Literature application by Davison

Seeking the “others” within us, Korean-ness in K-pop

As a result of Jay Park’s mixed identity he had a more difficult time bringing his Korean-ness into his music, and having it fit into the frame work of k-pop as a force of Korean nationalism. In addition to this he also benefited from the timing of his career happening at a time when Korea was becoming more cosmopolitan and less monolithic.

Earlier in Jay parks career it looked like he struggled with bringing his Korean-ness into his music. Since he was born in America, when he started is career he did not speak Korean and was not familiar with Korean culture and lifestyle, he even made some derogatory comments towards Korea. The negative comments about Korea almost derailed his career, since K-pop is closely aligned with nationalism, as over time there has been a “greater cultural acceptance of popular music as a medium for making representations of Korean society.” (Lee 2006, 143) Hee-Eun Lee defined nationalism as a “shared framework of familiarity, common patterns of communication, myths, and rituals and social and cultural institutions” (Lee 2006, 137) Since Jay Park had none these it seemed difficult for him to be a part of nationalism, however the rise of his career has come at a time when there has been “Gradual transformation of the ridgely notion of we Koreans as monolithic” (Lee 2006, 143) Jay park has met this transformation half way by including elements of Korean-ness in his music and videos, such as filming videos in Korean food markets, and making songs like “soju.”

Jay Park has made an effort to make it clear that he is proud of his Korean heritage, by bringing Korean-ness into his music, in a way that makes it acceptable for the culture of K-pop as a form of nationalism.

Work Cited

Lee, Hee-Eun. 2006. “Seeking the “others” within us” Medi@sia