The retro trend centered on MZ can be seen as a result of reflecting the characteristics of MZ that values their own identity. The younger generation, who are familiar with digital, has little experience with analog sensibility, and the MZ generation, which has a clear personality and is sensitive to trends, accepts the retro itself as a new experience. Recently, a new word called Newtro, which combines new and retro, has emerged, which means reinterpreting the past trend beyond simply recreating it and reinterpreting it according to the present. It is providing nostalgia for the middle-aged and new experiences for the younger generation. Let’s take a look at Korea’s retro culture.

Fashion is one of the areas where retro is most actively used. Low-rise items and cropped T-shirts, which have recently emerged as trends, are all so-called “Y2K (year 2000)” fashion that was popular from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. Y2K means kilo, which means K means 1000, which is a computer program that uses only the last two digits of the year, and is an error in the computer program that recognizes 2000 as 1900. There are many parody contents that mainly evoke the emotions of the end of the century, and what was popular and what was used during this period are now being re-populated. Famous Korean singer Taeyeon accelerated the Y2K fashion craze by wearing a pink tracksuit popularized by Paris Hilton in the 2000s in the concept photo shoot for her album “Weekend.” In line with this trend, the fashion industry is also releasing retro-style costumes such as colorful patterned shirts, velvet sportswear, and wide pants. In fact, style commerce platform “zigzag” said that Y2K fashion product transactions surged compared to last year. Now, the MZ generation is routinely consuming retro fashion items reinterpreted with a modern sense beyond getting vintage costumes or inheriting clothes their parents wore in college.

The same is true of the food industry, which has been affected by the retro craze. SAMLIP re-launched Pokémon Bread, which was highly popular in the past. Pokémon bread has been so out of stock that it has been lined up in front of convenience stores since dawn that it has been out of stock due to the desire to collect stickers called the enclosed Tibbutibu seal rather than the taste of bread. , Pokémon bread was released in February, sold 1.5 million units within a week of its launch, and people even resold them with more money. ORION, the same industry, re-launched its snack product Wackle for the first time in 15 years last year, and sold 7.8 million cumulative sales over 10 months, becoming a good product.

Coffee shops are also offering desserts and drinks that appeals to retro tastes. Starbucks Korea has launched Whole Grain Oat Drink and Black Sesame Cream Cake, while Twosome Place has launched Mugwort Latte and Black Sesame Cafe Latte. Food that follows the retro trend is receiving great response from the younger generation for its healthy and different taste.

Retro culture can also be easily found in the content market. In the K-POP market, music videos that stimulate analog sensibility through the VHS effect or the 4:3 screen ratio are emerging, and in the broadcasting industry, materials that were popular in the early 2000s are being brought to recent entertainment programs. In Korea’s famous entertainment program named <Hang Out With Yoo> hosted a project to release a song by casting popular stars in the early 2000s. Retro-inspired songs completed through the project became so popular that they swept the music charts. In addition, the tvN drama “Twenty-five Twenty-one,” which was popular in Korea recently, was greatly loved by the public for its warm melting of retro sensibilities against the backdrop of the 90s. In line with this trend, the film and OTT industries also showed a move to remaster and distribute contents that were popular in the past. In March, the Korean theater district re-released works by director Wang Ka-wi, including <Chungking Express>, <Happy Together>, and <Days Of Being Wild>, which dominated the 90s, drawing attention.

The biggest reason why these products and services were launched is the request of the ‘consumer’. As a new word referring to this, there is “Voisumer”, which is a composite word of ‘voice’ and ‘consumer’. The MZ generation actively uses SNS and is good at expressing their opinions. They ask companies what they want and provide feedback through SNS. Through this, companies can quickly check their responses to their products and check consumers’ needs. Companies have identified the high demand of consumers for their “Newtro” products, so the risk of failure is low and consumers can buy and enjoy them. This is a win-win for both companies and consumers.

