Sound of Nation

Sound of the Nation

      All of the countries in the world have their own song that represents nation’s identity, values, history. National anthems mainly take responsibility for these functions. We can hear national anthems in every place where our nation is needed to be magnified such as sports competition against another country, conference among the world leaders. However, instead of the national anthem, there are songs (usually traditional songs) that have the life and sentiment of people. Just as a national anthem, those songs exhibit a nation’s spirit, culture, values.

Famous figure skater Yun A Kim performs 'Hommage to Korea' (Arirang as background)

      The ad simply plays music as its background and shows some phrases. It is made for advertise Korea by using a traditional song: Arirang. The reason this song can be the representative of Korea is that the basic emotion which is embedded in the song is one of the main sentiments of Korea: Han (resentment and sorrow). The song’s main theme focuses on the losing of spouse but during Japanese colonial era, Arirang usually was sung among Koreans who were in deep sorrow of losing their homeland. Throughout the colonial era, the song becomes the national folk song. Both South and North Koreans sings Arirang when they solidify the bond between divided Koreas (It is usually sung as unified Korea national anthem). Therefore, for the ad, Arirang can be a powerful source that can bring Korea’s spirit and culture within a short space of time. In addition, the phrases give special meanings to song by using some words that can represent the meaning of the song: memory, sensation, history and soul. At the end, the ad says “Arirang is the genuine music of Korea”. Combined with the image of Korea’s national flag, the ad achieves its goals to advertise Korea and characters of Korea that is embedded in the song.

The ad at the Timesquare

      Just as the ad, it is possible to send ideas or messages to the audience without a number of words. When something such as music appears with specific meanings, it can influence people by itself without any explaining if people can recognize the hidden norms. Every product has its own meaning and wants to deliver its message to people indirectly. Therefore, we need to be aware of those messages that are embedded in some products which surround our daily lives.

Guardians: Defending noble values

          Back to dawn of the June 25^th 1950, North Korea supported by Soviet Union and China invaded South Korea without the declaration of war. North Korea’s leader Kim Il Sung assured that North Korea could conquered whole region of South Korea within a month because prior to the invading South Korea, the U.S. declared the ‘Acheson line declaration’ that excludes South Korea as the line of defense against communism. Therefore, he thought West including the U.S. would not help South Korea. However, the U.N defined North Korea’s invasion as illegal and they sent troops for South Korea led by the U.S. Thanks to ally forces’ support, South Korea counterattacked invaders and they defend South Korea as a democratic nation until now.

Ameircan soldier saving children from battle

Turkish soldier holding a war orphan

           This commercial is made for honoring the veterans and their nations fought for South Korea. During the video, numbers are added continuously and come up with words: friendship, devotion and peace. Combined with those noble words, the numbers become special by sharing the meaning of words. In other words, the words meaning are embedded into the numbers. At the end of the commercial, we come to realize that the figures mean the number of veterans who came from 16 nations and fought for the freedom of South Korea. It emphasizes that they are the one who make the today’s Republic of Korea possible. The video ends with the comment “Korea will be forever grateful”.

          In the advertisement, it is successfully send its clear message by connecting the numbers with the words. If the numbers are not related to those words then it could not bring impressive and remarkable feelings to the audience. This shows the power of words that can attach special images to something that cannot have impacts if it is not related to some words. This method is used in several ways to relating such images to some products, figures and so on.

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Memorial event for the veterans of the Korean War

          I saw a documentary about the international veterans of Korean War in the past. Most of them still suffered from injuries but what the most difficult thing for them are the veterans are not well recognized and do not get enough credit for their devotions about defending democratic values. For most people, Korean War is forgotten and unrecognized comparing to WWs though it is one of the massive warfare after the WWs. In the documentary, as one of the treatments for the veterans, the film makers sent them to South Korea. When the veterans traveled Seoul, the capital City of South Korea, they shed tears to watch the development of country and what values they defend and sacrifice for. For Koreans, we will not forget your devotion and sacrifice to secure our freedom but you should not forget those veterans who sacrifice themselves not for their own country but for the justice and noble values.

“Korea and we will be forever grateful”

The power of Common

             This week, I decide to find Google commercial inspired by our last lecture. This is also one of the commercials that advertise about Google’s new engine ‘Chrome’ like the one I saw at our lecture.

