in public. There are also a lot of big concerts at big theaters like in America!
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Hi Kim. Do you like the plot lines better for Korean movies or American movies. I’ve never actually watched a Korean movie, or listened to any of their music, etc. I was just wondering if I should use some of my time to listen or watch Korean entertainment.
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Hmmm, well I think it depends on the movie! I have seen several Korean movies that I absolutely loved, but also some I didn’t like as much. I would definitely try one! I also love listening to Korean music. At first, I liked to listen to it because I couldn’t understand the words so I could focus more on the actually sound of the music rather than the lyrics!
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As a whole, I’m rather inexperienced with other cultures. I’ve watched anime and seen other TV shows from other cultures, but that’s about as far as it goes. I don’t know that there are any cons to enjoying another cultures entertainment, as al, your doing is having fun. Some pros may be learning about others entertainment, and how other people live and have fun themselves. From watching, I would say that things are different more than similar. Once again, thank you for providing us with this experience, and until next time. -Riley
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Hi! I have never seen in person entertainment from other cultures, but the closest I’ve come is hearing about the entertainment my parents went to when we went to Hawaii. Kids couldn’t come, but I did hear about it.
Pros about this is learning and enjoying all the differences in different ways of entertainment. Cons could be that if the entertainment makes fun of things you like. I bet other cultures do that.
I’m afraid I can’t answer the third question because I tried to play the videos but since this is a school iPad, they were restricted. Sorry about that!
Another question you could ask is what is the person’s favorite entertainment to see?
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Good point Wendy! Because cultures are different, there could be things you find offensive.. also, sometimes there could be negative portrayals of American culture which we could take poorly. At the same time, we have to try and see things from the host culture’s point of view!
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I don’t really like entertainment from other cultures because it is a different genre from what I am used to. From watching entertainment from other cultures it gives us a more open mid about watching other things. I don’t really know how they are different because I don’t watch drama show, most music, or TV shows. Could you ask a Korean middle schooler anything because I have no idea what to even ask.
-skyler
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Hi Kim!!!
I have seen movies from different countries. I especially love watching Bollywood movies I find them very creative and interesting. The cons of watching these movies are that I don’t really know the culture that well so when I watch them, I get confused on how things work. But other than then that I find the movies very entertaining. I have not seen any man movies from Korea. What are they like, are they similar to Bollywood movies?
-Asma Hassan
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Hi Asama! I’ve heard Bollywood movies are really good, id love to watch one! I would say that Korean movies are much more similar to American movies because they were influenced a lot by American culture when movies first became popular in Korea!
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No I have never had a experience with other entertainments from other cultures. I guess that the good thing about listening to other cultures entertainment is that you learn what they like and you get to enjoy something new. I don’t think there are bad things about enjoying other cultures entertainment.it is a little more powerful and less like a thing that some might like because it’s not like a cartoon. It seemed a little more satisfying.
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Yes I really do like other cultures entertainment and it is a little bit similar in Korea and in the U.S. wise from what you have shown to us. Also I used to be a huge fan of Gangnam style and the parodies that people made of off them. Like ” like an enderman” (my friend made that song ) and many others. What is your fave activity to do in Korea and do you explore outside of a he city’s?
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Hmm, I’d say the thing I do most In my free time is go to the PC room… haha – on the weekends though I do try and travel as much as I can! I’m going to visit a new city soon and I’m very excited!
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I haven’t seen much intertainment from other cultures. I suppose there are maybe some references in som eof them that I didn’t understand but other that that they weren’t incredibly different. We can learn jokes and other parts of their culture by watching their entertainment/media. I don’t watch much TV so I don’t fell qualified to compare.
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That’s true! There can be a lot of things we don’t understand when we first start watching media from other cultures. That happened to me when I first started watching Korean tv but I picked up the important things very quickly!
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Hello! I have watched a couple of shows from Japan as well as some French movies, and I feel like each country has a different style that they prefer, as well as the fact that because you don’t speak that language it can seem much more fast paced. I think that there can be pros and cons from watchdogs no entertainment from other countries such as that you can see more about some people’s culture and how different or similar it is.