In addition, LP was in fashion, and unlike MZ generation, who was familiar with digital music listening, listening to music comfortably on their smartphones, more and more people consumed it because they could feel the novelty and analog charm of listening to music by playing turntables. In addition, there is also a MONAMI Store Seongsu branch, which is an experience store with the theme of MONAMI Factory. The interior with the motif of the MONAMI Seongsu-dong factory in the 1960s is equipped with an experience of making existing stationery products and my own fountain pen ink, and imprinting service, so about 1,000 people visited on the opening day.

In recent years, the consumption trend is experienced. Thanks to the free retro culture and social media such as Instagram, it has resulted in the retro craze. For the older generation, retro, which gives us a new experience, makes us feel a sense of homogeneity and bond, not a trend for a moment, and satisfies many generations. Retro, which creates an atmosphere that considers new rather than looking at other cultures from an exclusive perspective, makes it possible to understand other generations well.

However, the spread of retro culture does not have only a positive influence. As remade products and remastered contents of the past are successful one after another, the supply of new and original creations is decreasing. Some point out that the trend of retro culture is also the result of the era of “no future.” It means that people lose the will to change and grow in the face of a dark future and find stability in a definite past. We should observe, understand, and selectively accept these cultural phenomena analytically.

K-UNIV

ASIA JOURNAL

Sweden has been in a long, deep relationship with South Korea ever since the Korean War. So the friendship between these two countries is very special and strong. This naturally leads to sharing the memories, history and cultures of each other’s countries up to this date.

Sweden is one of the few countries that has a Royal Family. There is a Stockholm Palace (Kungliga Slottet), the official residence of Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia), in the center of the city. The Northern row of the palace represents “Royal Power,” the Southern row represents “The Nation,” the Eastern row shows “The Female Qualities,” and the Queen. Lastly, the Western row represents “The Male Qualities” and the King. This palace has a lot of meaning to Sweden with its deep history and role. It actually has been in the exact same location since the 13th century and has been treated with great care since it is used for various official events with other countries. It can be said that the Royal Palace serves as not only a 3 residence but also as a center of the Swedish government.

In 2019, the president of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in and the first lady visited the Royal Palace. This event was to strengthen and celebrate the relations between Sweden and South Korea, which turned 60 years in 2019. The Royal Family and Korea president’s family had meetings and a dinner gala at the palace.

The history of Sweden and Korea goes way back to 1953. In 1953, the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) was established following the Armistice Agreement to monitor the relations between South and North Korea. The NNSC consisted of these four countries, Sweden and Switzerland, selected by South Korea and UNC (United Nations Command). The other two were Poland and Czechoslovakia designated by North Korea and China. These four countries had several tasks such as supervising the military personnel, military weapons and vehicles. They also took care of the issues that were related to violations of the Armistice Agreement. However, even after the war ended, they didn’t end their duty right away. They kept doing what they’ve been doing and even now, Sweden’s office still remains in South Korea. Five Swedish delegates are stationed at Panmunjom, near the DMZ line.

In 1958, the Korean government requested for medical personnel to Sweden due to the catastrophic outcome from the Korean War. So the governments of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the UN Korean Reconstruction Agency have decided to operate a National Medical Center for five years in South Korea. As a result, medical services and technology were very much taken into advance and a Nursing School was established in South Korea.

The relations between South Korea and Sweden just kept growing. It was not only limited to medical areas, but also influenced music, businesses, films and games. When President Moon visited Sweden in 2019, the King and President Moon went to talk about a partnership with Ericsson, which focuses on 5G technology. Then they went on to watch e-sports between Sweden and South Korea. E-sports is pretty famous in South Korea, since they are known to be one of the best in the world.

In regards to music, the Kpop wave also hit Sweden and the young generation became attracted. Ironically, a lot of famous Kpop music is actually composed by Swedish producers. For example, songs from Girl’s Generation and Boa are some of them. They’re one of the top singers who have opened the Kpop wave to the global society. Boa was the first generation, mostly in Asia like Japan and Girl’s Generation started to hit America and Europe before Psy threw a bomb globally. In the area of film, Sweden actually hosts an annual film festival in South Korea. This is in order to get to know each other’s culture better. In 2018, the festival commemorated the 100 years of the birth of a great film director, Ingmar Bergman and it was seen by 10,000 people in South Korea.

