- ▲ 코리아, 문화 선진국을 문화로 지배하다… 무엇이 이들을 울렸나. 한국 대중음악이다. 누가 이들을 환호하게 만들었나. 한국 아이돌 가수들이다. 이들은 어디에서 왔나. 한국도 아시아도 아닌 세계 문화의 본거지 유럽 각국에서다. 10·11일(현지시각) 프랑스 파리에서 열린‘SM타운 월드 투어’가 이틀 동안 1만4000여명의 관객을 모으며 성공적으로 끝났다.‘케이 팝 유럽 인베이전’의 개막이다. 사진은 '슈퍼주니어'의 공연 장면이다. /연합뉴스
- ▲ 11일(현지시각)‘SM타운 월드 투어’공연에서 한 여성 팬이‘다시 한 번 고마워’라고 적힌 종이를 들고 환호하고 있다. SM측이 1회만 예정했던 공연을 팬들 요청에 따라 한 차례 더 늘린 것에 대한 감사의 뜻을 표시한 듯하다. /SM엔터테인먼트 제공
한국은 1960~70년대만 해도 유럽인들 사이에서 아예 존재감이 없거나, 있어봤자 '남의 나라 상표로 옷과 라디오와 신발을 만들어 팔고 광부를 보내는 나라' 정도로 인식됐다. 그 뒤 반도체, 선박, 자동차 수출에서 세계 선두권을 다투는 산업국으로서 경제적 성과를 이뤄냈지만 여전히 문화적 측면에서는 '동아시아의 변방 국가'에 머물렀을 뿐이다.
그러나 이번 케이 팝 콘서트는 유럽인들의 그런 인식을 바꾸는 중대 전환점이 됐다. 프랑스 유력지 르몽드의 보도처럼 "일본과 중국 사이에 끼어 있고, 자동차·전자제품의 수출로만 알려졌던 나라가 이제 문화를 알리게 된 것"이다. 한국무역협회 장호근 실장은 "유럽은 고부가가치 제품을 선호하는 곳이라 늘 뚫기 어려운 시장이었다"며 "이번 SM 콘서트를 기점으로 한국이라는 나라 자체의 브랜드 가치가 급상승할 것"이라고 했다.
보다 긍정적인 사실은 케이 팝 한류의 성장과 확대 가능성에 아직도 끝이 보이지 않는다는 점이다. 한류의 세계 진출에 한국의 발 빠른 정보화의 힘이 작용하고 있다는 게 결정적인 이유다. SM엔터테인먼트 이수만 대표 프로듀서가 본지 인터뷰에서 밝힌 것처럼 케이 팝은 라디오·TV 등 전통적 매체보다 인터넷·유튜브·SNS 등을 통해 전 세계 젊은이들에게 전해지고 있고, 그런 수단에서 한국은 세계 초일류를 달리고 있다. 여기에 더해 한국 고유의 영재(英才) 엔터테이너 조기 발굴·교육 시스템, 각국 팬들의 입맛을 고려한 '맞춤형 글로벌 멜로디·리듬·댄스 개발'도 케이팝 한류의 경쟁력을 키우는 요소들이다. 서구(西歐)에 대한 '케이 팝 인베이전'은 이제 첫 장(章)을 열었을 뿐이다.
Fans cheer, imitate dance moves, and weep when they say farewell June 13, 2011 | ||||
PARIS - A two-day Korean pop concert in Paris enthralled the City of Light and brought the Korean Wave into the heart of Europe. Five pop groups represented by SM Entertainment - TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, Super Junior, SHINee and f(x) - flew into Paris from Korea on Thursday for the company’s first European concert, the “SM Town Live World Tour” in Paris. When the first three-hour concert ended at around 11 p.m. Friday, dozens of teenage fans didn’t want to leave their seats at the Le Zenith de Paris concert hall in Paris. Some were weeping at the sadness of seeing their favorite stars leave the stage. “I am so happy but I feel so empty at the same time because it’s all finished,” said a 15-year-old French fan as she wiped away tears. Rain in the hours before Friday’s concert failed to deter a long line of K-pop fans outside the concert hall. About 100 avid teenage fans had lined up to get in since Thursday night, and a thousand more joined the line on Friday afternoon. They killed time by singing Korean pop songs, such as Super Junior’s “Sorry Sorry,” and mimicking the groups’ dance moves. “I am going to become a reporter and visit Korea,” said one high school student from Paris. “And I’ll interview my favorite groups, Super Junior and SHINee.” After the second concert Saturday, organizers said, “The fever was beyond our expectations.” When the curtain was raised at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, many of the 7,000 fans rushed the stage to get a closer look at the Korean pop stars. As each performer delivered short greetings in French and other European languages, the audience went wild and cheered at the top of their voices. They sang and danced along as the groups performed a total of 44 songs. Nationalities of the fans were diverse, coming from England, Germany, Spain, Italy and as far away as Sweden, Poland, Latvia and Serbia. The organizers said only about 5 percent of the audience were Koreans. A 19-year-old college student from Spain said she flew in to see TVXQ. “I am learning the Korean language to understand the lyrics of their songs,” she said. She could clearly pronounce all five of the group members’ names. When the members of Super Junior performed a gag by dressing up as Lady Gaga and Beyonce, laughter rang through the hall. It soon gave way to sobs when all 30 performers came on stage to say goodbye. “I still can’t believe such feverish excitement took place in Europe,” said Yunho, a member of TVXQ, after the concert. Tickets for the concert, which was originally supposed to be a single night’s show, sold out in just 15 minutes and fans rallied in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum early last month to demand a second concert, which the management company agreed to. Hundreds of diehard K-pop fans showed up at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris for the idols’ arrival on Thursday. Korea Connection, a club for K-pop aficionados in France, played a lead role in rallying the fans. The three-year-old club has about 3,300 members, a quarter of them Koreans. Maxim Pake, 30, head of Korea Connection, said in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo that he “couldn’t go to sleep feeling so excited about the concert. My dream has finally come true.” Pake, who is a Korean adoptee, said he established the club after watching a video of the Korean group Big Bang on YouTube. “My life turned ever since,” he said. “I used to be interested in French music but Big Bang’s performance made me speechless.” Pake said he has been a “hardcore fan of K-pop ever since.” Pake said K-pop is popular in Europe because “the choreography and the songs are perfect while all the artists are so attractive.” He said he expects fans will increase in Europe “at least for the next five years.” By Lee Ka-young [sharon@joongang.co.kr] |
Since yesterday, I read nearly all the news about K-Pop Girls Group
European Tour on the Internet with Excitement, WM.
Look at those European girls holding sign written in Korean!
I can hear their Screaming like they do at Live Concert.
Truly I am proud of them and our Motherland.
At Last, they crossed the last hurdle, Cultural Hurdle
to be a part of Culture-Strong-Countries. Bravo!