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Hi Kim!
I have watched animes before. They are very different from American culture. The characters are not really human. They have animal parts or superpowers. They are also childish or cute. In America we focus on being mature and grownup. Some pros and cons of watching entertainment from other cultures it one, you can learn about the culture. Some cons are, it could be in another language, or hard to get. We can learn about the culture and language from entertainment. I can’t see the videos you posted as the filter blocks them. But I bet they are very different.
Bye for now!
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Excellent thoughts iris! I’ve also noticed that Koreans love the “cutesy” thing as well!
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Hi Kim ! My name is Kara P and I guess I have been a little behind.. But I am here now! If I could ask a question to a Korean middle schooler what they have heard about America because when people have never been somewhere or don’t know much about something there are some strange rumors that can go around!
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Hi Kara! Glad you could join! I’ll be sure to ask!
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Hi there! I have seen a Korean TV show before and it was pretty fun to watch. It was a lot different than American animation shows. In the show that I watched the characters were anime. Other than American animated shows where they are more cartoony.
Talk to you later!
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Hi Kim!!
I don’t think I’ve seen any other cultures entertainment but I might have without knowing. Other cultures entertainment is probably a good thing to watch because then you can see how things are different and might work in that place. We can’t watch the videos on our school iPads.
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I can’t think of any movie or show from another country that I have seen even though I probably have. But when we do watch other movies or shows from other countries we can see how other countries cultures are different form ours. I think that lots of countries would have really different shows from ours because we live in a really young country so our has different things. Those are some things that I thought of about the contrast between Americas and Koreas movies and shows.
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I have enjoyed entertainment from other cultures. Sometimes my dad and I like to just order pizza and watch funny Chinese or Korean game shows. It’s even funnier to us because the types of things they do are so much different than the things Americans do on their game shows. If I were to ask a Korean middle schooler questions, I might ask what their daily schedule might be like or how much homework they get in a day.
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I enjoyed watching tourist videos in Mexico, like places to go and what to see, because they are actually good ideas. The only Korean shows I have ever seen are ads for plastic surgery, because apparently that is big there (correct me if I’m wrong) and game shows where you try not to swallow a cockroach. They’re actually really good. Thank you for doing this fun and amazing blog, and I can’t wait to read more!
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You’re absolutely right about the plastic surgery thing Ava! I think I’ve seen a clip of the cockroach thing but I didn’t know it was Korean… gross.
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Yes, I have enjoyed cartoons back when I was in China. I really only have a couple of channels I watch, so when I got to the USA I didn’t really know what to do. I was watching random channels for about a month or two. Then I discovered YouTube and Netflix. My life took a turn there. I think the pros are that you can see what the rest of the world are doing, and maybe learn about that place. The cons are that you have to learn the language first in order to understand what is happening. I really wanted to watch the videos you included, especially that guy trying to hold his breath while covering his head with a bag. But they were restricted for us. (I wonder why?) If I were to ask a middle school a question, it would be do you guys get field trips? Where do you go?
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Indeed, Netflix and YouTube are game changers. I don’t know why they were restricted but you should try and watch them at home!
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Yo! It’s me again! I can’t say that I have enjoyed any Korean entertainment before but I have seen some entertainment from other cultures, like anime and such. I think that there are only pros about being entertained by other cultures. You can learn a lot from different cultures entertainment like there language because their shows and music is probably in the language that they are most familiar with. We can’t watch the videos because they are blocked on our iPads so I guess I will type to you next week!!!
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I have watched other things from different cultures mainly Japanese and British though but I have not really watched any South Korean tv shows,movies, or K pop but I have seen how big those k-pop stars get because I watched this show on NBC called Better Late Then Never which stars Terry Bradshaw, Henry Winkler, William Shatner, George Foreman, and a comedian named Jeff Dye and they end up going to South Korea and exploring and in it they go to a auditioning place for girls to be in k-pop groups and in it they do a music video with a group called Girls’ Generation and they end up putting on silly clothes and wigs and end up dancing in the background as back up dancers but the girls that where auditioning saw Terry, Will, George, Jeff, and Henry and they think the girls are going crazy for them but they are going crazy for the K-pop group Girls’ Generation who are behind them.