Korean traditional food has also become somewhat trendy among the young Swedes and now can find many Korean restaurants in Stockholm. According to the official Swedish ambassador to Korea, Jakob Hallgren, not only the restaurants, but also just by going to the nearest supermarkets nowadays, kimchi, a traditional Korean food, can be easily spotted and is enjoyed by the local people.

Due to the long history between the two countries, South Korea and Sweden, they have a lot of joint collateral areas ongoing even to this day. From a long history to the current trend and culture, the relationship between Sweden and Korea is strong and will remain firm.

K-UNIV Reporter

Yewon Shim

Online shopping has become a daily routine in our lives. It is no longer surprising to buy the goods before going to bed and receive the package as soon as you wake up. A real surprise is the logistics system behind it. How do companies predict what consumers will order, prepare inventory, and send deliveries?

All these delivery processes are possible with the utilization of data. A great deal of data is accumulated from various sources every day, including destination, product information, and delivery schedules. Through this data, companies predict delivery areas, order times, and product quantities. Based on the results, decisions are made on warehouses that store products. This is called a ‘smart warehouse’ and it allows companies to easily monitor or maintain the availability of stocks.

Other than the low availability of stocks, the bottleneck is one of the factors that hinder fast delivery.

Therefore, suppliers use big data for route optimization. Big data collects and analyzes information on weather and traffic to assign the shortest route to delivery vehicles. By using these data, suppliers can save a great amount of transportation costs and improve interoperability. In response, consumers can receive the goods they ordered at the expected arrival time.

E-commerce has grown as social distancing and non-face-to-face life have become standard practice. Consequently, logistics accounts for a large proportion of consumer satisfaction and supplier’s responsibility. As punctuality and transparency has become important, companies are focusing on the combination of data technology and logistics services. This is not a temporary trend but is recognized as a major field of the market that will continue to be developed onwards. According to the research, the supply chain big data analysis market was estimated at $3.55B in 2020 and it is expected to grow to $9.28B by 2026.

Most logistics companies already employ data-driven logistics strategies. Coupang is a Korean company that succeeded in enhancing delivery efficiency by using data. Coupang analyzes data on consumers’ purchasing patterns to figure out the product sales depending on the region. Following that, Coupang AI analyzes and arranges the location of all products in real-time so that they can be delivered with the best time and space efficiency. Rocket delivery, which completes delivery in just a day, is based on this kind of big data application process.

Logistics startups that utilize AI and big data technologies are also expanding steadily. According to the Korea Transportation Institute’s “2019 Logistics Startup Business Survey,” the number of logistics startups in 2018 was 151, more than tripled from 40 in 2015. Currently, it is estimated that there are more than 200 companies in logistics startups.

Techtaka, one of the logistics IT startups, has contracted with several distributors to expand its activities in the logistics market. Techtaka is operating a logistics platform called ‘ARGO’ that integrates and provides all IT systems necessary for e-commerce logistics. “ARGO” connects multiple IT systems to a single platform and automatically connects data at all stages from product registration to order and delivery.

In addition to domestic delivery, cross-border e-commerce, which buys and sells goods worldwide, is growing very rapidly. However, the process of transporting cargo overseas is very complicated and difficult. To solve the difficulties of international logistics, cross-border e-commerce logistics platforms that effectively combine various sales channels, delivery companies, and means of transportation are emerging. The platform links channels and processes based on data. Then, the integrated data is refined and the status of sales, orders, inventory, delivery, and costs is reported to the dashboard. Ultimately, it will learn the accumulated data and develop into a model that optimizes inventory and delivery based on demand forecasts.

Big data has become an indispensable element not only in business but also in everyday life. Data will continue to accumulate and will analyze itself more precisely through machine learning. This means that more remarkable logistics advancement could soon emerge. Sooner or later, we can enjoy a more convenient logistics service that will surpass the overnight delivery.

K-UNIV Reporter

Choi Yuna

The sensation in social media, such as Tik Tok and its variants, Instagram’s Reels and YouTube’s Shorts, have captured the minds of the young generation. These short videos are extremely addicting, often captivating the viewers to scroll on the app for hours and hours. Although seemingly harmless, the short form contents have more detrimental effects than most perceive.

