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제 22 호 Popularity of Baseball in Korea: ​Loved by Younger Generation and Others

Kicker: ENTERTAINMENT Popularity of Baseball in Korea: Loved by Younger Generation and Others by Su-Min Lee , Cub-Reporter minnida_@naver.com If you look around, you may have at least one friend who likes baseball. Hearingthe popularity of baseball experienced by the KBO(Korea Professional Baseball League), which recently opened KBO-24 season, the older generation who have loved baseball from the past is the basic, and the popularity of baseball continues to grow around the younger generation who have begun to emerge. Under the influence of this popularity, the stands of local stadiums are sold out so that tickets are hard to get. Even contents and programs dealing with baseball are increasing in Korea. Due to the recent entry of Korean baseball player Lee Jung-hoo and Kim Ha-sung, and Ohtani who are drawing attention in Japan into the MLB(Major League Baseball), the baseball league is hotly loved around the world. Now, you can figure out the reason how to gain popularity and the problems with baseball that have occurred due to its rapid popularity. 그림 1Stadium packed with spectators https://www.donga.com/news/Sports/article/all/20230804/120564787/1 Korean baseball, which has been showing more popularity since the beginning of the season than last year when the KBO league surpassed 8 million viewers in 1981, is loved by the young generation as well as the older generation who have shown affection for it. What is the cause of baseball's popularity that has also attracted the attention of the young generation and women? How for Baseball to Earn Popularity 그림 2The poster of A Clean Sweep https://www.gukjenews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=2965720 First, the emergence of the baseball program “A Clean Sweep”. This program organizes and hosts various games by selecting retired players as well as players who belong to college and high school teams. By increasing the accessibility with well-known players, it has contributed for various people to access and made it more interesting for people to learn about baseball. Second, the “All-Star Game” It is an event that divides popular players from 10 Korean professional baseball teams into two teams and shows various performances. Efforts to Booster of Baseball's Popularity In order to respond to fans' interest, the KBO is offering various experiences related to baseball including fan events. For example, a collaboration between the Hanwha Eagles and the convenient store, GS25 has set up a flagship store in Daejeon, where visitors can feel the atmosphere of the stadium and purchase goods. In addition, LG holds a “Uniform Day” with LG U+. They make uniforms and goods using the LG character “Moono”. Therefore, they bring memories to audiences who come to the stadium with various photo zones and goods. Finally, SSG ran a “Brand Day” called Lundersbuck which was a collaboration with Starbucks, decorating the stadium with green uniforms and hats. Also, they operated an experienced zone that combined fun elements such as Starbucks' home run zone. These activities helped people of different ages and interests to become interested in baseball. The Problems with Baseball's Popularity However, there are obvious limitations to this thunderbolt popularity. Problems that need to be gradually resolved have recently emerged. First of all, the most problematic part was the reservation system of baseball. In the past, people used to go to the stadium in person to purchase a seat ticket to enter. Whereas recently reservations using the website of each stadium have made it difficult to get tickets for those who are not familiar with Internet use. For this reason, the on-site reservation system has appeared since then. However, the problem seems to be continuing due to the emergence of illegal ticket traders. Second, there is a problem with the OTT service. Starting from the KBO 2024 season, OTT service “Tving” is exclusively in charge of broadcasting. Therefore, payment for Tving is mandatory in order to watch baseball. As baseball broadcasting, which was provided free of charge, has become more expensive. People who are burdened by the increased cost of watching baseball have faced limits. In addition, illegal watcing baseball websites are appearing in response to the demand of viewers, which has been burdened by the overall increase in monthely prices of OTT companies. The appeareance of these issues creates barriers to access baseball. In order for baseaball with both side to grow further by being loved by many people, a clear compromise is needed and it will be necessary to think about it. To convey a way to truly enjoy baseball which has clear limitations but is loved so much, first of all, memorizing a team's cheering song whole watching various a team's cheering song while watching with various foods can be a fun way to enjoy the game. Lastly, the important thing is cheering as one with the audience on the spot will be a way you spend a happy time with precious people while relieving stress. SOURCES: https://n.news.naver.com/article/382/0001123766?sid=101 https://n.news.naver.com/article/020/0003562719?sid=101 https://m.ekn.kr/view.php?key=20240513024395879 https://www.donga.com/news/Sports/article/all/20230804/120564787/1 https://www.gukjenews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=2965720

• 작성일 2024-06-06
• 좋아요 Like 0

제 22 호 Do You Like Younger K-pop Idols?

