One of the key concepts in Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Nothing
Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War was that there are still American
influences in Korea after their involvement as allies with the United States
during the Vietnam War. One of the key influential cultural aspects mentioned was
the global phenomenon of K-pop. Although most Americans would associate it with
Korean culture, many western concepts transmitted through a war radio station intended
for an American audience. The name of the main radio station was AFKN, which was
started to teach American soldiers about Korean culture while playing popular
music from the United states. This station also reached Koreans and allowed
them to gather sounds from the United States. Learning this style was not only
interesting, but also allowed them to perform in shows that favored western
audiences. The author writes that “Korean culture became the new cool” (Nguyen 132).
In thinking of how this culture had been shaped by America’s involvement during
their wars, I wondered if there was a similar culture assimilation in countries
like Afghanistan. Apparently there is. During an interview by Sudarsan Raghavan a youth in Afgaistan, Mahmood Rezai, told them that he “loved gangsta rap” (Raghavan). This shows that
as America music influenced the Koreans during the war, the United States also
is influencing other countries that they have been at war with through culture.
Although music may seem harmless, labeling another’s culture
as better or worse can be detrimental. What might be cultural music that you
know of to be influenced by war with a rival nation?
Raghavan, Sudarsan. “Years after Invasion, the U.S. Leaves a
Cultural Imprint on Afghanistan.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 28 June 2015,
www.washingtonpost.com/world/years-after-invasion-the-us-leaves-a-cultural-imprint-on-afghanistan/2015/06/28/fd521cb4-e518-11e4-ae0f-f8c46aa8c3a4_story.html.
Nguyen, Viet Thanh. Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the
Memory of War. Harvard University Press, 2017.
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