Cross-National Study on the Perception of the Korean Wave and Cultural Hybridity in Indonesia and Malaysia Using Discourse on Social Media

Abstract

In the era of globalization, due to the prevalent cultural exchange between countries, inflows of foreign cultural products can enrich local culture by hybridizing local and global culture together. Although there have been numerous studies on cultural hybridity using qualitative interviews with recipients of foreign cultural products in single countries, cross-national studies that examine the national characteristics that facilitate or impede cultural hybridity remain scarce. The purpose of the present study is to identify the factors that promote or hinder cultural hybridity between the Korean Wave and Muslim culture by probing the similarities and differences in social media data on Korean cultural products between Indonesia and Malaysia using a semantic network analysis. The results of the study uncovered the three factors that promote cultural hybridity (‘Asian identity’, policies emphasizing ‘unity in ethnic diversity’, and ‘local consumers xenocentrism’) and the two hindering elements (‘a conservative nature of religion’ and ‘discrimination between ethnic groups’). Theoretical contributions and practical implications are also provided for promoting cultural hybridity.

One Year is Not Enough to Adapt with a New Traditional Culture: Looking into the Cultural Heritage Elements and Practices Among Immigrants in Malaysia

“…For the case in Malaysia and Singapore, the immigrants feel welcomed because they can easily find the food, clothing, and leisure activities which are similar to those that can be found back in their home country. These were highlighted in the introduction with the given examples of the 'Koreatown' in Singapore (Kim et al, 2020) and cultural hybridity experienced in Malaysia and Indonesia (Lee et al, 2020). There are also other factors which were not explored in the present study, including the traditional values of the immigrants themselves, could influence whether they would assimilate with the country of migration or remain practising their original cultures without making any changes or adaptation.…”

“…With this, Korean immigrants will most likely visit this town to have their meals and clothing, which will decrease the possibility for them to experience the local delicacies or purchase local fashion items. When the immigrants consume local products of the country they visited, including foreign music and movies, they are attaching the new cultural products to their original culture (Lee et al, 2020). These immigrants will develop the 'new' hybrid culture according to their own 'taste, values, and needs' (Jang & Song, 2016, as cited in Lee et al, 2020).…”

“…When the immigrants consume local products of the country they visited, including foreign music and movies, they are attaching the new cultural products to their original culture (Lee et al, 2020). These immigrants will develop the 'new' hybrid culture according to their own 'taste, values, and needs' (Jang & Song, 2016, as cited in Lee et al, 2020). This is a positive side because despite receiving a new cultural influence, the country's cultural ethos can be kept alive (Kaisii, 2017).…”

Approach to the Christianisation Movement among Orang Asli Muslim in State of Perak, Malaysia

“…This is compounded by the success of K-pop music in the bottom 100 in the United States proving that their music is increasingly accepted and valued by the International community. Accordingly, in the view of Lee et al (2020), it shows that the Korean wave (or known as Hallyu) through K-pop which is also an injection of popular culture was successfully exported and accepted by a number of residents of other Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. According to Choi (2019), the church needs to make changes by looking at the phenomenon of the entertainment world that afflicts teenagers, in particular, to attract them to follow Christian teachings.…”

Understanding Contraflow Pop-Culture Tourism: The Case of Transnational Fandom of South Korean Pop-Culture and the “Hallyu” Tourism

“…Now pop-culture is shown off first through social media before its appearance on the traditional media such as TV, spread out quickly and consumed globally (Han, 2017). With the digital media, anyone including producers, entertainers, fans and passerby can get easily involved in the proliferation of contents and fan activism at minimal cost in many different ways such as posting a comment, creating a reaction video, a personal broadcasting, and a call to action for voting and flash mobs and this made Hallyu contents become more viral (Lee, Jung, Nathan, & Chung, 2020) An important aspect of the fandom is the shared collective experience with like-minded individuals (Lexhagen, 2019), called "tribe". The digital platform creates an affinity space where pop-culture fans can experience "affective affinity".…”