INTERVIEW 'ASEAN can learn from Korean wave'
Member states collaborating with Korea in culture
By Jeong Min-seung
Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee, deputy secretary-general for the ASEAN socio-cultural community
HO CHI MINH, Vietnam ― A ranking official of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said hallyu, or the Korea wave, is a great learning opportunity for ASEAN’s creative industry.
“I genuinely believe we in ASEAN can learn from the K-wave model, creating something like an ASEAN wave, for example. Such a culture-led diplomatic outreach will go a long way toward building the common identity of ASEAN,” Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee, deputy secretary-general
for the ASEAN socio-cultural community, said.
“Korea’s creative industry has a knack for getting the pulse of its audiences, and this is something ASEAN can learn from. Thus, we are cooperating with Korea on developing the creative industries of the ASEAN member states,” he said in an interview with the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times.
He expects ASEAN and Korea to work together to step up creative collaboration, saying the ASEAN Culture House in Busan will contribute to doing so.
The Korean government opened the ASEAN Culture House in the port city Sept. 1 to mark the regional bloc’s 50th anniversary and the 2017 ASEAN-Korea Cultural Exchange Year.
The house is designed to enhance Koreans' understanding of the cultures and societies of ASEAN countries. It is also aimed at raising mutual awareness and friendship with the peoples of ASEAN.
Vongthep noted that the Korean wave has clearly been an effective exercise of soft power by Korea.
“Interestingly, K-wave as a tool of soft power was initially led by the private sector, mainly by media companies, rather than by the government. So it’s fair to say that K-wave is driven by market forces and business interests,” he said.
“It is also based on highly appealing content. The creativity encapsulated in songs, TV shows and movies from Korea was the foremost selling point of the K-wave and the growth of the fan base has been rather organic.”
He said the Korean wave has been a popular phenomenon all over ASEAN and beyond, adding that there continues to be a remarkable wave of Korea’s soft power sweeping the ASEAN people off their feet.
“My sense is it’s still very much widely appreciated by people of all walks of life,” Vongthep said.
He pointed out that the extraordinary success of Korean films such as “Train to Busan” and “Phantom Detective” and many television series are clear indications the Korean wave is growing strong.
The ASEAN official said G-Dragon is also capturing the hearts of many music lovers all over the region.
He added social media is clearly the new driving force of the Korean wave as opposed to it being popularized by television alone in the 1990s.
“The landscape and platforms of appreciating Korean pop culture have been diversified, even shifted, making it more accessible to audiences, hence there is more opportunity to ride on the momentum of K-wave’s popularity,” he said.
As for criticisms that K-pop is borderless or nation-less, Vongthep said K-pop is more than a testament of changing audience preferences and less of “borderless cultures.”
“While K-pop appears to pose a challenge to the usual dominance of Hollywood among ASEAN audiences, we have to recognize as well that the local entertainment industries in ASEAN member states are just as strong,” he said.
“What we are seeing now is the audiences’ ability to accommodate and consume popular culture from diverse cultural sources. The fact that these popular cultures can coexist shows audience preferences are varied and dynamic.”
He believes K-pop is an example of the dynamism of culture.
“K-pop also clearly illustrates the binding effect of culture as a medium for us to unite through and appreciate despite our differences in race, language, religion, history and other features,” he said.
Vongthep emphasized the importance of culture, saying it will continue to be one of the binding forces for the peoples of the region.
He stressed that intercultural understanding at the regional level is very important at a time when the world faces the threat of extremism and other forms of violence that could undermine the solidarity of the ASEAN community.
He said ASEAN is developing a new initiative called the “Culture of Prevention” to address the root causes of extremism and other forms of violence by promoting a culture of peace and intercultural understanding.
He is confident the promotion of intercultural understanding will strengthen and inculcate the shared values of tolerance, trust, mutual respect and peaceful co-existence among ASEAN citizens.
Vongthep has been serving as ASEAN deputy secretary-general since October 2015. His term ends in October 2018.
Before joining the ASEAN Secretariat, he worked as a director at the international affairs division of Thailand’s Ministry of Justice.
Jeong Min-seung is a correspondent of the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times.