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1964년 2월 영국의 록 밴드 비틀스는 미국 빌보드 차트 정상에 등극했다. 비틀스에 이어 롤링 스톤즈, 더 후, 무디 블루 스 등 영국 음악 그룹은 1960년대 미국 대중을 사로잡았다.
미국을 강타한 영국 음악은 전 세계로 퍼졌고 영국 음악의 세계적 대중화 현상을 가리켜 '영국 음악의 침공' 즉, `브리티시 인베이전(British Invasion)'이라고 부른다.
지난해 10월 미국 로스앤젤레스 인근 어바인시에서 K-POP 축제인 '케이콘(K-CON)'이 열렸다.
동남아시아나 일본 등과 비교하면 K-POP의 불모지나 다름없는 미국에서 과연 K- CON이 성공할 수 있을까라는 우려와 달리 1만명 이상의 유료관객이 K-CON을 찾았으며 CNN 등 89개 미국 매체, 신화통신 등 15개 미국 외 해외 매체가 보도했다.
지난해의 성공을 토대로 24∼25일(현지시각) 로스앤젤레스 메모리얼 스포츠 아레나에서 제2회 `K-CON'이 열렸다.
관객 수는 배 이상 늘었고 현대자동차, 농심, 아시아나 항공 등 국내 대기업과 20여개 국내 중소기업은 물론, 미국 최대 통신사인 버라이즌(Verizon) 등 미국 현지 기업의 참여도 늘었다.
이틀간 150여개 외국 매체에 소개돼 홍보 효과만도 300억∼400억원에 이를 것으로 추산된다.
K-CON을 주최한 CJ E&M은 K-POP 버전의 '브리티시 인베이전'을 꿈꾼다.
신형관 CJ E&M 방송사업부문 상무는 "비틀스의 브리티시 인베이전 이후 영국 음 악이 장르로 자리 잡았듯이 K-POP도 그럴 수 있다"고 강조했다.
5천년에 이르는 한국인의 문화적 잠재력에 현대적 창조성, 재미를 추구하는 성 과 열정이 어우러지면 브리티시 인베이전만큼 강력한 K-POP 문화를 펼칠 수 있다는 것이다.
실제 축제 이튿날 f(x), G드래곤, EXO 등 한국 가수와 미국의 여성 랩퍼 미시 엘리엇이 출연한 '엠카운트다운'의 VIP석 티켓은 판매 개시 10분 만에 1천200석이 모두 매진돼 K-POP의 가능성을 입증했다.
행사장을 찾은 K-POP 팬은 교민은 물론 백인, 흑인, 히스페닉 등 다양했다.
소녀시대, 원더걸스 등 미국에서 꾸준히 활동한 K-POP 그룹 뿐 아니라 한국에서 도 신인에 속하는 EXO, '슈퍼스타 K' 출신의 유승우 팬도 만날 수 있었다.
f(x)의 팬인 욜란다 메인 양은 "티켓 가격이 300달러나 돼 용돈을 아껴야 했지만 좋아하는 한국 가수들을 직접 볼 수 있다는 생각에 전혀 힘들지 않았다"고 말했 다.
다양한 피부색의 청소년들이 K-POP 그룹의 팬클럽을 구성하고 G드래곤의 사인을 받으려고 100ｍ가 넘는 줄을 섰다.
한국 노래를 따라 부르고 K-POP 그룹의 춤을 추는 그들의 모습에서 K-POP의 잠재력을 실감할 수 있었다.
주최 측은 K-CON을 단순한 콘서트가 아닌 K-POP과 한국 음식, 패션, 라이프스타 일을 결합한 종합 한국문화 축제로 키울 생각이다.
브리티시 팝이 영국 문화의 세계화를 이끌었듯이 K-POP을 필두로 한국 문화의 세계화를 이뤄내겠다는 것이다.
국내 기업의 참여를 유도한 것도 이 때문이다.
김현수 CJ E&M 컨벤션사업팀장은 "K-CON은 전 세계에 한류 콘텐츠를 전파하는 것은 물론 한류 비즈니스를 확장해 국내 기업의 수출에 마중물 역할을 할 것"이라며 "한국문화에 매료된 글로벌 소비자를 끌어들이는 2차적 효과가 클 것"이라고 말했다.
<관련 영문 기사>
Hallyu fans pack KCON culture festival
By Lee Ji-yoon, Korea Herald correspondent
LOS ANGELES ― It was more than a two-hour journey for Mariah Frazier and her two friends to get to the KCON festival, where their favorite K-pop stars would perform on the stage.
But the 16-year-old girl from Redlands, California, said it was worth it.