The Methodology

The concept of random reinforcement in behavioral psychology explains the addictive nature of short-form content.

Reinforcement works when consequence (also known as response, and stimulus) is followed by a behavior. When a behavior is rewarded with the right consequence, then the frequency of that behavior will increase. In other words, desired consequence reinforces behavior.

Of the reinforcement schedules that determine the rate of response, random reinforcement holds the highest rate. In random reinforcement, behavior is reinforced after an unpredictable number of consequences, creating high and steady rates of response. The unpredictability creates stronger anticipation for the desired consequence, enhancing the frequency of the behavior.

Substituting the short videos into random reinforcement works like this: (1) We scroll through our media platform (behavior) until (2) we encounter a funny video and laugh (consequence) and (3) continue to scroll through 5, 10 more videos to reach more desired result (enhanced behavior).

But why exactly do we want to reach that desired result? There are two factors. First is dopamine, the brain’s pleasure chemical. When we encounter a funny video, our reward system is hit, creating instant dopamine release. We feel a euphoric sensation spreading throughout the brain. Now, motivated to reach more dopamine release, we continue to scroll.

There’s also another factor, anticipation. Take drug use for instance. Addicts say it’s not necessarily the dopamine hit that is pleasurable, but the anticipation for the hit that propels the craving. Gambling works the same way. The more you pull the slot and win, the faster and eager you are to pull the slot again in anticipation of a potential reward.

Implication 

Aside from the hours of precious time spent on a 6-inch screen, short-form contents carry other grave implications.

The biggest ramification is shortened attention span. According to Microsoft Canada, our average attention span has already decreased from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2020, making it shorter than the goldfish’s 9 seconds. Social media has been criticized as the biggest culprit of this decline. The constant notification and influx of information divide our attention, and on top of that, these new 15 to 30 second short videos go further to exacerbate the phenomenon.

Decreased attention span means that we need more cognitive effort for sustained concentration. Because we gravitate towards immediate rewards, activities that require deep and prolonged engagement easily elude us. As a result, shortened attention span leads to reduced executive function (the cognitive ability to think and remember), erosion of persistence, poor performance in school, and inability to complete daily tasks.

This is particularly alarming given that the main user base of short-form content is adolescents. Exposure to addictive content at a young age may hamper cognitive development and induce long-term consequences. Specifically, the impairment of adolescent executive functions erodes cognitive skills such as working memory, adaptive thinking, self-control, and time management.

As a 21-year-old who spends an excessive amount of time on Instagram, I have first-hand experience with this phenomenon. The months of scrolling through Reels for an easy laugh led to an apparent diminishing of my attention span. I now find sustained concentration extremely difficult to achieve, and hence, reading books and writing essays have become a draconian task compared to the past.

Wrapping Up

Digital media have undoubtedly altered the cognitive processes of people today. Apps like Tik Tok and Instagram dominate Gen Z culture with their 15-second videos and raise concerns for developmental consequences they may cause. Future research needs to be done to determine the exact effects of short-form media content on cognitive development in youth. Yet for the time being, it surely would be wise to put a restriction on screen time.

Zieeun Ka

K-UNIV Reporter

Louvre is known to be one of the top three museums in the world. In 2020 alone, Louvre recorded first when it came to the number of visitors from around the world. Even during the pandemic, 2.7 million visitors have arrived in Paris to see the art and its history. With all these facts taken into consideration about the Louvre, it can be said that it is significant regarding a restoration project of Hanji, a traditional Korean paper, from 2014 by the museum. Louvre has been working with Minjung Kim, a professional restorer of cultural assets on this project.

Hanji is a traditional Korean paper which people guess originated somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd century. The paper was at a golden peak in the Goryeo dynasty and was widely spread and used in the Joseon as well. Hanji is made with some parts of mulberry trees, which can be turned into laminated sheets and then ultimately to compress the fibers.