Kicker: ENTERTAINMENT Do You Like Younger K-pop Idols? By Ye-Dam Hwang, Reporter hwangyedam1108@naver.com Are you a fan of K-pop idol groups? If you are, then what is the mean age of the K-pop idol? Whether you are not aware of their ages, I think you may have seen the youngest members of idol groups who made people to be shocked with their ages because people worried that they are too young to be an Idol. For example, Hyein of NewJeans made her debut at the age of 14 in 2022, Han Yu-Jin of ZEROBASEONE debuted at the age of 16 in 2023, and Chiquita, the member of BABYMONSTER showed her first performance at the age of 14 in 2023. Recently, Lim Seo-Won of UNIS who debuted through the audition program “Universe Ticket” made her debut when she was 13 and now she became the youngest K-pop Idol. An image of Lim Seo-Won in Universe Ticket 유니버스티켓 : 프로필 : SBS Therefore, do you think that this tendency of Idols’ debuting at a young age is good? It can have some good things such as, especially for boy groups because of their military service, earning his or her spot on the K-pop music scene early in life, but I think the bad effects are bigger than the good things. Debuting at too young of an age can be harmful to the very young Idols, particularly in their educational aspect. Idols’ Ages in the Past Though our thoughts of Idol’s age are inclined to worry about the very young Idol, there were some who shocked the public in the past. For instance, the solo artist BoA debuted at the age of 13 in 2000, Sunmi, Hyuna, and Sohee of Wonder Girls made their debut when they were 15 in 2007. In 2008, Taemin of SHINee debuted at the age of 14, and the boy group TEENTOP showed their first performance in 2010 with the expression ‘the youngest boy group’ because their average age was 16.3 at their debut time. With their debuting ages, TEENTOP and SHINee’s debuting concept was about teenagers by enhancing their boyish images. At the time, in spite of these examples, most Idol groups’ average debuting age was about 19 or 20, and the debuting ages of the youngest members of each group were usually 17 or 18. Also, as you can see in SHINee and TEENTOP’s case, because debuting at the very young age was not common at that time, Idol groups that had very young members often used their boylike or girllike images to enhance their music career. The Reasons Why the Average Ages of Idol Are Becoming Younger It is an undeniable fact that Idol’s debuting age is becoming younger. Unlike the past times, we can easily see the idol groups who have the average debuting age of 17 or 18. Moreover, the youngest members with the debuting age of 15 or 16 are now becoming common. For example, Bambam and Yugyeom of GOT7 debuted as the youngest members of the group at the age of 17 in 2014, but in 2021, Leeseo of Ive made her debut with her ‘the youngest member’ position of the group at the age of 14. Then, why is this tendency ongoing? To answer this question, I can give three reasons why the average age of K-pop Idols started and are continuing to be younger. The first reason is the audition programs. With the hit of the audition program ‘Produce 101’ that picks some participants to be an idol, there were a lot of survival audition programs such as ‘I-LAND’, ‘Girls’ planet 999’, and ‘My Teenage Girls’. As this talent show frenzy begins, because these idol audition programs didn’t limit the age of participants, many very young girls or boys who want to be K-pop idol stars showed their performances in the program, and in reality, some very young participants became idols. Also, in the point that even the contestantswhodidn'tmakethedebut’scut can become popular with the programs, I think the audition programs of K-pop can cause the debuts of extremely young idols. Second, debuting at the very young age can make enough time to build a music career for idols. Actually, it is a fact that getting old is a somewhat crucial matter to K-pop idols. Thus, they started to debut with the young ages to make their music career and gain more popularity and higher recognition level in their early times. This is especially true for the boy groups because of their mandatory military services in Korea. They have ample time to establish their careers before being drafted to the mandatory military services by debuting when they are young. Lastly, relating to the second reason, the very young K-pop idol groups can make their own ‘narrative of growths’. I think many K-pop fans’ hearts go out to the idols who have the story of development of their skills. Therefore, by making and showing the story of growth and development as an idol from a very young age, they can earn popularity and get many people’s hearts. The Bad Effects of This Tendency Inspite of young idols’ great performances, there are some bad effects of this tendency. Since they are not adults and they are children, they can get tired easily and be exhausted by their schedule as an idol. Also, they may have to take on an image that doesn’t fit with them, such as of a mature woman. As well as these bad things, I want to focus on the bad effects in educational aspects. From the worrying-eyes about their ages, they have to receive the basic education at school and learn not only from teachers but also with friends because they are children before being idols. However, in most cases, they had no choice but to be absent or quit school because of their schedules and it can result in the lack of basic education including moral education and etiquette education. Also, this kind of lack can cause some important problems to the very young idols when they are grown up. Thus, I believe that this educational problem of young idols is now becoming significant and we need to take some actions about it. The tendency of idols’ debuting at younger ages has started and is still continuing now. We can find three reasons for this inclination of by idols’: audition programs, building their music career, and showing a narrative of growth. Despite these reasons, the bad effects of this tendency such as young idols’ being easily exhausted by their schedule or exposed to malicious comments have a bigger impact than others. Also, the need to take some actions about the idols’lack of education is a rising issue. Therefore, because I believe this trend is worth our consideration, I hope this article will help you think more deeply about this problem. Sources: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/12/07/entertainment/kpop/ive-Leeseo-Wonyoung-Jang-Wonyoung/20211207154449336.html 데뷔에성공한평균연령 16세의아이돌..괜찮을까? (wisdomagora.com) https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/109/0004895709 https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/410/0000974251 https://ygfamily.com/ko/artists/babymonster/main

