Abstract
In the early twenty-first century, the term “Global South” has exploded in popularity among researchers and analysts searching for the linguistic tools to support a meaningful discourse on the global distribution patterns of wealth, power, and human rights (Pagel et al., 2014). In previous centuries, this discourse was hampered by the intrusion of contemporary bias into the very language for identifying these patterns: Nineteenth-century scholars drew “broad distinctions between ‘advanced’ and ‘primitive’ institutions and societies” (Dados and Connell, 2012: 12), while the twentieth century was characterized by an emphasis on distinguishing between “developed” and “underdeveloped” nations (Truman, 2009: 9:36).
The problem with these terms is self-evident in retrospect and closely related to their inherent reductionism; equating industrialization with advancement and economic wealth generation with development betrays a mode of inquiry informed by an extremely limited set of perspectives that cries out for diversification. Although the term “Global South” comes with its own set of problems—not least of which is its treatment as simply interchangeable with the term “underdeveloped nations”—it is useful because, as the United Nations (2004) explains, it arises not from subjective cultural judgments, but from an identifiable, global geopolitical pattern: “All of the world’s industrially developed countries (with the exception of Australia and New Zealand) lie to the north of its developing countries” (front cover copy). The United Nations (2004) goes on to state that while the term does not mean that all countries in the Global South “are similar and can be lumped together in one category,” it does emphasize that, although these countries “range across the spectrum in every economic, social and political attribute, they all share a set of vulnerabilities and challenges” (front cover copy).
It is against this backdrop that Dal Yong Jin’s Global South Discourse in East Asian Media Studies emerges as an important contribution to a growing body of work that centers perspectives long marginalized by the privileging of analyses from the so-called “advanced,” “developed” world. In this book, Jin explicitly sets out to shift this focus and demonstrate how global cultural developments have influenced and been influenced by East Asian media and cultural theories and analytical frameworks.
Jin’s effort to center East Asian perspectives is well spent, yielding a thoughtful, thorough analysis of specific countries and regions that have often been treated as a monolith by Western media analysis. The author demonstrates a nuanced understanding of the concept of the Global South and approaches it in a constructively critical manner, questioning its meaning for countries grouped under its umbrella. Global South Discourse in East Asian Media Studies is an effective push back against the idea that the Global South is defined by a post-colonial victimhood, acknowledging the agency and power of a region of distinct and rich cultural identities.
The book is structured as a process of honing in: Jin starts broadly both in theory and in geography and works his way into smaller, more focused ideas and locations. In Chapter 1, Jin provides a theoretical foundation for the book’s analytical journey, defining key terms within the particular context of both East Asian media and the concept of the Global South more broadly. This chapter also outlines the increasing strength of East Asian media and popular culture and its growing power in the global cultural sphere in the twenty-first century.
In Chapter 2, Jin discusses Western media theory and the increasingly outdated structure that centers the West in both media production and media analysis. Jin explains that this structure prioritizes Western perspectives even in non-Western nations, and moreover relegates those non-Western nations to the status of peripheral markets for Western cultural production. This historical context underpins Jin’s discussion of a shift toward increasing East Asian media and cultural influence beginning in the late twentieth century.
In Chapter 3, Jin balances the optimistic views of the previous chapter with the acknowledgment that this increase in global influence has meant that many of the distinct cultural features of East Asian nations have been lost in the process of achieving global recognition and consumption. According to Jin, the hybridization of multiple East Asian nations—especially Japanese and Korean cultures—is an important facet of the ongoing global asymmetry between the West and the East in terms of cultural production and influence.
In Chapter 4, Jin focuses on Japan and its ability to retain its distinctiveness even as its media and cultural products become global phenomena. Jin uses Japan’s unique positioning to explore the shortcomings of the term “Global South,” arguing that while Japan is geographically South, its global performance gives it a status similar to countries in the Global North.
In Chapter 5, Jin continues with this smaller-scale focus, examining particular regions in East Asia and how they are navigating the emergence of Japan and Korea as globally significant media and cultural producers. Jin uses the tenuous balance being negotiated between the importing of Japanese and Korean cultural products and the production of culturally specific products in other regions to continue his interrogation of the concept of the “Global South” and explore the idea of another layer of “North”-style privilege within regions grouped in the “South.”
In Chapter 6, Jin turns to digital platforms and the increasing competitive viability of specifically East Asian platforms in a global market dominated by platforms based in the United States. Jin analyzes the potential of digital platforms to destabilize existing global cultural flows and the possibility that this disruption can help to correct power imbalances between the Global North and the Global South, finding that East Asian platforms tend to have more influence in their home regions and must rely on Western platforms to reach global audiences.
In Chapter 7, Jin further examines digital culture in East Asia, discussing the impact of personal smart devices on the concept of group culture, particularly among youth. Jin finds that the shift of media consumption to an online, digitized format has given rise to new cultural communities that exist exclusively in the digital sphere.
Finally, in Chapter 8, Jin revisits the idea of Western domination and examines the way that the unique positioning of East Asia in the Global South can help to disrupt the reach of the Global North. Jin ultimately reaches the cautious conclusion that, while the global environment is definitely shifting, existing theoretical frameworks need further development before they can be used to understand that shift, let alone help to direct it toward closing equity gaps on a global scale.
Dal Yong Jin’s Global South Discourse in East Asian Media Studies is more thought-provoking and convincing, but this speaks to Jin’s understanding of his subject as part of a relatively new series of developments in global media analysis. Different sections of this book will be useful to students looking for a critical reading of the concept of the Global South and for students hoping for an alternative to the historically biased view of East Asian cultural and media production, but the book as a whole serves as a thoughtful analysis of the current state of global media studies and a useful signpost for directing future research.
