[Pleasant FTA] Just as the Korean Wave Is Not an Invasion...

People in Hong Kong and China are captivated by the drama *Dae Jang Geum*, and people in Vietnam are enthusiastic about our singer Rain. As a result, concerns are arising in those countries. The claim is that the Korean Wave is causing their traditional cultures to disappear. But is the Korean Wave really destroying their cultures and culturally dominating them?

In reality, that is not the case. The Korean Wave not only provides people in Hong Kong, China, and Vietnam with enjoyable entertainment, but also introduces new lifestyles and trends. Korean stars should not be seen as ruling over them, but as serving them. One can easily see from TV entertainment programs how polite our stars are before fans in those countries. The Korean Wave should also be understood as a catalyst that enriches cultures that had long remained closed and stagnant.

The same is true of foreign films shown in Korea. Filmmakers warn that if the screen quota system is abolished, Hollywood movies will dominate our theaters and even go on to dominate our minds. But whether a film is made in Chungmuro or in Hollywood, a movie cannot dominate us. A movie is simply something we choose to watch if it is what we want to see.

Domination is something imposed against the will of the dominated. The essence of domination is forcibly taking what belongs to the dominated and compelling them to do what they do not want to do. That is why cultural “domination” cannot really be domination. Korean audiences who watch *Spider-Man 3* do so by their own choice. No one forces us to watch that movie. We simply choose to see it because it is entertaining. A movie cannot dominate us. Rather, those who try to impose the screen quota system—thereby forcibly depriving us of the opportunity to watch entertaining films—are the ones who dominate us.

It is true that Hollywood movies can change our tastes. But even there, the word domination does not fit. The freedom to choose what we like also belongs to us. Whether each citizen upholds our traditional values or shifts to American-style values should be left to individual choice. Just as a Vietnamese person who chooses a Korean-style way of life is not thereby under Korean domination, a Korean who chooses American-style values is not thereby under American domination. Foreign culture cannot dominate us.

Original title: [유쾌한 FTA ] 한류가 침략이 아니듯이...

Author: Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

Date: 2007-06-20

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=column&pn=20&idx=10694