• 작성일 2024-06-04
• 좋아요 Like 1

제 21 호 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games

Kicker: ENTERTAINMENT 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games By Ye-Dam Hwang, Reporter hwangyedam1108@naver.com Have you heard about the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games? From January 19th to February 1st, 2024, the 4th Winter Youth Olympic Games took place in the province of Gangwon in the Republic of Korea. 1,802 athletes from 78 countries participated in this Youth Olympic Games, and they competed for their ability in 15 events. The Winter Youth Olympic Games of this year is called ‘Gangwon2024’, and it is meaningful that Gangwon2024 utilizes the legacy of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games and is the first Winter Youth Olympics to be held in Asia. The mascot of the Games is called Moongcho, which was born from snow, as can be seen in its face. Moongcho encourages everyone to embrace every moment and enjoy the Games based on the value and spirit of the Youth Olympic Games, like there are no winners or losers in snowball fights. Like its meaning, there were great and shining records not only of athletes but also of the process of Gangwon2024. Ice Sports As it was an ice skating event that was highly anticipated even before the games, we could see the wonderful performances of Korean youth athletes in such events as short track speed skating and speed skating. First, Joo Jae-hee won the gold medal in the men’s 1,500m, Kim You-sung won the bronze medal, Kang Min-ji won the silver medal in the women’s 500m, and Chung Jae-hee won the bronze medal. They showed their performances by giving the thrill of overtaking as rising stars of short track speed skating, and in particular, Joo Jae-hee’s men’s 1,500m gold medal was the first gold medal for the Korean team in this competition. In speed skating, Jung Hui-dan, a promising skater in speed skating, won the silver medal in the women’s 500m and Shin Seon-ung won the bronze medal in the men’s 500m. Jung Hui-dan is the next-generation ace in speed skating, succeeding the skating queen Lee Sang-hwa and Korean speed skating star Kim Min-sun. In the mixed relay, Heo Seok and Lim Lee-won won the silver medal. In figure skating, Kim Hyun-gyeom won the gold medal in men’s singles and Shin Jia won the silver medal in women’s singles. In the team event, Kim Jinny, Kim Yu-seong, Lee Na-mu, Shin Jia, and Kim Hyun-gyeom won the gold medal, and since the Youth Winter Olympics have not held figure team events as a national competition, the Republic of Korea has also been named the first winner of the figure team event in the Youth Olympics. Especially, when the team was ranked second behind the U.S. in the team event, Shin Jia, the last runner of the national team, performed perfectly in the women’s single and won the first place by a dramatic reversal. Shin Jia in the team event https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1007521983&plink=SHARE&cooper=COPY Snow Sports The young athletes’ challenge to win medals continued in snow sports. The rising star of snowboarding Lee Chae-Un won two gold medals in both men’s snowboard slopestyle and halfpipe events. Lee Chae-Un, who was named the youngest athlete in the Korean squad at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, is also one of the world’s top athletes who won the youngest(16 years and 10 months) title ever at the FIS World Championships in March last year. Lee Chae-Un in the final game of halfpipe https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1007522430&plink=SHARE&cooper=COPY Freestyle skiing, which maybe a little unfamiliar, brought more medals. Freestyle skiing is an event which people compete for their skill and artistry by performing aerial movements that soar up through the white snow and remind us of acrobatics. In the men’s dual mogul event, Lee Yoon-seung won the gold medal, and the mixed dual mogul team of Yun Shin-ee and Lee Yoon-seung won the silver medal. Since dual moguls were adopted as the official event of the Winter Youth Olympics and mixed teams were also held for the first time in history, Yun Shin-ee and Lee Yoon-seung were honored as the first medalists in the event. The Republic of Korea finished 6th in the rankings by total points, winning seven gold medals, six silver medals, and four bronze medals, totaling 17 medals. The fact that the youth national athletes have performed so well makes us look forward to the youth athletes who will compete in the Olympics in the future. I hope you continue to watch Korean promising athletes with anticipation and interest, and I also hope you to note that the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games(Gangwon2024)is valuable in that it utilized the legacies of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games and that it was the first Winter Youth Olympic Games held in Asia. Sources: https://olympics.com/ko/gangwon-2024/ https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1007521983&plink=SHARE&cooper=COPY https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20240201125900007?input=1195m https://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2024020101039939044005 https://www.segye.com/newsView/20240128508375?OutUrl=naver https://www.nocutnews.co.kr/news/6086116 https://olympics.com/ko/gangwon-2024/promotional-materials https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1007521983&plink=SHARE&cooper=COPY https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1007522430&plink=SHARE&cooper=COPY

