Korean Fantastique: Redux
A deserved light post. You’ll see why in the next couple of few days.
As soon I saw that on TV I just had to post it on the blog, although somehow I missed the gormless expression on Lee Yeon-hee’s (이연희) face from 00:15. After that I wasted a lot of time finding it because I thought that the model was Han Eun-jeong (한은정) – which you would have too if you’d seen the videos and pictures of her in this short bio I wrote - so once I actually found it then it was damn well going up regardless of what niceties a second look revealed!
Seriously though, why did I find it so compelling? Recall this very rare combination of one of my favorite trance songs and an amazing video accompanying it, especially from 1:32 onwards:
That probably says it all. If not, then well, cool gadgets have naturally always been a big part of my fantasies about living in a cyberpunk, techno future, but now that that future is actually here I find the mundane realities of existence of it overwhelming sometimes, and so I really do need ads like the above sometimes to remind myself of how simply amazing it is to be alive and in Korea in 2008.
Surely it’s not just me? I poured my heart and soul into a series that explored that theme here, here, here and finally here back in February, but those are amongst the least popular of the 194 posts I’ve written as I write this. Perhaps I was too clever for my own good with the choice of title for the series, something which is not unknown to happen from time to time, but then the subject defied easy classification.
It’s amazing that ads here do occasionally have the effects on me that they do though, as given that their intended messages are generally about escapism and identifying with the glamorous and beautiful people in them, then it’s just bizarre how there are almost just as many videos of making of ads (known as “CFs” or “Commercial Films” here) available on the internet here as there are of the ads themselves:
Why? Don’t they dilute the ads’ messages? I’ve been living in Korea for a long time now, but surely I’m right in thinking that most Western countries don’t really have these, yes?
If I was a besotted fan I’d want to see them I suppose, but as an advertiser I wouldn’t want to provide them for the reasons I said. Perhaps that is why Kim Tae-hee (김태희) has been so poorly branded, as Korean fans seem unusually focused on star’s perceived characters rather than their images per se. But from the actors’ and models’ point of view they’d probably be very annoying, forcing them to present those characters to the public 24/7. I bet they just love going home at the end of the day, much like I can stop being a clown who loves saying “Hieee” a hundred times a day the instant I’m out of the catchment zone for the institute I work at (no wonder I scowl at everyone on the bus home…I’m compensating).
Another thing the ads do is give us a sense of the here and now that nature is too slow to provide, and however trifling it sounds, part of that sense of transition is provided by what hairstyles are fashionable at any one time. Hence it was actually Lee Yeon-hee’s hairstyle which really did it for me, “modern” and distinctly “2000s” to me, although really they’re probably anything but ”new”. It’s why I like this picture of Eugene (김유진) so much too:
( Source )
No, I’m not about to restart posting gratuitous photos of attractive Korean women to get hits, although I’m not going to pretend that they haven’t always featured pretty prominently in my visions of the future – they are fantasies after all. Probably the ad which combines the two best is this old classic:
If that and the photo confirm to some commentators on the blog that I have an “Asian Fetish”, so be it. Ever since I wrote this series of posts and especially this one I’ve received a regular stream of abuse from some trolls accusing me of that, some of whom have continued their attacks on me via email after I banned them from commenting on the blog. It comes with the territory I suppose, but I’ve been noticing recently that I’m getting inklings of self-censorship on the topic as I type as a result, and I simply can’t have that. So while this post wasn’t originally intended to be a defiant response, I’m quite happy that is has partially become one.
(Let me be clear that no-one whose comments remain on the blog has done anything like that though, otherwise their comments would no longer be there)
Finally, let me present this next phone ad I found during my long search mentioned above. No, on this occasion I’m not going to comment on the fact that you’re unlikely to see a Western male and Korean woman in the same kind of ad for many years to come…but then check out what happens at 0:25. For all its flaws, Korea is slowly but surely becoming a more socially liberal place, as it would definitely have been banned when I first came here:
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In total agreement about why that first ad is so entrancing. I can’t figure it out. I find myself perking up like Pavlov’s dog whenever I have the tv on in the background and I hear that song start up. I don’t even think the actress is particularly attractive, but there’s something about the way it’s filmed combined with the music that makes it the ultimate commercial.
I really dig that old Lee Hyolee ad, if only because her dancing is a lot smoother than usual, rather than being all jerky and, almost, violent. The ad’s even somewhat creative, haing her dancing for an artistic purpose rather than just because hot chicks dancing sells stuff. Though I must admit I didn’t even realize that her dance was moving along with the phone until a second viewing. In fact, I barely noticed there was a phone at all…….
Like I said it was the hairstyle that first did it for me, although I too am not particularly attracted to the model/actress. I think the choice of music was ultimately the most crucial factor though, as it is that in the old Lee Hyori ad, and unusually well integrated into the ad too, rather than just sounding like the usual virtual random choice of accompanying music. Personally I did notice how her dancing was moving along with the phone, although I can understand if you were a bit light-headed watching it…
I think part of the reason why Korea is more into ultra modern escapism than the west is because Korea modernized in so little time, being a very nationalistic country, it wants to cherish and progress towards more technological advancement. I don’t know why the west isn’t so into the ultra modern thing, things that are deemed as high culture are kind of things of the past rather than those of the future. Time for relaxation is deemed more important and the whole gadgets thing is kind of anti-relaxing. I’m not sure about how Koreans like to relax, but I think you or some other blogger said something about everything being concentrated in Seoul, which I imagine is/is becoming ultra modern.
Linese,
I agree that Korea modernized very quickly, and that Koreans invest a lot of nationalistic pride in technological development. It’s also true that many Western things deemed high culture are old, although I think that reflects the inherent conservatism of the “deemers” more than anything else.
I don’t agree that Koreans are into “ultra modern escapism” though. I certainly am, but despite all the above Koreans have seem to have a very ambivalent attitude towards technology and science-fiction, as revealed by this, this and this post. It’s very ironic considering how ultra-modern outsiders like myself find the place.
It was me that wrote about everything in Korea being concentrated in Seoul by the way (here), but that was about a concentration of education and government rather than technology.