CIVICS ASSIGNMENT

CULTURE

1
What is Culture?
Culture describes a customs, ideas and social behavior of a group of
similar people in a society. Geographical borders usually segregate
cultures. Some characteristics like language, religion, food habits, social
norms, music and arts stay specific in one particular culture. It is your
identity.

Why Culture is So Important?

Culture is important for us because it define our identity. Culture helps
us understand and know the meaning of our life. Culture help people
connect one to another and build communities.

Culture of South Korea

The contemporary culture of South Korea developed from the
traditional culture of Korea which was prevalent in the early Korean
nomadic tribes. By maintaining thousands of years of ancient Korean
with influence from ancient Chinese culture South Korea split on its own
path of cultural development away from North Korean culture since
the division of Korea in 1948.
The industrialization, urbanization and westernizationof South Korea,
especially Seoul, have brought many changes to the way Korean
people live. Changing economics and lifestyles have led to a
concentration of population in major cities (and depopulation of the rural
countryside), with multi-generational households separating into nuclear
family living arrangements. Nowaday, in asia korea is well known for
their musics and dramas.

2
Music
Many korean pop stars and groups are spreading throughout east and
southeast asia. K-pop often features young performers. K-pop begins in
1970s and 1980s when many musician appeared. The popularization of
korean pop music come from many sources including YouTube and
other video streaming sources. With the growth of social media, it has
helped with the expansion of K-pop globally and K-pop popularity are
still increaing even now.
K-pop marked a turning point in 1992 when a group called Seo Taiji and
boys incorporated elements of american popular music genres of the
1990s, their popularity was based on innovative hybridization of music
as they creatively mixed the genres like rap, soul, rock and roll, techno,
punk, hardcore and even ppongjjak, and invented a unique musical form
which 'employs rap only during the verses, singing choruses in a pop
style' with dynamic dance movements.
Popular artists who diverge from the K-pop sound include solo
singers BoA, Lee Hyori, IU, Rain (a.k.a. 'Bi' in Korea), rapper PSY, boy
bands H.O.T, Shinhwa, Infinite, TVXQ, Super
Junior, BIGBANG, SHINee, iKON, 2PM, U-Kiss, B1A4, EXO, NCT, F.T.
Island, 2AM, CNBLUE, MBLAQ, SS501, Beast, GOT7, BTS, B.A.P, Sev
enteen, Monsta X, VIXX and girl groups Girls' Generation,
T-ARA, 2NE1, SISTAR, Kara, Apink, Brown Eyed Girls, 4minute, After
School, Wonder Girls, f(x), Miss A, Red
Velvet, Davichi, Blackpink, TWICE and many other artists. South Korea
is also home to its own form of hip hop artists, including Drunken
Tiger, Leessang, MC Mong, Epik High, Dynamic Duo, Block B, Jay
Park and GDragon.
In 2002 BoA became the first Korean pop star to break through in Japan
following the fall of barriers that had restricted the import and export of
entertainment between the countries since the end of World War II. For
that reason,she was awarded the title of Goodwill Ambassador, and has
since contributed to restoring the good relations between Japan and
South Korea. .
Some songs from popular groups formed dance crazes, such as
"Mirotic" by TVXQ, "Sorry Sorry" and "Bonamana" by Super Junior, "Tell
Me" and "Nobody" by the Wonder Girls, "On Rainy Days" and "Fiction"

3
by Beast ,"Fire" and "I Am the Best" by 2NE1, "Fantastic Baby"
by BIGBANG, "(Alone)" by CNBLUE, "Sherlock" by SHINee, "Roly Poly"
by T-ara "Gee" by Girls' Generation, "Nu ABO" by f(x), "BTD by Infinite,
"Beautiful Target" by B1A4, "Gangnam Style" by PSY, "Growl","Wolf",
"Overdose" by EXO and "Blood Sweat & Tears" by BTS and "TT"
by TWICE. These dance crazes would often spread quickly throughout
Asia, inspiring many people to imitate them in talk shows, commercials,
and even political campaigns. Because of their addictive sound and
inspired dance crazes, some of these songs have subsequently won
musical awards, such as the "Song of the Year".

4
Drama
Korean television and especially the short form dramatic mini-series
colloquially called "dramas" by Koreans have become extremely popular
outside of Korea. Dramas were foremost among cultural exports driving
the Korean Wave trend in Asia and elsewhere. The trend has driven
Korean stars to fame and has done much to boost the image and
prestige of Korean popular culture. One example that the Korean Wave
of drama have come into existence is in 1997, when the national China
Central Television Station (CCTV) aired a Korean television
drama, What is Love All About?, turned out to be a big hit. In response
to popular demand, CCTV re-aired the program in 1998 and recorded
the second-highest ratings ever in the history of Chinese television. In
1999, in Taiwan and China, another Korean television drama serial Stars
in My Heart, became a big hit. Since then, Korean television dramas
have rapidly taken up airtime on television channels in countries such as
Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia, which saw
media liberalization beginning in the 1990s.
Dramas showcase a wide range of stories, but the most prominent
among the export dramas have been romance (All About Eve, Autumn
Fairy Tale, Winter Sonata, My Fair Lady, Stairway to Heaven, Full
House, My Name is Kim Sam Soon, Goong, My Girl, Boys Over
Flowers, Shining Inheritance, You're Beautiful, Heartstrings, Secret
Garden, Dream High) and historical fantasy dramas (Dae Jang
Geum, Emperor of the Sea, Jumong, Sungkyunkwan Scandal). Korea
has also aired their first blockbuster spy drama, IRIS.

Korean Popular Culture on a Global Level

There are approximately 70,000 Korean students in American colleges
every year. Furthermore, increased immigration has reached to booming
heights of over a million in 2010 alone. With these migrations have come
the spread and expansion of Korean Popular culture. Known as the
"Korean Wave", hallyu in the United States and alike has led to Korean
movies, art, fashion, and music reaching popularity like never before.
For example, the popular South Korean film titled "Shiri" sold more than
5.78 million movie tickets in the United States alone.
One of the reasons for the success of the Korean Wave comes from the
influence the Korean government has in the production and distribution
of popular culture. Recent years have led to changes in access to both

5
enjoying and creating new songs, movies, and other types of popular
culture. Furthermore, reconfiguring Korean elements into more
Westernized ideas has helped increase popularity. One example comes
from recent collaboration with the Korean Government and others to
help achieve glocalization, making hallyu approachable and enjoyable
for people from many different cultures and backgrounds.

Conclusion
Culture is very important. In South Korea culture has been able to build
connection to other countries such japan, culture also provide income for
the country. Culture also make South Korea unique and it becomes
South Korea identity.