• 작성일 2024-02-21
• 좋아요 Like 2

제 21 호 Pop-up Store Marketing

Kicker: ENTERTAINMENT Pop-up Store Marketing -Reasons for Companies and Consumers’ Enthusiasm for Pop-up Stores - By Yun-Seo Jung, Reporter yysj1230@naver.com Have you ever heard of pop-up stores like this? - the Disney pop-up store, the Gentle Monster pop-up store, etc. Or have you ever visited? These days, you can find a lot of pop-up stores while walking around the streets or in department stores. The dictionary definition of the pop-up store is a store which sells a specific product, such as a new product, in a crowded place for a limited time and then disappears. As you can guess from the word ‘pop-up’, it is called ‘pop-up store’ because it is similar to the pop-up window on the internet that appears briefly and then disappears, and its period is as short as one day to a year. The pop-up store originated in 2002 when the American big mart ‘Target’ opened a temporary store when it couldn't find space for a new store. The temporary stores proved to be unexpectedly popular with consumers, and many brands later began opening stores this way. While previous pop-up stores used to be limited to fashion, cosmetics, and food, the range of recent pop-up stores has expanded to include dramas, movies, entertainment programs, characters, and idols. Unlike before, when the focus was on promoting the brand's new products and checking consumers' reactions by experiencing them, pop-up stores nowadays are not only to promote new products but also to show the brand's own colors. In other words, it can be seen that they're putting a lot of emphasis on branding by utilizing experiential spaces rather than promoting products. Then, why has the nature of pop-up store marketing changed from simple product promotion to consumer participation? Let's take a look at the case of a pop-up store. We can often find a wide variety of pop-up stores while walking through the streets of Seoul. Among them, if you walk on the streets of Seongsu-dong, you can see many pop-up stores gathered together. Some pop-up stores rent an existing store and sell only a small number of products, while others are built from scratch, and you can see the brand's concept from the outside. As mentioned earlier, hands-on pop-up store marketing has been a big trend lately. The reason for this is that the major consumer group of the brands is the MZ generation, and they are targeting the characteristics of the MZ generation who like to experience themselves as the subjects are targeted. Let's take a closer look at the features through the examples of pop-up stores. The Example of Pop-up Store Popularity IG @ugg_korea From November 23rd to 26th last year, Ugg's 'Feel House' pop-up store was held in Seongsu-dong for four days with the theme of 'Dream New Winter'. The pop-up store had an igloo shaped entrance that reminded people of Ugg from the entrance. And inside, snow props on the floor and a structure of Ugg boots trapped in ice made visitors feel like they were actually inside an igloo. Just as many people wear Uggs during the snowy and cold winter, the image of Ugg was applied to the pop-up store to make people naturally think of Ugg in winter. On the first floor, interactive media art exhibits engaged visitors, and on the second floor, new products such as boot collections and Ugg wear were displayed to promote the product. And there were hash tags events and freebies that can only be found in pop-up stores. The sales effect was great. The collection of winter boots displayed at the pop-up store increased sales by 161% month-on-month during the event, and sales of tazzlita slippers raised by 205%.They gained huge popularity, surpassing 10,000 cumulative visitors in a short period of four days.Online pre-registrations were sold out within 30 minutes of opening, and more than 100 people lined up from an hour before the opening, and the procession of open run continued every day. Through this pop-up store, Ugg not only promoted new products but also imprinted the brand to highlight the brand's message inside. IG @witheverlandNext is a pop-up store in the department store. Most of the department store pop-up stores are run at The Hyundai Seoul. The Hyundai Seoul opened more than 150 pop-up stores in the first half of 2022, attracting a lot of attention from consumers. There's an entertainment program called ‘earth arcade,’ the character ‘ZANMANG LOOPY,’ and even food pop-up stores. The pop-up store that has become a hot topic recently is “FUBAO, My Sweet Home” organized by Everland. Fubao is the panda that represents Everland's Panda World, and now there's a pop-up store all about animals, so you can see that the scope has really expanded. The "FUBAO, My Sweet Home" pop-up store displayed photos of the Bao family, including Fubao, and has a photo zone where you can take pictures with the Bao family. More than 100 kinds of goods, including blankets, stationery, stuffed dolls and cushions, were unveiled for the first time, and limited-edition first-come, first-served key rings that can only be purchased at pop-up stores. Clothing such as shirts and pajamas printing Fubao images created in collaboration with clothing brand "8seconds" were also available. 20,000 people visited this place for two weeks, and about 1 billion won worth of goods were sold. The Cause of Pop-up Store Popularity Then, why are so many people attracted to pop-up stores? The main reason is scarcity. There is a limited period of experience. The fact that we can only visit a pop-up store for a short period of time makes people want to go there even more. Most popular pop-ups also receive a limited number of people through ticketing or waiting for the smooth operation of pop-up stores, such as preventing people from flocking to narrow spaces and making the experience more fun and efficient. In addition, limited-edition goods that can only be received or purchased by visiting pop-up stores are also the cause of attracting people to pop-up stores. Next is the development of social media. With the development of social media, people often display their daily lives, and the desire for imitation consumption has intensified. In the case of a pop-up store, if the person who visits the store posts a photo on their social media, other people who see it will naturally feel the desire to visit. From the standpoint of companies, if they invest in pop-up stores, they can have a big marketing effect with relatively little money through voluntary marketing from consumers, so many brands have recently opened pop-up stores. Pop-up stores that can attract the MZ generation with limited goods, photo zones, and experience zones, and deliver not only new products but also brand messages to consumers, will continue to be increasing as the marketing effect is tremendous. However, there is definitely a dark side to the pop-up store marketing that so many people are enthusiastic about. That is, as the number of pop-up stores with similar concepts increases, consumers end up feeling tired. In order to reach consumers differently, they need to change their approach. The environment is also the most important issue to consider. The amount of garbage discharged after a pop-up event is enormous. At the Exhibition Design Trends International Forum in May 2022, Kim Hye-ryun, CEO of Gabo Shop, said, "The amount of waste by exhibition events such as pop-up stores is 270 kilograms per 9m2."For a typical small pop-up over 36m2, that's roughly a ton of trash.A large pop-up of more than 200m2 means more than 5 tons of trash. Companies should be aware of the problem of waste discharged through pop-up stores and make efforts such as using eco-friendly materials. Sources : https://www.fetv.co.kr/news/article.html?no=153615 https://www.moneys.co.kr/article/2024010315521836654 https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?cid=50305&docId=2067488&categoryId=50305 https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/003/2019/10/20/NISI20191020_0015722879_web_20191020115052_20191020115157667.jpg?type=w647 IG @ugg_korea IG @witheverland

