The poetics of resistance and the politics of crossing borders: Korean hip-hop and ‘cultural reterritorialisation’

Abstract

This paper examines the ways in which hip-hop has taken root in Korean popular culture. The processes that began in the early 1990s include appropriation, adaptation and ‘cultural reterritorialisation’. By looking at recent Korean hip-hop outputs and their associated contexts, this paper explores the ways in which Korean hip-hop has gained its local specificities. This was achieved by combining and recontextualising Afro-American and Korean popular musical elements and aesthetics in its performance and identification in the context of the consumption and commodification of Korean hip-hop as a ‘national(ised) cultural product’.

Keepin’ It Real: Authenticity, Commercialization, and the Media in Korean Hip Hop

“…These comments support Thornton's (1996) hipness concept as the underground is seen as desirable, thus linked to coolness. Overall, these comments align with Um's (2013) view that the Korean mainstream and underground scenes are not clearly defined.…”

“…As noted, research solely on Korean hip hop is minimal (Jung, 2006;Lee, 2007Lee, , 2011Morelli, 2001;Um, 2013). Much of this research focuses on analysis of texts such as lyrics, rather than original data (Jung, 2006;Lee, 2007Lee, , 2011Um, 2013). This research also often centers on Seo Taiji and the Boys (Jung, 2006;Morelli, 2001).…”

“…With most academic work on South Korean (hereafter Korean) music focused on Korean pop music, AKA K-pop (Howard, 2006;Lie, 2015;Nam, 2012 1 ), the burgeoning popularity of Korean hip hop has largely been neglected. Based on research for my Honors' thesis, this article seeks to build on previous literature (Lee, 2007(Lee, , 2011Morelli, 2001;Um, 2013) to gain a wider understanding of Korean hip hop culture from a holistic perspective.…”

Between dislocated and relocated Inter-Asian popular music studies: academic discourse and possibilities

“…The ‘high theory’ approach suits the historical context of the study of pop music in Asia. Examples are Um's (2013) study on the localisation of hip-hop in K-pop and Chu and Leung's (2013) work on the fusion of Western and Asian genres in Cantopop. This approach is substantiated by the existence of commercial popular music markets in Asia, which have been influenced by the ‘big 5’ (i.e.…”

Dougie Young and political resistance in early Aboriginal country music

“… 3 See Naerland (2014) and Um (2013) on hip-hop. See Cusic (2002) and Van Sickel (2005) on country music.…”