Cultural Policy in South Korea: Making a New Patron State

181 Pages·2018·2.288 MB·English

by  Hye-Kyung Lee

This book is a captivating and greatly needed addition to cultural policy studies.
As the first English- language book on Korean cultural policy, it aptly historicises
the evolution of Korean cultural policy since the early twentieth century and
clearly articulates diverse perspectives embedded in the national cultural policy.
By rendering the tensions and negotiations among various theoretical and prac-
tical frameworks, in particular between state- developmentalists and neoliberal
globalists, surrounding major cultural policy issues, it clarifies the reasons why
media scholars, cultural producers and policy makers refocus on cultural policy
in the ever- growing Korean cultural industries and the Korean Wave contexts.
Without a doubt, this is timely and an indispensable chaperone for researchers
and students who are interested in cultural policy studies, globalization studies,
media studies and Korean studies.
Dal Yong Jin, Simon Fraser University
For those of us less familiar with Korean history, Hye-K yung Lee gives us a
richly contextualised and accessible account of cultural policies since the era of
Japanese colonial rule, explaining their evolution both in terms of South Korea’s
own political dynamics since the 1940s and the nationally diffracted effects of
globalization. At the same time, Lee has extensive familiarity with Anglophone
discussions of cultural policy, and the book represents an incisive and original
intervention in those discussions. In particular, it recasts or ‘provincialises’ pre-
vailing conceptions of state- culture-economy relations, and shows an admirable
awareness of the broad range of fronts on which cultural policies have operated.
Jeremy Ahearne, University of Warwick
In this timely book Hye-K yung Lee examines the history of state patronage in
South Korea during the twentieth century, culminating in the current era some-
times described as the Korean Wave. She considers trajectories of cultural policy
and its institutions in the context of democratisation, globalisation, and evolving
regional relations. Theoretically informed and rigorous, this study will be the
benchmark for future research in the area.
Michael Keane, Curtin University

Cultural Policy in South Korea
This is the first English-l anguage book on cultural policy in Korea, which criti-
cally historicises and analyses the contentious and dynamic development of the
policy. It highlights that the evolution of cultural policy has been bound up with
the complicated political, economic and social trajectory of Korea to a surprising
degree. Investigating the content and context of the policy from the period of
Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945) until the military authoritarian regime
(1961–1988), the book discusses how culture, often co- opted by the government,
was mobilised to disseminate state agendas and define national identity. It then
moves on to investigate the distinct characteristics of Korea’s contemporary cul-
tural policy since the 1990s, particularly its energetic pursuit of democracy, a
market economy of culture and outward cultural globalisation (the Korean
Wave). This book helps readers to understand the continuous presence of the
‘strong state’ in Korean cultural policy and its implications for the cultural life
of Koreans. It argues that this exceptionally active cultural policy sets an
important condition not only for artistic creation, cultural consumption and cul-
tural business in the country, but also for the nation’s ambitious endeavour to
turn the success of its pop culture into a global phenomenon.
Hye- Kyung Lee is a Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Creative Industries at
King’s College London, UK.
Media, Culture and Social Change in Asia
Series Editor
Stephanie Hemelryk Donald
Editorial Board
Gregory N. Evon, University of New South Wales
Devleena Ghosh, University of Technology, Sydney
Peter Horsfield, RMIT University, Melbourne
Chris Hudson, RMIT University, Melbourne
Michael Keane, Curtin University
Tania Lewis, RMIT University, Melbourne
Vera Mackie, University of Wollongong
Kama Maclean, University of New South Wales
Laikwan Pang, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Gary Rawnsley, Aberystwyth University
Ming-y eh Rawnsley, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Jo Tacchi, Lancaster University
Adrian Vickers, University of Sydney
Jing Wang, MIT
Ying Zhu, City University of New York
The aim of this series is to publish original, high- quality work by both new and
established scholars in the West and the East, on all aspects of media, culture
and social change in Asia.
54 The Beatles in Japan
Carolyn S. Stevens
55 Sex Trafficking and the Media
Perspectives from the United States and Thailand
Meghan Sobel
56 Television in Transition in East Asia
Ki- Sung Kwak
57 North Korean Graphic Novels
Seduction of the Innocent
Martin Petersen
58 Cultural Policy in South Korea
Making a New Patron State
Hye- Kyung Lee
For a full list of available titles please visit: www.routledge.com/Media- Culture-
and- Social-Change-i n-Asia- Series/book- series/SE0797
Cultural Policy in South Korea
Making a New Patron State
Hye- Kyung Lee
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Hye- Kyung Lee
The right of Hye-K yung Lee to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-i n-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-83135-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-73661-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Notes on the Romanisation of Korean ix
1 Introduction: culture and the state 1
2 The origins of cultural policy 20
3 Modernising country and nationalising culture 37
4 Democracy and cultural policy transformation 63
5 Doing cultural policy in the neoliberal era 87
6 The Korean Wave inside out 118
7 Conclusion: past, present and future of the new patron
state 146
References 151
Index 167
Acknowledgements
I thank Nobuko Kawashima, Simone Wesner and the late Lorraine Lim for their
support and friendship throughout this book project. Kiwon Hong, Yim
Haksoon, Yeran Kim, Park Youngjeong, Kwon Shinyoung, Maria Rosa Perez
Monclus and Yi- Hsuan Lai provided constructive feedback on early versions of
the chapters, helping me to reflect on my views and findings. Some of my initial
ideas and thoughts were presented at Cultural Geography of the Hallyu Confer-
ence (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2014), Creative Economy Workshop
(Doshisha University, 2014), Hallyu Conference (Charles University, 2014),
Vereinigung für Koreaforschung Conference (University of Tübingen, 2014),
International Conference on Cultural Policy Research (Seoul, 2016) and Asian
Media Conglomerates Symposium (UCL, 2017). I am grateful to the organisers
of these events for their invitation and the participants for helpful questions and
comments. I am also indebted to the late Lee Jong- In, Yoo Min- Young, Kim
Dong- Ho, Kim Byongik, Park Gwang- Moo, Lee Jong- Duck and anonymous
interviewees, who shared with me their experiences of and insights into Korean
cultural policy and its historical development. However, any mistakes or errors
are mine. Peter Sowden at Routledge has given me very generous support.
Finally, I thank my family in the United Kingdom and South Korea, especially
Joonhee and Jong-I hn not only for their love and encouragement but also for
their sharp comments on the manuscript.
This book is based on my research on cultural policy in South Korea during
the past few years, which benefited from a research grant from the Academy of
Korean Studies (AKS-2014-R44). A small part of the book draws from my exist-
ing writings: Progress without consensus: ‘instituting’ Arts Council in Korea
(2012), International Journal of Cultural Policy, 18(3): 323–339; Cultural policy
and the Korean Wave (2013) in Kim, Youna (ed.) The Korean Wave: Korean
Media Go Global. London: Routledge, pp. 185–198; and Politics of the ‘creative
industries’ discourse and its variants (2016), International Journal of Cultural
Policy, 22(3): 438–455.
Notes on the Romanisation of Korean
Korean to English Romanisation follows the Revised Romanisation system.
Korean names are addressed in the order of family name and given name. When
the English names are available, I have used them. The titles of Korean language
references are Romanised and their English translations are given. Most Korean-
language journal articles that have been recently published have an English-
language title and abstract. If this is the case, I have not provided Romanisation
or my own English translation of the title.