Minjung Kim, who was an intern at the Louvre in 2014, was passionate to let the world know the value and importance of Hanji. This led to Ariane de la Chapelle, the head of the museum’s restoration team reading one of Kim’s thesis during the time of his master. The thesis covered the comparison of traditional papers from Korea, China and Japan. At this time, Washi, the Japanese paper, was frequently used for the restoration of cultural assets. However, after reading Kim’s thesis, Louvre became interested in Hanji and carried out an experiment to decide on which paper they should use. So they wet both Washi and Hanji and tried to compare the results. Ultimately, Hanji was found to be preserved longer than the Washi, due to its less shrinkage and deformation.

Taking the outcome of the experiment into consideration, Hanji proved to be excellent and outstanding in its quality for the restoration. The paper had strong durability and contractibility. Also, unlike the Japanese Washi, which was weaved only vertically, Hanji was done both horizontally and vertically. This allowed the traditional Korean paper to be even more solid and its fibers strong, making it less likely to get ripped. With these qualities, Hanji was expected to be used in various aspects to transform the old, worn-out masterpieces into new by filling the cracks in some of the art works, furniture and sculptures.

Louvre had recognized the value of Hanji after they had seen what the paper could do. So in 2017, the museum officially adopted the Korean paper and used the one from Jeonju, a region in South Korea to restore the King Maximilian II of Bavaria’s desk from the 18th century. The damaged padlock of the drawer was perfectly restored by using Hanji. In 2018, the South Korean first lady visited the museum to see the desk. Also, in May 2021, 14 art pieces of Fragonard and 4 pieces of Lemonnier that have been restored by Hanji were displayed. This whole process took about a year.

Not only France and its Louvre Museum are showing interest in the Korean traditional paper, but other European countries are also recognizing the value of Hanji. For instance, Italy has officially designated the paper as a material to restore its historic artifacts. Then it was actually used to restore a drawing called “Codex on the Flight of Birds” by the famous artist, Leonardo Da Vinci.

As the world is starting to acknowledge the worth of Hanji, this will only be the beginning of the journey as an excellent Korean traditional paper. The ultimate goal for Minjung Kim and South Korea is turning every paper used for restoration of ancient relics into Hanji, promoting the outstanding qualities and its meanings in terms of history and value.

Yeahwon Shim

K-UNIV Reporter

There is some content coming up by K-UNIV Reporters, who are newly recruited since this March. As you know, K-UNIV Reporters are consist of college students who are willing to express their perspectives. Students with different interests gathered and developed their thoughts by sharing and speaking up their owns each other. These are some activities of the K-UNIV Reporter so far.

We are trying to show some small and medium-sized companies in Korea to the world with our creation. By investigating and interviewing them, we could get to know companies more deeply. We even tried using their products ourselves for realistic appraises. We created social media content in the forms of card news, writings, and videos, reconstructing information in our ways. Here are companies: Skin Watchers, Emma healthcare, STX Bio, Info mining, and ‘Bucketgram’ of Grace & Honest. These are companies incubated by Los Angeles Times Asia Journal. For Skin Watchers and STX Bio, we will introduce the company itself and products with reviews containing our thoughts. For Emma healthcare and ‘Bucketgram’ of Grace & Honest, we focus more on their products, giving more realistic reviews. We believe that our content could arouse your interests.

We also went to some exhibitions together. We went to Camping & Picnic Fair and Baby Fair among many expos and fairs held in March. Despite the crisis of the Coronavirus, those exhibitions could proceed safely with the help of many people. Camping & Picnic Fair is one of the influential camping exhibitions in Korea with a market platform. Baby Fair is about making a world where babies and families are happy with representative brands and products related to pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare. By going to exhibitions, we could explore the trends of each industry. We wrote our thoughts about those exhibitions in writings. One of the K-UNIV Reporters also participated in photoshoots as a model. The pictures taken will be used on the Asia Journal Shop.

These are just the start. You could enjoy the content we made on SNS. We, K-UNIV Reporters, keep on creating new ones reflecting our ideas, which fulfills your curiosity. Please look forward to it.

Nahyun Lee

K-UNIV Report

Los Angeles Times Asia Journal