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Oh my gosh. Thank you for telling me about this, it sounds hilarious!
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Hey it’s Kelly! I can’t say that I have heard or seen entertainment from other cultures, I may have but I’m not exactly sure what counts as a different culture entertainment. There are pros and of enjoying entertainment from different cultures, like you would get to a learn a different language and or style of their entertainment. I don’t see how there would be any cons of different culture intertainment besides people disagreeing with their way of doing it, but if that’s the case then they could just stop watching or listening to it. They looked very interesting, but we couldn’t load the videos because they are blocked from our iPads! Hear from ya next week!
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I personally haven’t been able to watch entertainment from other cultures, but I sure want to! There are many pros from watching other cultures entertainment such as, knowing what life is like, what the definition of entertainment is, and what game shows are like. I don’t think that there are any cons of watching other countries entertainment. The K-pop and game show video didn’t work on our iPads, but I have listened to Psy’s Gangnam Style and Gentleman and they are very interesting upbeat songs. Overall I think that Korean entertainment is pretty cool. Thanks for teaching me about it!
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I have enjoyed entertainment form Korea and other countries, I think that K-Pop is very interesting because of it’s Kawaii appeal. I also enjoyed TV in Israel which turns out to be well at least for what I was watching at the time the same thing as in the us except form 3 years ago. The pros of engulfing other cultures entertainment is that you can expirence a new cultural and gain a fun new tv show to binj watch. The cons of watching othe cultures is that it could be hard to understand or uninteresting because it relates to something you can’t relate to. The videos you provided were blocked but I have watched a few other K-Pop videos and they are very different because what is shown does relate to the matter at hand and is uslally kawaii when American pop relates to the matter at hand and is not ever really cute but more realistic. This was a very interesting post thx for taking your time and posting.
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I have never really experience entertainment from another culture, aside from French, as a few years ago I listened to a popular French girl bands music. The main difference was the language, though I found patterns and everything else the same or similar. A pro for watching or listening to entertainment from other cultures is that it teaches us some things about that culture, opening us a little more to the world. I knew this because, when I listened to the French music, I began to understand new words, that wearing as proper as I’d learnt in French class. After watching those music videos, I noticed a main difference, aside from the language barrier, is the more fictional/fantasy aspect. Here in America, and in Australia, we watch music videos that are more realistic, basic, and everyday life, because that’s what our songs are about. – Bianca
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Excellent response Bianca, thank you!
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I have seen some French movies and Japanese shows and I think that each language has a different style that they use. I think that it is good to watch things from other countries because it teaches you about their life or how they do things in that place. Hope to hear from u soon!!!!
-Arissa
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I agree Arissa, thanks!
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I feel like reality shows in Asia look a little more…colorful??? My sisters friend is from South Korea and she watches a lot of K-dramas and TV shows. They look very dramatic😂
I have been to different parts of Asia (China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore) and I think the Thailand game shows were the craziest! The entertainment can normally be reflected by the atmosphere of the country. If you search “South Korea at night” on the internet, you see bright lights and colors and if you search “Korean game shows” you get the same thing!
Looking forward to hearing more from you!
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I do not think I have watch very much shows or movies from other cultures, I have watched a few but all i can remember from them is that the English translation was not very good. Thanks 🙂
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There are a few pros and cons to watching entertainment from other cultures. The pros are that you will be able to learn about new cultures through music and television, and that you might find a new genre that you really like! The cons are that it is probably harder to find entertainment from other cultures, and that you might struggle to understand their language. Overall, I think there are more pros than cons of watching entertainment from other cultures.
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I do not typically watch movies or tv shows from different cultures, though I enjoy different music. I think k-pop is very interesting and really cool! There are a lot of pros such as, learning about that culture, finding new shows to watch, and getting a better understanding of the culture. But it can be hard to follow and get confusing, especially when there is a language barrier.
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