• 작성일 2024-02-19
• 좋아요 Like 1

제 20 호 Englishization of K-pop

Kicker: ENTERTAINMENT Englishization of K-pop By Ye-Dam Hwang, Cub-reporter hwangyedam1108@naver.com Living as Korean, we can see many K-pop artists who wants to make a global success like BTS. As this tendency of K-pop emerges, Korean artists like ‘NewJeans’ and ‘Ive’ are using many English words in their songs. In many cases, the number of English words are much more than the number of Korean words of lyrics of K-pop songs. Even though this change of K-pop has good positive effects, it is a clear and noticeable problem that there are few Korean words in Korean songs. Because K-pop music is the thing that we enjoy in common, as a Korean, the need to check the background of this change of K-pop and analyze the examples and their effect is becoming clear and important. The Background These days, K-pop artists use many English words in their lyrics. But this is not only the problem of lyrics, but also of the team name and names of the members of the K-pop team. In fact, it is hard to find the true Korean names and lyrics which don’t have any English words. K-pop even released their English album which contains full-English-lyric songs. Then, why has this kind of change started? The answer is ‘global success’. Like BTS and BLACKPINK, we can see these artists’ global success nowadays. With these successes, we learned that K-pop can be successful overseas as well. By the way, these examples of K-pop’s global success has one thing in common: ‘English-language album’. With realizing this point, the musical circles of K-pop started to use more English words than Korean words in their song’s lyrics and name K-pop Idol team’s name and the members’ in English to become more familiar to foreign fans. The success of the girl group ‘FiftyFifty’ can be an example of this strategy. The Examples: NewJeans and NMIXX Have you heard of ‘NewJeans’ and ‘NMIXX’? I think many people have heard of these two teams’ names and songs because they are celebrated and popular. With these K-pop girl groups’ songs, I will tell the Englishization of K-pop. First, in <Super Shy> of NewJeans, it is structured that a specific part is repeated. Since all of the song’s highlight part is composed of English (except the two words), the lyrics have few Korean words. Though it is hard to catch the lyrics at one time, people knew the lyrics quite exactly and they sang this song in their daily lives. However, still, the uncomfortable feeling that this song’s lyrics has few Korean words and many English words cannot be easily shaken off. The second song that I will show you is <Party O’Clock> of NMIXX. Similarly with <Super Shy>, <Party O’Clock> has highlight part which totally contains 66 English words except just seven words. Also, the last parts of the lyrics are composed with more English words than Korean words. In my opinion, I felt awkward because of the frequency of English words while I listened to this song. I’m listening to a Korean song, but why do I keep hearing English after Korean? The Effects First, let’s talk about the results of the two songs that we saw in the above part, <Super Shy> and <Party O’Clock>. With their popularity and maybe the power of English lyrics, the “Get up” album that contains <Super Shy> was ranked 126th on the Billboard 200. As a result, “Get up” has stayed for 16 consecutive weeks, since entering the top spot on the chart on August 5th, breaking the record for the longest chart for a fourth-generation K-pop girl group album. <Super Shy> and <ETA>, which is also in the album “Get up”, are popular on global charts. However, there is a disagreement between the opinion that it has the best addictive quality and that there are too few Korean lyrics. NMIXX’s case is a little bit like the case of NewJeans, but NMIXX’s case is slightly different. Even though there are many English words in its lyrics, it is hard to find a critical opinion about it. In the aspect of result of popularity, the music video for <Love Me Like This>, has drawn attention as it was fun to find the meaning of various objects, and it reached one hundred million views. The latest <Party O’Clock>, which expresses the mysterious things happening in the forest on midsummer night, is cruising toward the 100 million-view mark, giving fans around the world a cool, refreshing feeling and easily exceeding 50 million views. It is a rising and clear issue that many K-pop artists are using more English words than Korean words these days. Although it has positive effects like global success to expand their audiences of their songs, I think K-pop should maintain the ‘K’ in their songs and performances. What do you think about this issue? I want you to consider deeply about this issue at least if you are Korean. Sources: https://www.joynews24.com/view/1626267 https://newsis.com/view/?id=NISX20231115_0002521571&cID=10601&pID=10600 https://m.blog.naver.com/banon4441/223153629290 https://m.blog.naver.com/golaeyam/223049305406

• 작성일 2023-11-25
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제 20 호 Unsuccessfulness of Discussion on Lowering Movie Tickets to 7,000 won Every Wednesday

