Deck Live: For the Urban Trendsetter
By Chris Nqoe
14 November 2012
Gangnam style has swept up the world in a euphoria  of South Korean induced pop music craze. The sound ofteens in  Nkulumane  singing along to Psy’s tongue in cheek worldwide hit is perhaps an indication of the power of the web to dictate popular culture & how young people are rapidly influenced by their peers, not just next door but a continent away. Admittedly Zimbabwe has a miniscule impression on the over 100million You Tube views of the Gangnam Style video but, its catchy lyrics have nevertheless reached  Bulawayo’s urban youth.
At face value, sceptics and old, boring people will be quick to dismiss  things young people are interested in. Sadly for them they are not viewing the bigger (HD) picture. Admittedly our interest as young people is temporary and fleeting, only lasting until the next pop craze or tending topic.
However, there is a whole sustainable aspect to pop culture that could benefit a country’s GDP if not its economic vibrancy.
Its not just Gangnam style and Soap operas that have South Korea on our lips and business technocrats in that part of the world smiling all the way to the bank ,making it rain so to speak. This brings me to my next point. A vibrant pop culture is good for good business. Zimbabwe  could learn immensely from our Asian friends but if only the old dinosaurs would give young people with innovation and new ideas a chance. I digress.
Lets speak numbers for a bit. You Tube users in  countries across the globe generated 2.35 billion hits, guess what they were watching?  Korean Pop videos. All that traffic just to view cheesy pop videos by young people in a far flung Asian country, speaking a language most viewers have no clue about. This can’t just be the fear of missing out (FOMO). This is global attention and a very valuable form of attention.
South Korea is exporting its  pop culture to the world and with it comes  good money. We are talking numbers that will make Biti & Gono salivate. Six years ago South Korea  was 33rd in the global music market. This year the rise of K-pop has taken the Koreans to the worlds 11th largest music market, all this from a digital demand much of which is emanating from popular culture largely driven by young people. Like Naija music  Nigeria and  K pop in South Korea, Zimbabwe should be taking lessons. The nutty professor was onto something with his 100% local content policy at ZBC. He just did it wrongly.
There is a whole industry behind pop culture, its not a shallow way of life, its big business. Remember the  2011 MTV Europe Music Awards? Particularly Best Worldwide Act. Google will show  you now that Big Bang a South Korean group scooped that award. Its been a long time coming but we can safely say the world has received the K Pop sound.
$31.3million to $84million is the official figure for South Korean  music industry exports from 2009 to 2010 respectively, Korea Chamber of Commerce & industry reports that 53% of 300 SK companies say the oversee operations have benefited from the global popularity of K-Pop. The Korea Tourism Organisation is expecting  1million Hallyu (SK music, movies& soaps) loving tourists. Zimbabwe would build a nuclear bomb to get such numbers of tourists, but that’s what a vibrant pop culture industry can do for an economy. These are the hard facts and numbers from a K-pop induced craze.
Before you dismiss Gangnam style as an isolated run of luck, take a look at another proud Korean export, Samsung. We live in a world split into those that love Apple & those that adore Samsung.
What are the facts? The later obliterated Apple in global smart phone exports in the last quarter. I’m sure Psy uses a Samsung but these numbers are not connected to  the popularity of Gangnam style. However,you  and I can bet on how many of the 100million views were mad on Apple devices #AsYouWere.
Young people are all too familiar with Korean brands like Hyundai and Samsung, in fact one can say these names are not too foreign to us.Imagine what would happen if Zimbabwe had home grown brands like these. I would totally buy a Mango Smart phone or tablet powered by Telecel just to download Gangnam Style.
It matters not that the average boy from Nkulumane can’t understand a word of Korean lyrics, the song is catchy and that the globe is bouncing along Gangnam style is no tribute to mere hype. K-pop is irresistible and business is booming for Korea. Imagine such a scenario playing out in Zimbabwe. It can, only if the players are willing to make it happen.
This is where you come in Minister Coltart.
Its a challenge to artists, to take their trade seriously and decision makers to provide an enabling environment for art to prosper. Only then will Zimbabwe witness thriving popular culture driving an economic boom. Pop culture can’t b dismissed by technocrats in Government as just silly young people engaging the latest fleeting craze. The impact of the global popularity of Gangnam style and particularly the leap achieved by K-pop has left a valuable imprint on the Korean economy. The same can be replicated in Zimbabwe but only if we realise the economic value of a home grown and cultivated Pop culture. As South Korea has shown the world, so should you Mr Coltart LEARN Gangnam style.