“Even though you don’t exactly understand the language, you can feel it. I like K-pop, which is totally different from American or European music,” she said, citing the boy-band Super Junior as her favorite.
“I also started studying Korean culture because I wanted to know more about the stars and their culture.”
More than 20,000 hallyu enthusiasts packed the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena over the weekend to enjoy a celebration of Korean culture.
With Korean pop music gaining popularity around the world, many star-studded K-pop concerts are held abroad.
CJ Group, a leading food and entertainment giant, says it has taken one step further.
With the launch of the KCON festival last year, CJ has pledged to create the nation’s first full-fledged culture platform that invites people around the world to experience Korean music, food and overall culture.
Following the kickoff event last year in Irvine, California, this year’s KCON was held in Los Angeles, the hub of U.S. pop culture.
During the two-day event, visitors were lured to a variety of programs such as K-pop dance classes, making Korean food like bibimbap and learning the beauty secrets of Korean girl groups.
The main attraction, of course, was the K-pop concert. According to CJ, 80 percent of the attendees were non-Koreans.
CJ was a dominant force behind the event, with its key affiliates such as CGV, Foodville and E&M also pouring in resources.
Also joining the event were Korean big names including Hyundai, LG and S.M. Entertainment, which are seeking to expand their presence globally, as well as the U.S. telecom carrier Verizon.
“KCON will serve as the nation’s first platform exclusively for Korean culture and brands. It will also drum up business opportunities for hallyu,” a CJ official said.
CJ said most profits currently come from ticket sales and sponsorships, and it plans to diversify profit sources through online content sales as well.
“It is a long-term project,” said the official. “Most of the participants are teenagers. But their positive experience about Korean culture in their early ages would positively affect their future consumption of CJ and other Korean brands.”
CJ aims to make KCON a global brand name as the event travels around the world eight times a year. The group said it will enter China and Japan next year, Southeast Asia by 2015 and Europe, Latin America and Middle East by 2020.
“By 2020, we will see 40 trillion won ($35.9 billion) from the media business. And 70 percent or 28 trillion won will come from global sales,” the CJ official said.
(jylee@heraldcorp.com)
Hallyu fans pack KCON culture festival
By Lee Ji-yoon, Korea Herald correspondent
LOS ANGELES ― It was more than a two-hour journey for Mariah Frazier and her two friends to get to the KCON festival, where their favorite K-pop stars would perform on the stage.
But the 16-year-old girl from Redlands, California, said it was worth it.
“Even though you don’t exactly understand the language, you can feel it. I like K-pop, which is totally different from American or European music,” she said, citing the boy-band Super Junior as her favorite.
“I also started studying Korean culture because I wanted to know more about the stars and their culture.”
More than 20,000 hallyu enthusiasts packed the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena over the weekend to enjoy a celebration of Korean culture.
With Korean pop music gaining popularity around the world, many star-studded K-pop concerts are held abroad.
CJ Group, a leading food and entertainment giant, says it has taken one step further.
With the launch of the KCON festival last year, CJ has pledged to create the nation’s first full-fledged culture platform that invites people around the world to experience Korean music, food and overall culture.
Following the kickoff event last year in Irvine, California, this year’s KCON was held in Los Angeles, the hub of U.S. pop culture.
During the two-day event, visitors were lured to a variety of programs such as K-pop dance classes, making Korean food like bibimbap and learning the beauty secrets of Korean girl groups.
The main attraction, of course, was the K-pop concert. According to CJ, 80 percent of the attendees were non-Koreans.
CJ was a dominant force behind the event, with its key affiliates such as CGV, Foodville and E&M also pouring in resources.
Also joining the event were Korean big names including Hyundai, LG and S.M. Entertainment, which are seeking to expand their presence globally, as well as the U.S. telecom carrier Verizon.
“KCON will serve as the nation’s first platform exclusively for Korean culture and brands. It will also drum up business opportunities for hallyu,” a CJ official said.
CJ said most profits currently come from ticket sales and sponsorships, and it plans to diversify profit sources through online content sales as well.
“It is a long-term project,” said the official. “Most of the participants are teenagers. But their positive experience about Korean culture in their early ages would positively affect their future consumption of CJ and other Korean brands.”
CJ aims to make KCON a global brand name as the event travels around the world eight times a year. The group said it will enter China and Japan next year, Southeast Asia by 2015 and Europe, Latin America and Middle East by 2020.
“By 2020, we will see 40 trillion won ($35.9 billion) from the media business. And 70 percent or 28 trillion won will come from global sales,” the CJ official said.
(jylee@heraldcorp.com)