Kicker: ENTERTAINMENT Unsuccessfulness of Discussion on Lowering Movie Tickets to 7,000 won Every Wednesday By Yun-Seo Jung, Reporter yysj1230@naver.com Have you seen a movie in a movie theater in the past year? If you have, how many times have you visited the movie theater in a year to see a movie? And are you satisfied with the current movie ticket prices? According to movieprofessionals on the November 1st, "We are looking through expanding the benefits of 'Culture Day' on the last Wednesday of each month, centering on The Korea Cinema Industry Associationand the Korean Film Council.”This means that the three multiplex companies, Megabox, CGV, and Lotte Cinema, take account of extending their offer of half-price 2D movies from 5pm to 9pm on ‘Culture Day’ to every Wednesday.Unfortunately, this discussion ultimately fell through.According to the industry on the 10th, CGV, Megabox, and Lotte Cinema, which are members of The Korea Cinema Industry Association, had follow-up discussions on various ideas, such as lowering the movie ticket price to 7,000 won every Wednesday, but were unable to narrow the differences between stakeholders. However, starting with this discussion, the film industry decided to find several ways to revitalize the stagnant movie market by lowering the burden of movie tickets for audiences.It's a shame that this discussion has been canceled, as a lower movie ticket price was something that many people wanted. Reasons for increase in movie ticket prices So, why did movie theater prices increase? The biggest reasons for the increase of movie tickets are COVID-19 and OTT platforms. COVID-19 has reduced the number of people visiting movie theaters, and the rise of OTT platforms has further decreased the number of moviegoers. In fact, theater sales in the Korean film market in 2020 decreased by 73.3% compared to the previous year. Also, in 2021, Korea's theater revenue was 584.5 billion won, a 69.4% decrease from 1.91 trillion won in 2019, before COVID-19. And according to the graph of moviegoers by Lotte Members, the number of moviegoers in 2019 was about 8 million, but in 2020 and 2021, it dropped by almost one-third to about 3 million. Unlike the theater industry, which faced a major crisis due to an outstanding decrease in moviegoers, the OTT platforms were greatly welcomed by people at that time when most people stayed at home. As the OTT platform produces its own variety of original series such as movies and dramas, there was not any reason to go to the movie theater. In fact, according to statistics on the 'OTT service usage by generation' by the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI) at the time, OTT usage rate rose sharply from 41.0% in 2019 and 72.2% in 2020 to 81.7% in 2021. This is interpreted as a result of the rapid increase in OTT use in conjunction with the spread of COVID-19. In fact, many people have wanted ticket prices to be reduced for a long time, but there are also reasons why companies cannot hastily reduce theater ticket prices in a day.Ticket prices vary depending on individual contracts, but if a ticket generates 15,000 won in sales, the government takes a total of 13% (1,950 won), including 10% VAT and 3% film development fund.The remaining 87% is divided into half (6,450 won) between theaters and distributors.The distributor takes the distribution fee at a separate rate, and the remaining money is shared by the investment company and the production company when the movie exceeds the break-even point (BEP).If the distributor and the investment company are the same, the calculations are different. A film industry official said, "This discussion has proven to some extent that theaters do not decide prices arbitrarily, so now production companies, investors, distributors, etc. can try various things for each movie being released." And he added, "I think we can start discussions on diversification, such as price system, discount policy, and promotion." It is very unfortunate that this discussion was finally canceled, but hopefully we'll see a more affordable way to watch movies, both for businesses and consumers, in the near future. Sources : Sun A Kim. (2022). Changes and Implications of the Korean Online Movie Market after COVID-19. journal of korea contents society, 22(12), 368-378, 10.5392/JKCA.2022.22.12.368 https://www.ajunews.com/view/20220430211639298 https://www.news1.kr/articles/5227178 https://isplus.com/article/view/isp202310310077

• 작성일 2023-11-25
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제 19 호 How does SNS affect Our Lives?: Positive or Negative

