Well hello friends. Sakura here. Today in this blog we are going to discuss a different topic, Newly Bloomed Friendship between South Korea and India & Kpop's role in it.
So recently in the month of July quite a few interesting events had occurred in India which is important not only in international politics and diplomacy between the two countries namely India and South Korea but also important in the socio-economic plain.
On the 8th of July Moon Jae In, the President and Kim Jung Sook the First Lady of South Korea visited India. he stayed here for 4 days starting from July 8-July 11. The President participated in summits, signed business deals, gave speeches and visited some places with his wife.
Now whenever two country's, be it any, politicians and diplomats meet usually they both have one or more agenda in mind. Usually South Korea doesn't have many affairs with India per say. So what happened suddenly?
In this regard I would like to mention this post of Times of India blog Why Korea Courts India: India gains importance for Moon as Korea’s ‘miracle economy’ starts to face new challenges. In fact this post is great one and speaks from a very neutral point of view. I'll quote-
There isn’t much room to expand Seoul’s already well-developed relations with China, Japan and the US. In fact, with new issues cropping up in ties with China and America, export-driven South Korea must find new markets to cut reliance on its top two trade partners. Moreover, despite increasing exports of semiconductors and electronics, South Korea’s economic growth has slowed, presenting it with important challenges.Indeed. South Korea now wants to expand it's stagnant market to India and who doesn't know that India is an alluring market for most companies. Samsung and LG already have a dedicated market here. Now it is creating a new factory in India that is supposed to be the world's biggest mobile phone manufacturing plant.
✭✮✯✰✱
But you might ask me, WHAT DOES KPOP HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT?
And it truly is a legitimate question. Let us check out this post Kpop Contest India 2018. Kpop contest India started in 2012. From that time Indian kpop fans have particiapted in Changwon Kpop World Festival.
✫✬✬✭✮✯✰✱✲✳✽✼✻✷✸✶✵✴
This year Korean boy group SNUPER was the judge on the festival which took place in Siri fort Auditoriam. New Delhi on 9.07.2018. Usually it's a great festival to enjoy and meet kpop lovers all over India. This year though turned a bit more special When South Korea's first lady attended the kpop event in India. Yes first lady Kim Jung Sook personally visited the festival and she was seen enjoying with the music. At the end of the performances she went to the stage and took photos with SNUPER and the participants.
Let us see it from neutral point of view. Yes kpop festival is an important event and coincidentally (or not?) the president and the first lady both were present in India. But surely the lady wasn't only present for enjoying the event although it is one important factor. She was also present there to see the interest about Kpop in India.
For some years Kpop is rising in India and fans here want many groups to hold concert here. However simply speaking Kpop is an industry. They sell music, albums and merchandise. So not until the entertainment companies see the country as a coveted market to sell all these and make profit any groups will not visit.
But this visit cleared their mind about the interest of Kpop in Indian fans. What is more important, I'll quote-
Indeed as the most famous groups are BTS and EXO in India at this moment. So it is obvious that Kpop sensation of India will pave the way for various artists to set foot in India and will also open up the closed coveted market for selling goodies and merches. And needless to say THIS WILL LED TO A POSITIVE IMPACT ON SOUTH KOREA'S CLOGGED ECONOMIC CONDITION.
✫✬✭✮✯✰✱✲✳✽✼✻✸✷✶✵
But the question is What Will India Gain?
Well the answer is complicated as only thing I can see is that there will be many artists to perform in India and the exchange between the two cultures. And if we take the Samsung hub in count some employment. Other than that ...hm...guess time will tell.
I will be eagerly waiting for future to unfold the answers.
Until then Sakura out.
Edit:- Economic Times has published this article after two days of my post. BTS tops Billboard 100 list: How K-pop helped Korea improve its economy
If you like my blog make sure to follow, like and comment.
But this visit cleared their mind about the interest of Kpop in Indian fans. What is more important, I'll quote-
"...What really caught our eye and ear (basically we hadn’t been this alert ever) was when the Director of Korean Cultural Centre India (KCCI), Kim Kum-Pyoung made a statement about recognising the power of Indian K-Pop fans and that he wishes to bring BTS and EXO group to India."
But the question is What Will India Gain?
Well the answer is complicated as only thing I can see is that there will be many artists to perform in India and the exchange between the two cultures. And if we take the Samsung hub in count some employment. Other than that ...hm...guess time will tell.
I will be eagerly waiting for future to unfold the answers.
Until then Sakura out.
Edit:- Economic Times has published this article after two days of my post. BTS tops Billboard 100 list: How K-pop helped Korea improve its economy
If you like my blog make sure to follow, like and comment.
