The Birth of Korean Cool (27 page)

2
.  Geoffrey Cain, “Soap Opera Diplomacy: North Koreans Crave Banned Videos,”
Time,
Oct. 29, 2009.,
http://content/time.com/time/word/article/0,85599,1933096,00.html.

7: WHEN KOREA BANNED ROCK ’N’ ROLL

1
. Mark Russell,
Pop Goes Korea
(Berkeley, Cal.: Stone Bridge Press, 2008), excerpted at
http://www.markjamesrussell.com/shin-joong-hyun-godfather-of-korean-rock/.

2
. This data is from the “official” Ed Sullivan fan site. By Sue’s own account, the Kim Sisters appeared on
The Ed Sullivan
Show
twenty-two times. See http://www.snujkl.org/?module=file&act=procFileDownload&file_srl=129&sid=fdd361a9fd3e55658 68b15241af3dd20.

3
.  Interview with Nichelle Nichols on NPR, “Star Trek’s Uhura Reflects on MLK Encounter,” Jan. 17, 2011,
http://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942461/Star-Treks-Uhura-Reflects-On-MLK-Encounter.

8: THE LEAN, MEAN, STAR-MAKING K-POP MACHINE

1
. The full contract can be found on the official site of the Korean Central Court; see
http://seoul.scourt.go.kr/dcboard/DcNewsViewAction.work?seqnum=6353&gubun=44. English translation of excerpts is available at
http://truetvxq.blogspot.com/2010/12/translation-of-contract-profit.html.

2
. I asked whether Psy’s previous marijuana conviction jeopardized his career. Lee Moon-won said that, as usual, Psy is an exception.
“Psy was always a crazy guy; he didn’t have a mainstream image.”

3
.
Report of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
, 2011, http://www.isaps.org/isaps-global-statistics.html.

4
. Seoul TouchUp, “Korean Plastic Surgery Clinic: The Plastic Surgery Mecca of the World,”
http://www.seoultouchup.com/korean-plastic-surgery-clinic-the-plastic-surgery-mecca-of-the-world/. Seoul TouchUp is self-described as “one of the few approved government-approved
medical/beauty travel agencies in Korea.”

5
.  Ibid.

9: NORTHERN GIRLS, SOUTHERN BOYS

1
. “Japan Expels N Korean leader’s ‘son,’ ”
BBC News
, May 4, 2001,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1310374.stm.

2
.  “Ministry of Culture to Expunge ‘Peace Studies’ Content from Doduk Texts,”
Hangyorae
, Jan. 6, 2001,
http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/schooling/331506.html.

10: K-DRAMA: TELE VI SION AND THE ORIGINS OF HALLYU

1
. It is now referred to simply as American Forces Network.

2
. Shim Sungeun, “Behind the Korean Broadcasting Boom,”
NHK Broadcasting Studies
6, 2008: 210–11,
http://www.nhk.or.jp/bunken/english/reports/pdf/08_no6_10.pdf.

3
. Chu Kun-liang, “Lesson for Taiwan’s TV Dramas,”
Taiwan Today
, Jan. 15, 2012,
http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=184852&ctNode=426.

4
.  Limb Jae-un, “Korean Dramas Find More Fan Bases in Latin America,” Korea.net, Mar. 26, 2013, http://www.korea.
net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=106571.

5
. Norimitsu Onishi, “What’s Korean for ‘Real Man’? Ask a Japanese Woman,”
New York Times
, Dec. 23,
2004,  http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/23/international/asia/23JAPAN.html?_r=0.

11: K-CINEMA: THE JOURNEY FROM CRAP TO CANNES

1
. Further detail on the law can be found in an article by Carolyn Hyun-Kyung Kim, “Building the Korean Film Industry’s
Competitiveness: Abolish the Screen Quota and Subsidize the Film Industry,”
Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal Association
, 2000. The penalty gets increasingly stringent if the
theater does not rectify the failure to meet the quota: “Theaters that violate the screen quota may have their business privileges suspended. If a theater fails to show films for the mandated
number of showing days and the violation is for a deficiency of less than twenty days, its business privileges will be suspended one day for every day of the deficiency. If the deficiency exceeds
twenty days, the suspension is three days for each day of the deficiency.” See http://digital.law.washington.edu/dspace-law/handle/1773.1/811 ?show=full.

2
. “Korean Box Office Top 50,”
Letterboxd
, Oct. 6, 2013,
http://letterboxd.com/lifeasfiction/list/korean-box-office-all-time-top-50/. Ranking is in terms of the number of tickets sold.

