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Hallyu Marketing: The Global Success of the Korean-Style Cultural Branding

Guest Editors:

Jung, Yeon Sung, Business Administration, Dankook University, Seoul, South Korea

Ingyu Oh, College of Global Engagement, Kansai Gaidai University, Osaka, Japan

Won-Moo Hur, College of Business Administration, Inha University, South Korea

Hyewon Park, College of Business, Tennessee Technological University, USA

Starting from the latter half of the 20th c., pop culture has become an important source of advertising and marketing in the form of celebrity marketing and cultural branding (see inter alia Holt, 2004; Simeon, 2006; Yang, 2018; Moraes et al., 2019). In the new millennia, the rise of Hallyu from Korea has instigated a new form of marketing fervour originating from Korea based on its newly globalized pop culture genre, Hallyu or the Korean Wave. Hallyu marketing is a new source of celebrity marketing and cultural branding that features Korean idols and celebrities who seem to influence global fans who are mostly women in all ages (Kim et al., 2010; Chen, 2016; Dix et al., 2016; Oh and Kim, 2023).

What is noticeable in Hallyu marketing therefore is female-friendly products and services, including but not limited to cosmetics, fashion goods, services of skin and nail care, cosmetic surgery, female group tours, female friendly street food, female clothes, and others (Kim et al., 2010; Eun, 2013; Kim and Hong, 2017; Kim and Choo, 2023). Contrary to these goods and services mainly targeted at women, Hallyu marketing does not seem to be successful in traditionally male dominant or upper-class goods and services such as cars, electronics, sports, high fashion goods, and palace or noble class food.

Oh and Kim (2023) classified Hallyu marketing as cultural branding as it espouses an alternative ideology to that of the male dominant society of the world. Hallyu indeed intends to empower women in their participation of a new consumption behaviour that is proactive and progressive to the extent that the consumption of Hallyu-related goods and services would enhance their gender identity, gender empowerment, and the harnessing of their gendered fan community. In this sense, the consumption of Hallyu is not just concentrated on the choice of music and drama genres on Spotify or Netflix, but also connected to their lifestyle choices in general under a new performing myth. However, further studies on this topic is warranted as Hallyu marketing is fairly new concept in the discipline and requires theoretical and empirical sophistication.

Future research could focus on how to define and explain Hallyu marketing as a new theoretical concept in the study of cultural marketing, while it can also raise awareness regarding how Hallyu marketing has shifted the global market trends, especially women in the global marketplaces. The integration of Hallyu marketing within the broader scope of international marketing practices and its potential as a driver of innovation in marketing theory and practice remains an underexplored avenue. This includes examining how the success of Hallyu marketing can be attributed to its cultural branding approach, which differs from traditional methods such as mind-share branding, emotional branding, or viral branding (Holt, 2004; Oh and Kim, 2023).

Additionally, other similarly designed studies can aim to analyse the globalization of Hallyu marketing not only in Asia but in the Americas and Europe, a rare accomplishment achieved by Korean marketers throughout its entire postcolonial era. Furthermore, other studies can aim to fill the lacunae of how Hallyu marketing is conceptualized and designed based on K-pop and K-drama, two pivotal sources of garnering alternative messages to the dominant Western or Japanese ideologies.

Thus, this call for papers seeks to bridge these gaps in literature, inviting scholarly contributions that not only scrutinize the existing strategies behind the Hallyu marketing of female friendly goods and services but also pioneer new methodologies and theoretical frameworks to understand its global influence, offering fresh perspectives and contributing to the enrichment of our understanding of Hallyu marketing.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

-        Definition of Hallyu marketing

-        Global impacts of Hallyu marketing

-        Cultural branding in Hallyu marketing

-        Gendered dynamics and consumer behaviour in Hallyu marketing

-        Role of traditional and new media in Hallyu marketing

-        Media franchising in Hallyu marketing

-        Innovation in Hallyu marketing

-        Impact of Hallyu marketing on lifestyle and fashion trends among global women

-        Globalization and localization of Hallyu marketing

-        Technology and Hallyu marketing

-        Estimation of Hallyu marketing performance

-        Sustainability and social responsibility in Hallyu marketing

Timelines:

-        Abstract deadline: April 30, 2024

-        Abstract acceptance and invitation to the workshop: May 7, 2024

-        PPT deadline: July 31, 2024

-        Workshop: Kyeongju, Korea, Aug. 16-18, 2024

-        First draft due: Sep. 30, 2024

-        First review result: Oct. 31, 2024

-        Second draft due: Nov. 15, 2024

-        Final decision: Dec. 15, 2024

-        Online publication: Jan. 2025

Please email your abstract and short bio along with contract details to Prof. Jung (jys1836@dankook.ac.kr) and Prof. Oh (apbreditor@gmail.com).

References

Chen, S., 2016. Cultural technology: A framework for marketing cultural exports–analysis of Hallyu (the Korean wave). International Marketing Review, 33(1), pp. 25-50.

Dix, S., Jamieson, K. and Shimul, A.S., 2016. SMS advertising the Hallyu way: drivers, acceptance and intention to receive. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 28(2), pp. 366-380

Eun, S.C., 2013. Brilliant Hallyu and plastic surgery. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 28(11), pp. 1561-1562.

Holt, D.B., 2004. How Brands become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding. Boston: Harvard Business Press.

Kim, H. and Choo, H.J., 2023. How “K-Style” has influenced the younger generation through local Vietnamese influencers. Fashion and Textiles, 10(1), p. 40.

Kim, N. and Hong, L., 2017. The power of culture in branding: How the Korean Wave can help global brands thrive in Asia. Journal of Brand Strategy, 6(3), pp. 293-307.

Kim, S.S., Lee, H. and Chon, K.S., 2010. Segmentation of different types of Hallyu tourists using a multinomial model and its marketing implications. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 34(3), pp. 341-363.

Moraes, M., Gountas, J., Gountas, S. and Sharma, P., 2019. Celebrity influences on consumer decision making: New insights and research directions. Journal of Marketing Management, 35(13-14), pp. 1159-1192.

Oh, I. and Kim, K.J., 2023. Gendered melancholia as cultural branding: fandom participation in the K-pop community. Asia Pacific Business Review, 29(5), pp. 1300-1323.

Simeon, R., 2006. A conceptual model linking brand building strategies and Japanese popular culture. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 24(5), pp. 463-476.

Yang, W., 2018. Star power: the evolution of celebrity endorsement research. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(1), pp. 389-415.