But SNSD's Yoona's still #1 for me:
Posted on 09/10/2014 12:10:42 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture. By Euny Hong. Picador; 288 pages; $16. Simon & Schuster; £14.99. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk
FROM “Gangnam Style” and competitive electronic sports to kimchi-flavoured pot noodles, South Korea’s cultural exports are eagerly consumed around the world. Filipinos are hooked on its dramas. The French love its pop music and its films. Last year South Korea raked in $5 billion from its pop-culture exports. It has set its sights on doubling that by 2017.
Much has changed since 1985, when Euny Hong, a Korean-American journalist and author of a new book called “The Birth of Korean Cool”, arrived in Seoul. South Korea was most definitely not hip. Its musicians had been muzzled by censorship, and busking, considered a form of protest, had been banned. The country had no mods, rockers or hippies. Dramas were “provincial and tedious”.
Over the next six years Ms Hong witnessed the swiftest part of the country’s economic development, “the painful period between poverty and wealth”. She recalls the anomalies of the time: newly wealthy women wearing mink coats at the fish markets; frequent power cuts in her family’s flat, the poshest in a posh district.
From this unpromising position South Korea managed to charge past Japan to become Asia’s foremost trendsetter, and Ms Hong interviews superstars, chefs and cultural critics to discover why. She finds that cool can be manufactured, up to a point. South Korea’s is a side-effect of the culture-exporting machine that was created at the end of the 20th century and has been nurtured by the government ever since....
(Excerpt) Read more at economist.com ...
rofl
Obviouly
:p
They do have car seats but they aren’t mandated like here. They are a lot more accepting of personal risk in Korea.
They believe people should watch where they walk and if they trip and fall they probably deserved it.
Two thumbs up.
I see, thanks.
Not exactly one generation. Having 3000 (yes, three thousand) years of civilization under her belt helps also.
Ive been to national parks there which have Buddhist temples 2000 years old. I remember seeing one very old grave stone which was 3800 years old. Was some kings grave.
But SNSD's Yoona's still #1 for me:
Next week’s “Running Man” will feature some top actresses as they do one of their “drama”-type episodes. The preview at the end of this weeks episode was hilarious as they entered the rooms where the RM guys were and launched into their acting, the RM cast not having been told this would happen.
We love Hyundais. We have owned three. Solid vehicles and an excellent value. Our son recently inherited our 2001 model and it runs like a champ.
Let us not forget Sunny and Dara!
two of the best in a single post (especially when Dara doesn’t have a crazy hair-do)
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