Literature Application - Junoh Bark

In "The poetics of resistance and the politics of crossing borders" by Um Hae-Kyung, Um argues that hip hop and rap have undergone adaptations in order to establish itself as a form of popular music in Korea, and consequently, rap serves as an example of reterritorialization. This argument helps to explain the hybridization of Korean and Western popular music. I state that Bak Jaebeom exemplifies the concept of cultural reterritorialization through his identity as a Korean-American, which enabled his role as a cultural broker to America of Korean culture. While the article discusses the introduction of hip hop culture in Korea during the 90's, the same model can also be used to explain the effect of Bak Jaebeom's role in the American music industry.

The article states that "the foundations of cultural territory are all open to new interpretations and understandings. Secondly, reterritorialization also implies that culture is constantly reconstituted through social interaction, sometimes by creative uses of personal communication, technology and the mass media” (Um 2013, 53). This means that the fundamentals of the concept of 'Korea' or 'America' are open to be studied from different perspectives, and that culture is always changing through means of social interaction.

In an interview discussing Bak's American debut single "Soju", he said that "the idea of mentioning 2 Chainz [an American rapper] and soju in a song is kind of foreign, but I [was] really aiming to bridge the gap between these two" (TheCut 2018). Jaeboem's interpretation of Koreanness is deeply influenced by his 2nd generation immigrant status, viewing the Korean identity through a new perspective. Jarv Dee, another American rapper from Jaebeom's label, released a song called “Seattle 2 Seoul”, an homage to Jaebeom's song with the same title. In the music video, Jarv Dee participates in quintessential Korean activity: drinking soju at a Korean BBQ restaurant. This music video with largely African American casting claims Korean cultural territory as its own, actively celebrating, and re-interpreting what Korean cultural space is. (329 words)

Works Cited THECUT. “ [Context] Jay Park Bak Jaebeom – Soju Soju”. Filmed [May 2018]. YouTube video, 8:06. Posted [may 2018]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQE9yaZq27Q&t. Um, Hae-Kyung. “The poetics of resistance and the politics of crossing borders: Korean hip-hop and 'cultural reterritorialisation.” Popular Music 32. no. 1 (2013): 51-64.