Pop Culture Affects on Marketing in Korea and Japan

Pop Culture Affects on Marketing in Korea and Japan is a study abroad program in traveling through multiple cities in both countries. The program will visit various cities in Korea and Japan: Seoul, Jeju, Busan, Tokyo and Osaka. Pop culture businesses in these two countries predominantly consist of the beauty industry, Japanese-pop (j-pop) and Korean-pop (k-pop) music, anime and manga, and gaming. We will explore these pop culture industries and their marketing schemes throughout Asia and worldwide. Finally, we will discuss how these industries affect the economies of these two countries (e.g. k-pop idols monthly brand rankings; the $2.75 billion worth of exported Japanese beauty products). Students will gain knowledge and understanding of the driving forces in doing business in and with Korea and Japan. Additionally, the students will gain cultural and international competence.

Among our business visits are Seoul Culture Publishers, SM Town, InnisFree, and Nexon while in Korea. Additionally, we will visit an animation studio and a K-pop company. Some of the culture sites we will visit are Deoksugung Palace, Seongsan Ilchulbong, Gamcheon Cultural Village, and Beomeosa Temple.

In Japan, we will meet with the Nintendo Headquarters, an animation studio, J-pop studio and a J-beauty company. The Auginami Animation Museum will provide greater understanding of the rise in popularity of Japanese Anime. We will visit Meiji Shrine, Shibuya Crossing, and Osaka Castle to better understand culture.

Throughout the entire program, we will be meeting with local universities (ex. Hanyang University and Kyoto University). We will participate in lectures and discussing the emergent economies and the pop culture businesses. We will meet with Pamplin alumni both formally and informally. We will visit history and art museums to get a sense of the cultures and their people. Finally, we will participate in various dining customs experiences.

STUDENT HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION

Students will stay in hotels in the city center of our destinations. Students are paired up together (single gender), there will be two to three students per room.  All hotels are in areas of the city are near metro lines for ease of exploration.