Kicker: ENTERTAINMENT How does SNS affect Our Lives? : Positive or Negative By Ye-Dam Hwang, Cub-reporter hwangyedam1108@naver.com Do you have a SNS app in your phone? Like its meaning (social networking service), today, many people use SNS and they share their life through this app by posting some photos and texts. Also, SNS is used by people all over the world, SNS connects people globally. Through these functions, some people who are popular and have many followers appeared such as influencers and celebrities. Like buying something that an influencer used or following trends that a celebrity leads, the influencers and the celebrities affect people and their lives. However, SNS has not only positive things but also negatives. People can be swindled by influencers and some people can make an effort to be famous and popular like influencers. As this influence range of SNS is growing bigger, nowadays, some dramas and movies deal with SNS’s impact on people. These media show not only positive effects of SNS, but also their negative effects, too. Actually, they mostly treat some problems of SNS. They imply us an issue of SNS and denote the danger of people’s blindness about SNS. Therefore, this article is going to check some issues of SNS using the media and videos about it. Appearance of Dramas about SNS These days, some dramas and movies deal with SNS, especially the negatives. Maybe these media’s appearance is natural because the power of SNS and their influence are growing bigger while issues of SNS can be social problems. For example, the fast spread of information can help to convey fake news, the anonymity of SNS can cause malicious messages, and too much care of SNS can cause addiction to it. Like these changes caused by SNS, its function can make not only good effects but also bad effects. It proves that SNS affects our lives more deeply than we think. There are some dramas and movies about SNS’s negative aspects such as “Celebrity” and “Happiness Battle”. As you can guess with its title, “Celebrity” shows celebrities in SNS and their lives. It mainly describes the fancy and fierce aspect of celebrities who get money when he or she become famous that ‘Ari’ who has been an ordinary person and made a debut in the world of celebrities faces. A suspense thriller drama “Happiness Battle” shows us how people do anything to protect their images that are shown to others. Its main story is the battle between the person trying to conceal the secret and the person trying to reveal the suspicious death of one of the mothers who fiercely competed for happiness on social media. About SNS’s Problems in the Dramas In “Celebrity”, people are carried away by celebrity’s or influencer’s opinions. Since the fast spread of information, it is easy to be wish-washy with news that cannot be checked correctly if the news is true or fake. Then it can cause the malicious comments to the target of their swayed viewpoint. In the last part of this drama, the girl who helped and threatened ‘Ari’ acts like a rich person, but the truth is the complete opposite. Also the celebrities in the drama break off the person with problems to keep them from affecting by him or her, even if that person’s problem is tiny. Through these two situations, we can realize that most people who use SNS want to protect their images that show famousness and popularity. Moreover, it can be interpreted as reflecting people’s inhumanity because some people cut off relationships only for their images. In “Happiness Battle”, the mothers of an apartment compete ‘happiness’ with their social media posts. As they compete in their life, they give presents affectionately or post an ugly picture of some of them. It can seem somewhat childish, but they are obsessed with their posts’ number of likes and comments. With this situation, it can cause addiction to SNS and further destroy people’s lives. Besides the two dramas mentioned above, many SNS-themed dramas and movies appear these days. Their appearance makes clear the issues and problems that SNS gives to our lives. Since the problem of SNS is not only for special people, I hope people, at least readers of this article will beware of SNS and this article will alert people to using SNS. Sources : https://www.breaknews.com/970744 http://www.newstomato.com/ReadNews.aspx?no=1185623&inflow=N

• 작성일 2023-08-17
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제 18 호 Disappearing Korean Intangible Cultural Property

Kicker: Entertainment Disappearing Korean Intangible Cultural Property By Su-Young Kim, Reporter /kimsuyoung1342@gmail.com There are many proud cultural heritages in Korea. Through cultural heritage, we can see and feel tradition and keep our own unique things. There are two types of cultural heritage, one is tangible and the other is intangible. We are going to find out intangible cultural heritage in particular. Intangible cultural properties refer to all cultural properties that cannot be preserved by materially stopping, such as music, dance, theater, craft technology, and play, which should be preserved and spiritual creation of humankind. Types of intangible cultural properties in Korea include Pansori, which is a song with a story to the drum, Talchum with a traditional mask and Onggijang, a person who can make pottery that can store food for a long time. However, these important intangible cultural properties are on the verge of disappearing. Let’s talk about why intangible cultural properties are on the verge of disappearing, why intangible cultural properties should be preserved well, the state’s efforts to preserve intangible cultural properties, and Korea’s intangible cultural properties that are now expanding into the world. I’m going to introduce some Korean intangible cultural property to you. First, Kimjang which makes a lot of kimchi at once in late autumn, has been registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. UNESCO made the decision in recognition that kimchi is not only a food that has been handed down for hundreds of years, but also an important cultural heritage that has shaped the identity of the Korean people. Second, Jongmyo-Jeryeak refers to the music played using dance, songs, and instruments during ancestral rites at shrine of kings and queens in the Joseon Dynasty and is also called Jongmyoak. This is the essence of court music that combines instrumental performance, singing and dancing in the Joseon Dynasty and although it shows our cultural traditions and characteristics, it has a unique style and beauty that cannot be seen in foreign countries. Jongmyo-Jerye and Jongmyo-Jeryeak were designated as national intangible cultural properties in 1964 and are preserved and transferred. Lastly, Najeonjang is a technique of grinding beautifully patterned abalone or shells on wooden furniture or objects, cutting patterns, and attaching them with lacquer. Picture of Doing Kimjang Picture of Jongmyo-JeryeakPicture of Najeonjang As I mentioned before, these intangible cultural properties are on the verge of disappearing because there is no one transferred this technology and culture. Even though craftspeople only teach their children the technology, it is not easy. Pansori, which we know well, is also in a bad situation. Pansori is more popular than other intangible cultural properties, so there seems to be no problem, but male singers are on the verge of disappearing. Few of the students who have started learning Pansori now are men. Pansori has different types of songs depending on the gender of the singer, but if this situation continues, the songs sung by men may disappear. Also, the biggest reason why intangible cultural properties are disappearing is the lack of demand. To preserve intangible cultural properties, the state also hosts public events for national intangible cultural properties or conducts transmission activities organized by transmission, selection of excellent successors and capacity building projects. However, it takes more than 20 years to become an intangible cultural asset holder. In most cases, it is difficult to make a living, so there are no more successors. Nevertheless, the reason why intangible cultural properties should be well preserved is that tangible cultural properties are connected. If intangible cultural properties are technologies to create traditional products, tangible cultural properties can be said to be the result, and in 2008, a fire broke out in Sungnyemun Gate, Korea's No. 1 national treasure. It was restored five years later, and all intangible cultural heritage craftspeople participated during the restoration process. If intangible cultural properties had been destroyed at that time, we would not have been able to see Sungnyemun Gate again. Consequently, as intangible cultural properties become another national competitiveness, their role is becoming important. “A tiger is coming down” of the band "Inalchi" has gained worldwide attention and popularity with a song based on pansori. And the tug-of-war in the drama Squid Game is also listed as an intangible cultural property. To create new things based on old things, the original intangible cultural properties must be well preserved. I think policies related to supporting education expenses for transmitters should be further strengthened for Korea's intangible cultural properties to be well preserved and inherited and it is important to try to be more friendly and widely known to the public. Therefore, in each region, there are festivals where you can enjoy the unique intangible cultural properties of the region, such as the Gwangalli Eobang Festival (Fishing Village Festival) and Jeju Intangible Cultural Heritage Daejeon. I hope you will experience intangible cultural properties in person, feel how precious they are and continue to pay attention through these festivals. Sources : Cultural Heritage Administration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egs33HTr9Tc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cysYVhMt82I https://youtu.be/3P1CnWI62Ik