             At this commercial, it starts with creating an email account named ‘dear.sophie.lee’. It arouses audiences’ curiosity because it seems that the invisible user makes the account not for him or herself but for other. Moreover, the message followed by making the account is also weird: Dear Sophie, You arrived. However, we could realize what those strange activities mean; right after the user write down the message, he attached a picture of a baby and a father holding his daughter. It was about his upcoming daughter. After that, in the video, it keeps showing the scenes about sophie’s life with videos, pictures and messages. Just using the Google Chrome, her father does everything to memorize sophie’s special events and also his family such as moving. By the end of this commercial, he comments that he wants to share those memories with his daughter in someday.

             I think Google’s commercials are so impressive for audiences by simply showing some scenes of using Google engine. This is because, though the scenes are simple, its message that connecting the life with Google is powerful. When we watch the video, we could see an ordinary father leaving his daughter’s life through Google. Therefore, not only Google could show that Google goes with our lives but also it could be anyone making own website like the ordinary father in the commercial.

             Every time I watch Google commercial, it was touching because the commercials usually connecting Google with our ‘ordinary’ daily lives such as love, family and etc. I think the strategy is so powerful because it drags us into the commercial by showing ordinary people like us. Therefore, I think including me, people naturally accept Google as one of the part of their life.

No need to talk

This week, I wanted to find public service advertisements rather than commercials that focus on some products. When I found this video, I thought it is also one of the stereotypes of non-smoking advertisements that usually shows scenes of smokers and victims dying because of cigarettes. However, against my expectation, the video was shocking. Though there are not many contents, characters or scenes, a man who is continuously beat until his death effectively shows how cigarettes kill people step by step. It is not comfortable to see the video’s scenes because of its cruel sights but by showing drastic scenes, the video’s messages that point out the dangerousness of smoking become more powerful. In addition, at the end of the commercial, a narrator says “Smoke anybody takes a beating …. Fight back ,Quit now” by saying this, it clearly arranges what the video wants to say. (I think the strategy that has confrontation between a man and smoking is powerful method to impress audiences)

In this advertisement, without many words or comments, it shows the harmfulness of smoking and delivers the stop smoking message successfully. Therefore, I think, sometimes, some actions or scenes are more powerful than some rhetoric words or saying. By showing some shocking images or attractive scenes, it could deliver and embed its hidden message to people who are exposed to those images. For example, on the contrary, in the past, cigarette companies advertised their products by connecting cigarettes with some images such as masculinity, sexy, etc and appealed customers that if they consume cigarettes and become smokers then they could attain charms came from cigarettes’ images. Those companies imprinted ‘cool’ and ‘sexy’ images with cigarettes on customers unconsciously. (Today, it is illegal to relate those cool images with cigarettes)

We are living in a society where it is filled with intended images, scenes etc. Therefore, we need to think, ‘Aren’t we dominated by those hidden images unconsciously?’ , ‘Do we accept some intended images with no doubt?’

Smart person by commercials and products

          

         Nowadays, it is easy to find people holding smart phone, tablet pc or so called smart electronic devices in our daily lives. This video that I cover is one of the commercials that made for Samsung Galaxy Tab. After I watched this commercial, I came to realize that I am also changed into a person who wants to buy that stuff like the people attracted to go to store for the product by other people using the device in the commercial.

         In the commercial, not only it keeps showing people who using the device but also people who are attracted to buy the device by watching other people using the Galaxy Tab. By showing this flow continuously, the advertisement shows both products’ fabulous functions and kind of trends buying Galaxy Tab. In addition, in the video, it shows that the device can be adapted almost every part of our daily lives: games, business, cooking, even rescuing cat from the tree. Therefore, from those images, the commercial emphasize why you need to buy the Galaxy Tab; rather it is just an electronic device but it is a part of our lives that cannot be separated with us. In addition, at the end of the commercial, it shows a term ‘better’ until the video ends. By doing this, it inculcated image that their device is better than other products and mind that we could be a ‘better’ people by buying the product. I think this commercial is well made by imbedding the device’s excellence and its adaptability for our daily lives. In other words, I am not sure the commercial drags people to store to buy that device, but I do sure that it succeeded in imprinting why we need to buy the Galaxy Tab; if we do not buy that stuff, we cannot live better lives in our routines..

         Like this commercial, many commercials use the strategy that if we do not buy some specific product, we could be fall behind from today’s trend and from other people. However, we need to reconsider about this strategy and this well made trend. Can we really not be ‘better’ people without some products? Could we really be a ‘smart’ people by buying so called smart electronic devices?

This I Believe

This I Believe in Power of Music