What is the relation between culture and globalization?ㅣChoi Jaewon(최재원)

1. Summarize

In John Tomlinson's 'Cultural Globalization', he talk about a very important idea. He say that globalization is not just 'Americanization' or what some people call 'McDonaldization'. This is common idea for many people, maybe because we see Starbucks and Hollywood movies everywhere. But Tomlinson argue that this view is too simple. He call the real situation 'complex connectivity'. This is a much better word, I think. It mean that all cultures is more linked and connected than ever before in history, not just one culture (like America) winning and deleting all others. It's like a big web of connections, not a one-way street.

A big part of this 'complex connectivity' is what he call 'deterritorialization' of culture. This sounds like a difficult word, but the idea is actually simple. It mean that culture is not connected to one specific place (a 'territory') anymore. In the past, your culture was the culture of your village or your country. Now, because of global travel, media, and the internet, culture are floating around the world. For example, we can eat sushi in Poland, listen to K-pop at Mexico, or practice yoga (from India) in Canada. My uncle, he live in Germany but he is part of an online community that plays video games with people in Korea and Brazil. Their 'culture' of gaming is not German or Korean, it is a global, 'deterriterialized' community. This reading was very interesting because it challenge my simple idea of globalization was just McDonald's everywhere. It's more about how we are all connected in new ways, and how culture move and change. It's not just about products, but about ideas, information, and people is all moving.


2. Something new and interesting

For me, the most interesting part was the idea of 'hybridization' or 'glocalization'. This is what happen when global ideas and local cultures mix together to make something new and unique. It shows that local cultures are not just weak and passive, they don't just disappear. They can be very active and creative. They take global things and change them to fit their own local context. This is more positive view than just thinking everyone will become the same, which is a scary thought.

My favorite example is K-Pop, which I mentioned before. If you look closely, K-Pop use many American pop music styles, like R&B, hip-hop, and electronic dance music. The fashion and music videos also is very high-quality and look like global pop. But, the lyrics are almost all Korean. The performance style, with many members dancing perfectly together, is very unique to Korea’s trainee system. And the way fans connect with idols is also a very specific Korean-style culture. But now, K-Pop is global thing. It's not American, it's not traditional Korean, it's a new hybrid culture that many people around the world enjoy. This show that globalization is not just one way. Local cultures can use global forms for make their own unique thing that can become global itself.

I also see this in food. Here in Korea, we have 'Kimchi Pizza' or 'Bulgogi Burger' in fast food places. This is a perfect example. Pizza is from Italy (or America, as a global food), but it were mixed with Kimchi, which is the most traditional Korean food. It sound strange maybe, but it is delicious and very popular. It is not Italian, it is not traditional Korean, it is a new hybrid food. This show that cultures are creative. They borrows from each other and make new things. This is much more interesting than the idea that we will all just eat the same burgers from the same company. It give me hope that local cultures will survive by changing and adapting.


3. Questions and Discussions

This all make me think about some questions for our class discussion. If culture is not tied to a place anymore (deterritorialized), do we loses our local identity? My grandmother, she is worry that young people in Korea only listen to K-pop or American music and forget our traditional music, like pansori. Is she right to be worried? Or is K-Pop our new local identity, just in a global form?

Also, is this 'hybrid' culture a 'real' or 'authentic' culture? Or is it just a copy of other things? Some people might say K-Pop is not 'real' Korean music and Kimchi Pizza is not 'real' food. But what makes a culture 'real'? Is 'authenticity' even a useful idea anymore, when everything is so mixed? I have question: Can we really protect our local culture when global media is so strong? Companies like Netflix or Disney have so much money and power.

Tomlinson's idea of 'connectivity' is good, but I am still worry that the 'connectivity' is not equal. Some cultures (like America) is more 'connecting' than others. Their movies, their music, their language (English) is everywhere. Maybe it is still a form of power, but it is just hidden in a 'complex' web? For example, to be successful globally, K-Pop idols often have to sing in English. This show that the connection is not equal. I want to discuss in class if 'glocalization' is always a good thing. Or is it just another way for big, powerful cultures to control smaller ones, but making it look like a local choice? And what about the 'digital divide'? Not everybody have equal access to the internet and this 'connectivity'. People in poor countries or rural areas is left out of this conversation. This seems like a big problem for the idea of 'complex connectivity'.


4. References

Tomlinson, J. (1999). Globalization and Culture. Polity Press.


5. Note on AI

I used an AI tool for some help on this post. After writing down all my main ideas and analysis, I used it to help trim some of the overall paragraphs to be more clear. I also used it for partial translation of some Korean words I wasn't sure how to express in English. The main analysis, examples, and all the questions are my own.

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