• 작성일 2023-05-29
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제 17 호 Virtual Influencer’s Diversified Stage

Kicker: ENTERTAINMENT Virtual Influencer’s Diversified Stage by Ji-Min Baek, Reporter pjm5875@naver.com Do you know about an influencer named ROZY? I think you have probably seen her in a TV commercial at least once. ROZY is the first virtual influencer in Korea, working in a variety of fields beyond being an advertising model. The virtual influencer market is growing not only in Korea but also around the world, and virtual influencers are emerging in various fields, so I will cover about this in the article. About Virtual Influencers Virtual influencer is a combination of virtual, which means virtual, and influencer, which means celebrity, and is a newly coined word that means virtual celebrity, made by computer graphics. Virtual influencer is mainly set to 10-20 Generations and is first released through Social Network Services. It is not a real human being, but it has a human figure and each has its own characteristics. In addition, like actual influencers, they run SNS and share and communicate their daily lives. Virtual influencer has an image of MZ and is more preferred by companies because they have less risk than ordinary influencers or celebrities who may have problems such as privacy. Accordingly, companies develop their own virtual influencer and promote using them. Virtual Influencer Is Active Virtual influencer mainly acts as an advertising model, and marketing using virtual influencers in the distribution industry was the main focus. They are expanding their scope of activities by conducting live broadcasts that communicate with customers in real time beyond just filming advertisements. The most active virtual influencer in Korea is Lucy, developed by Lotte Home Shopping. Lotte Home Shopping introduces Lucy as a 29-year-old model and car design researcher who majored in industrial design, which is gaining huge popularity by securing many followers on SNS after its release. Lucy made her successful debut as a live commerce host, selling out the luxury fashion brand's merchandise in 25 minutes. In addition, ROZY mentioned above was a first-generation virtual influencer and served as a model exclusively for various advertisements as well as Shinhan Life. ROZY has a pure Korean name, meaning only one person, and is seen as an image of a unique fashion sense and a free-spirited sociable personality. Accordingly, ROZY's bags and cosmetics and so on are called ROZY Items and are attracting attention. lottehomeshopping instagramrozy.gram instagram Musinsa, a fashion platform, produced a virtual human ambassador, a virtual influencer working with Yoo Ah-in, an advertising model. Virtual influencers are working as youtubers and girl groups beyond simple models and SNS communication. Rui is a virtual youtuber developed by startup company dob studios, singing and running his own channel, RuiCovery. In addition, the recently debuted virtual girl group MAVE is the debut of a character in the netmarble game. MAVE is based on the worldview that four children from the future crash-landed on Earth in 2023 in search of freedom of emotion. In addition, a sound source and music video called Pandora were released. As such, virtual influencers work with quite specific situation settings and characteristics, and their popularity is also growing day by day. In addition, they are gradually moving beyond marketing means and models to the entertainment field and developing their own contents. Concerns about Virtual Influencers There are also voices of concern as the location and popularity of virtual influencers grows. Some argue that the more non-human beings resemble humans, the higher their likeability, but according to the theory called Uncanny Valley, which suddenly feels strong rejection when they reach a certain level, there may be a strong rejection of virtual influencers at an instant. In addition, ethical considerations will be needed for comments such as reviews of virtual influencers' experiences that do not exist. In addition to the foregoing, there are a variety of virtual influencers, and the field is also expanding. With the introduction of virtual influencers, many contents will gradually change, and as new things emerge, side effects are expected, so we should continue to pay attention and see how we will proceed. Sources: https://www.viva100.com/main/view.php?key=20230206010001573 https://economist.co.kr/article/view/ecn202302060055 https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/economy/it/1076401.html https://www.inews24.com/view/1560918 https://post.naver.com/viewer/postView.nhn?volumeNo=31924548&memberNo=30295480&vType=VERTICAL https://post.naver.com/viewer/postView.naver?volumeNo=30806477&memberNo=21959512&searchKeyword=%EA%B0%80%EC%83%81%20%EC%9D%B8%ED%94%8C%EB%A3%A8%EC%96%B8%EC%84%9C%20%EB%A1%9C%EC%A7%80&searchRank=2 https://newsis.com/view/?id=NISX20221214_0002123080&cID=13001&pID=13000 https://www.polinews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=601799 http://www.readersnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=106742

• 작성일 2023-02-20
• 좋아요 Like 1