12: HALLYU: THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD

1
.
Hallyu: From K-Pop to K-Culture
(in Korean). Published jointly by the Ministry of Culture, Sport, and Tourism and the Korean
Culture and Information Service, 2012.

2
. Chris Kohler, “Q&A:
Mega Man
Creator Wants Japan to Admit Failure,”
Wired
, Apr. 12, 2012,
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/04/keiji-inafune-qa/.

3
. Peter Dyloco, “Can J-Pop Replicate Success of K-Pop?”
Japan Today
, Sept. 15, 2011,
http://www.japantoday.com/category/opinions/view/can-j-pop-replicate-success-of-k-pop.

4
. “Japan Outranks U.S. in Recorded-Music Sales,”
The Japan Times
, Apr. 11, 2013, cited at
http://aramatheydidnt.livejournal.com/4776405.html.

5
. Helienne Lindvall, “How K-Pop & J-Pop Are Saving Physical Music Sales,”
Digital Music News
, Apr. 10, 2013,
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2013/04/10/kpopjpop.

6
. “People Still Buy CDs . . . in Japan. Here’s Why,”
Bloomberg News
, July 3, 2013,
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/pairing-cd-s-with-concert-tickets-boosts-sales-SBWGKQOJSDSdy8T4AkxvNQ.html.

7
.
Cahiers du Cinéma
ranked
The Host
one of the top five films released between 2000 and 2009; see
http://www.allocine.fr/article/dossiers/cinema/dossier-18591772/?page=19&tab=0.
Le Monde
ranked it among the top five films for 2006 on their website published on December 28, 2006;
see http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/acheter.cgi?offre=ARCHIVES&type_item=ART_ARCH_30J&objet_id=971215&xtmc=bong_joon_ho & xtcr=44.

8
. Philippe Mesmer, “La Vague Pop Coréenne Gagne l’Europe,”
LeMonde
, June 10, 2011,
http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2011/06/09/la-vague-pop-coreenne-gagne-l-europe_1534023_3246.html.

13: KOREA’S SECRET WEAPON: VIDEO GAMES

1
.  Data provided directly from the the Ministry of Culture, Sport, and Tourism.

2
. Master Blaster, “Japan’s 30 Best-Selling Games of All Time,” Rocketnews24.com, July 8, 2012,
http://en.rocketnews24.com/2012/07/08/japans-best-selling-video-games-of-all-time/.

3
.  From Aligulac.com, a site devoted to
StarCraft 2
rankings; current as of November 13, 2013. See http://aligulac.com/.

4
. Data from sc2ranks.com, http://www.sc2ranks.com/.

14: SAMSUNG: THE COMPANY FORMERLY KNOWN AS SAMSUCK

1
. Sea-jin Chang,
Sony vs Samsung: The Inside Story of the Electronics’ Giants Battle for Global Supremacy
(Singapore: John
Wiley & Sons, 2008).

2
. As of November 2013, juries have sided with Apple in a number of cases, and have so far awarded a total of $930 million in damages to Apple.
The case is not fully resolved, with Samsung making continued motions and appeals. See “Samsung Owes Apple More than $290 More in Damages, Jury Says,” CNET.com, Nov. 21, 2013,
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57613390-37/samsung-owes-apple-$290m-more-in-damages-jury-says/.

3
.  Taken from a report by the analyst group International Data Corporation (IDC); see http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp
?containerId=prU.S.23849612.

4
. Interbrand’s 2012 brand value list can be found at
http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/previous-years/2012/Best-Global-Brands-2012-Brand-View.aspx.

5
. “Look Out, Sony!”
Forbes
, Apr. 16, 2001,  http://www.forbes.com/global/2001/0416/028.html.

6
. Frank Rose, “Seoul Machine,”
Wired
, May 2005,  http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.05/samsung.html.

7
. Peter Lewis, “A Perpetual Crisis Machine,”
Fortune
, Sept. 19, 2005, cited at
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/09/19/8272909/.

8
. Ibid.

9
. Ibid.

15: THE MINISTRY OF FUTURE CREATION

1
.  Kim Tae-jong, “Ministry of ICT: Give Pay Cut to Who Named It!”
Korea Times
, Apr. 3, 2013,
http://www.koreatimes. co.kr/www/news/biz/2013/04/123_133293.html.

2
. “South Korea’s Ten Largest Chaebols Represent 80 Percent of Korean GDP,”
East Economist
, Jan. 6, 2013,
http://www.easteconomist.com/2013/01/south-koreas-ten-largest-chaebols-create-80-of-korean-gdp/.

