Nation branding or marketization?: K-Classic and Korean classical musicians in an era of globalization

Abstract

While many people may believe that Korean classical musicians’ success is the result of endless hours of practice and special musical instruction for talented children from a young age, this paper explores the systematic investment in classical music by the Korean government and large corporations. This paper aims to understand classical music as a nation branding tool in two ways. First, we trace Korea’s cultural policies since the early 1960s and locate the government’s investments in classical music in its cultural agendas. Second, by taking a critical approach to nation branding that highlights the role of the market and marketization, we investigate how and why classical musicians have collaborated with the Korean government in order to promote national pride domestically and a positive image of the nation internationally in an era of global competition. We highlight the government’s new agenda, ‘K-Classic,’ which has support from various actors, including private corporations.

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