School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield

National images of East Asia: From popular music to national stigma

Concerns with national image proliferate in contemporary society, and East Asia is not an exception. The two papers that make up this research seminar provide an eclectic perspective on the issues that arise from exploration of concepts related to national imagery, from day to day cultural consumption and production, to wide-reaching changes to diplomatic policy. The papers both also blend analysis of domestic and international factors, and serve as an illustration of the complex and deep nature that national images force us to engage with as scholars.

Dorothy Finan’s paper explores how imaginations of Japan and Korea influence the relative successes of popular cultural products, and uses this as a lens to illustrate the circular relation and reification of a Western-centric and Orientalist conception of “success” in the global mediascape.

Dr. Kristian Hauken’s paper explores Japan’s ongoing re-configuration of diplomatic policy regarding the “comfort women” issue. By applying the theoretical perspective of stigma-management, his paper shows that not only is Japan deeply concerned with its international image, but that its diplomatic policy has changed towards a more confrontational and revisionist approach to managing national stigma.

Seminar 1

12:00 - 13:00

Critical perspectives on the “global” success of J-pop and K-pop idols

By Dorothy Finan, PhD student and Daiwa Scholar in Japanese Studies at the School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield

Abstract:

The figure of the East Asian pop idol is becoming increasingly prominent all over the world, including in the US and the UK, the world’s first and third largest markets for popular music. In the wake of the chart success of K-pop idol acts such as BTS and BLACKPINK, many commentators position K-pop and J-pop idols in opposition to each other, asking: why is the former more “globally” popular than the latter?

In this talk, I will be critically examining the history of the international spread of J-pop and K-pop idols as types of music that are often understood as national popular musics. I will take a look at the structural factors (popular music production, copyright, and export) that affect the “global”-ness of each, but I will also be considering what is assumed by placing the two in opposition.

I argue that placing J-pop and K-pop idols in imagined competition to make it in Western anglophone popular music markets reinforces a very limited view of “global” success, and feeds into what Koichi Iwabuchi calls “brand nationalism”. Moreover, I argue that such a competition is inevitably rigged against J-pop and K-pop idols by the Orientalist stereotypes that they face.

Author Bio:

Dorothy Finan is a PhD student and Daiwa Scholar in Japanese Studies at the School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield. Her doctoral research focuses on representations of adolescence in Japanese popular music. More broadly, she is interested in the sociologies and political economies of popular music across East Asia, and in applying digital humanities methodologies to their study. She is joint Reviews Editor at the East Asian Journal of Popular Culture.

Seminar 2

13:00 - 14:00

The “Comfort Women” Issue: Japan’s Changing Stigma Management Strategy

By Dr Kristian Hauken, Teaching Associate, The School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield

Abstract:

Japan’s handling of the “comfort women” issue has garnered significant attention both inside and outside of Japan due, in part, to its importance for Japan’s international relations. This article presents a novel theoretical framework, stigma management theory, that places national stigma management at the centre of Japan’s priority in handling the “comfort women” issue. Some perspectives on different management strategies are introduced. The article locates the source of discussion about Japan’s stigma management strategy in the “comfort women” issue within the deeply divided scholarly debates on the issue. The article presents the two main strands of these debates and further link these academic debates with political efforts to alter Japan’s policy concerning the “comfort women” issue during the 90s and 00s. The article shows that Japan’s management strategy concerning the “comfort women” issue has undergone significant change since 2015, from compensating for the stigma, towards rejection of the most injurious aspects of the historical narrative concerning the “comfort women”. In support of this argument, the article presents an overview of the efforts undertaken by the Japanese government and the LDP since 2014 in attempting to alter Japan’s official stance on the “comfort women” issue.

Author Bio:

Dr. Kristian M. Hauken completed his Ph.D. as part of the Cross-National Doctoral Course between the University of Sheffield and Tohoku University in June 2020. He now works as a teaching associate at the School of East Asian Studies. His research focuses on issues pertaining to international prestige, status, and stigma, especially within the context of East Asian politics. He has presented his research at numerous international conferences, and is currently involved in exploring the development of status symbols in East Asian International Relations.