3
.  Jeong Kim, “A Return to South Korea, Thwarted by Nationalism,”
The Washington Post
, March 29, 2013,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jeong-kim-a-return-to-south-korea-thwarted-by-nationalism/2013/03/29/fa674336-97f8-11e2-814b-063623d80a60_story.html.

4
. Ryu Kyong-dong, “Future Ministry Officials Waiting to Be Assigned Have No Future,”
Korea IT News,
May 7, 2013,
http://english.itnews.com/policy/2762896_1302.html.

5
. Max Chafkin, “The Returnees,”
Inc.
, Dec. 2011,  http://www.inc.com/magazine/201112/the-returnees.html.

6
. Ibid.

7
. Ibid.

My agents and editors, who saw a book where there was none: George Lucas at Inkwell, Lizzy Kremer at David Higham, Anna deVries and Stephen Morrison at Picador, Abigail
Bergstrom and Briony Gowlett at Simon & Schuster UK. Where would I be without them? Nothing and nowhere. They showed remarkable restraint even though it was clear I had no idea what I was
doing. Anna of the incisive pen and diplomatic tongue deserves special mention. She could have written ten books with the time she devoted to editing mine. Oh Captain, my Captain.

My Korean ground team, who donated countless hours of their time to help me with this book, and who were selfless and generous beyond all reckoning. TH Lee and Minhee Sohn at GSA Public
Relations: you are the most capable people I have ever met or ever shall meet. A special, heartfelt thanks to Daniel Gray of O’ngo Food Communications and Charm Lee at the Korean Tourism
Organization. I was greatly inspired by author Kyung-sook Shin and the great minds behind Paju Book City. Thank you, Bobby Kwak and Khee Lee, for your kind assistance.

Longtime mentor Peter Beinart and his gracious and graceful wife, Diana, who have always welcomed me as a fellow rootless cosmopolitan. The magnificent couple Elisha and Lynn Wiesel, for their
good humor, good nature, impeccable hosting abilities, and for their almost preternatural generosity and understanding. Eli and Marion Wiesel, who were very influential on my world view, literary
sensibilities, and ethical education—sorry about the dry cleaning bill. Susan and Joseph Ditkoff, who have witnessed all my life stages with bemusement, but who have always reserved judgment.
The brilliant, compassionate Rana Choi, a fellow “son of Ben,” whatever we meant by that. High school friend Yonhee Cha. Yale chums Stephen and Helen Lee. Helen Fessenden—you are
intelligent, kind, and a godsend. Charles Ardai, a writer with too many talents and boundless creative advice. Robert Thomson, who gave me my first big break at the
Financial Times
.
Jonathan Zittrain at Harvard Law School, for being plain terrific. Damien McGuinness—my Berlin cohort—who read the first short story I ever wrote and encouraged me to turn it into what
became my first book. Midnight Madness Game Control, for letting me make final edits on my manuscript when I was supposed to be barring people from approaching the hint givers.

S. Mitra Kalita for her inspiring creativity and work ethic, and for forcing me to write that article about growing up in Gangnam.

This is the “I stand on the shoulders of giants” bit: were it not for the likes of Chang-rae Lee, Jeannie Park, Amy Tan, and Jeff Yang making strides for Asian-American writers,
there would be no apparatus for a book like this to exist.

My Paris friends. First, the writers from the La Rotonde luncheons, for welcoming me into your esteemed company and for reminding me why I became a writer: Diane Johnson, Jake Lamar, Barbara
Chase Riboud, Mavis Gallant, Ward Just, William J. Smith. Dinny, you are an inspiration as an artist, hostess, scholar, and human being. I am blessed to know you.

My dear, dear France 24 mates Khatya “Gravitas” Chhor, James “l’Ombre” Creedon, Leela “Swinger” Jacinto, Katherine “You Can’t Polish a
Turd” Thompson, Tony “Solomon the Wise” Todd. Vaila Finch: I am touched by your unswerving affection and friendship. Charlotte Wilkins: Lizzy to my Jane, your literary stardom is
all but inevitable. Derek Thomson and Raina Lampkins-Fielder, who survived the journey from exasperated boss to invaluable friends. Jarvis Cocker, for teaching me the “Five Years On”
rule, to which I still adhere. Helen Cho, a brilliant second set of eyes for this manuscript, fellow French slumlord, and another writer to watch.

To the city of Paris:
Comme a écrit Hugo: “Si l’on demandait à l’énorme ville: Qu’est-ce que c’est que cela? elle répondrait:
C’est mon petit.”

And my supportive and adoring and much adored family, who have put up with a lot of petulant behavior from me this year. Always, for that matter.