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EAST ASIAN POP CULTURE: Analysing the Korean Wave. Edited by Beng Huat Chua and Koichi Iwabuchi. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2008. xi, 307 pp. (Tables, figures.) US$27.95, paper. ISBN 978-962209-893-0.
Six years ago, Koichi Iwabuchi's concept of the "Japan-Asia-the West triad" in Recentering Globalization (Duke University Press, 2002) inspired studies of Asian popular culture to look beyond a dichotomous view (such as the West vs. the rest). East Asian Pop Culture furthers this perspective, focusing on the economic, socio-political and cultural effects of the circulation of Korean TV dramas on the region. The specific issues include gender identity, perception of (post) colonial relations, and nationalistic attitude toward cultural exchanges. The book embraces both empirical and theoretical approaches, and the authors are well distributed throughout East Asia, fostering contextually grounded perspectives.
The first section delineates the contribution of East Asian television industries to the intra-region circulation of media products. It offers a backdrop against which specific phenomena are discussed in later sections. Tania Lim and Lisa Leung demonstrate the efforts of local broadcasters in enabling transnationalization of Korean TV dramas. Lim uses Korean dramas as primary examples to illustrate an inspiring concept of intraregional "renting" strategies, by which...