Leanne Scanlon 

In this thesis, I researched the cultural and political changes before and after Americanisation of South Korean.

The early chapters briefly touch on the transformation of the country from a dictatorship with its strict policies on youth culture like hair fashion and music, especially western music i.e. The Beatles, to a democratic leadership which was voted by the population. This began the slow import of western ideas, culture and music, which was dominated by US at the time. In this period of transition where western music was prohibited but not embraced led to Korean people forming bands in their style, which led to censorship of the bands as it was not seen appropriate. Even with the change to democracy, strict media control was still in place, which led to entertainment be seen more of a business and a form of income for the government than an artistic expression of the people. The formation of the corporate production of groups began after Lee Soo-man after one of his endorsed artist got into a scandal and later jail over a marijuana possession, this led to him creating a manual on how to create the perfect music singer/group that would cause no bad publicity, be in line to do anything and commit their lives to the industry. Any artist that would be enrolled into these programs would sign a "slave contract" which was a term given after years of this practice. People would be worked to death, mistreated to perform better and be punished for being too fat, forms of punishment range from harsh diets to head being shaved. The obsession around beauty would go to extremes, where artist would undergo regular cosmetic procedures from as young as 17. It was seen as a necessity in the industry to create perfect people that would be targets of idolisation to boost the groups popularity.

In conclusion the industry is heavily monitored and funded by the government which focuses to export its music to the global market, as its seen as a product and nothing else.