Cuisine vs. music

By Kang Hyun-kyung

In January 2010, I sat down with award-winning filmmaker Choi Dong-hoon for an interview about a topic that could have disturbed him a little bit ― the visibility of South Korean films in the international market.

Back then, I felt Korean films were in a way left behind by other homegrown cultural goods, such as music and dramas. Fueled by the success of Korean dramas all across Asia, K-pop groups rocked the region. But this was not the case for Korean films. There was no news about the success of Korean films overseas.

I was straightforward to ask him why Korean films weren't up there with K-pop and Korean TV dramas. He had short but convincing answers. He said dramas are free but films are paid for. You can watch TV for free if you tune in to certain channels. But films are different: viewers should pay if they want to watch them. So, according to him, watching movies takes the form of “a bolder, more active action” than consuming a TV series. Asked then if there were measures that could help South Korean films appeal to foreign viewers, the filmmaker paused a moment and said “food, food may help Korean films.” His rationale was that food stirs fantasies about the country of origin, so those who like Korean food would maybe want to explore other cultural products of the country, such as films.

Eight years have passed since my interview with the filmmaker.

Now I feel music, not food, may be at the top of the cultural hierarchy if such a thing really exists. Music can be a more powerful tool than food that can encourage foreigners to explore other parts of Korea. The role of music has been evident when one sees Korean cosmetics, foods, fashion and other products having benefitted from the rise of Korean music.

Recently I happened to watch an outdoor fashion show featuring Asian designers' clothes at Namsangol Hanok Village in Seoul. The catwalk took place in the mid-evening. Models wearing hanbok or traditional Korean costumes walked the runway.

What struck me at that time was not what I saw but what I heard.

The models walked the show amid music featuring the collaboration of an unknown traditional Korean opera singer and another unknown soprano.

I was speechless at the perfect, flawless combination of old and modern Korean singing techniques.

Korean-American designer Grace Moon, who also presented her clothes during the festival, told me later that music is an integral part of the runway shows.

Moon chose jazz music for her show that evening. She said jazz fits well for outdoor shows like the one that I attended.

“I chose Lee Mi-ja's song Assi because I liked it very much.” She said the vintage song reminded her of 1980 when she left Korea to study in England, when she was 19. “Assi is a song about the complicated feelings of a young girl who is getting married to a man she has never met before. It made me think about the unknown fears and uncertainty I faced when I was to leave my country for England for study,” she said.

In a recent AFP interview, French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier praised music for its influence as an eternal art.

“I don't think of fashion as art,” the veteran designer said. “Fashion is supposed to be superficial. It's true that by fashion you can express yourself a little and tell things, but it's not like music that goes through your nose, your ears, everywhere. Music is something very beautiful and that we truly need, like eating.”