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[Cover Story]
Retro Fad
by Yoon So-young, Society Editor, yoonsyng@mju.ac.kr
by Seong So-won, Culture Reporter, ntnss@mju.ac.kr
by Kim Do-yeon, International Reporter, hana14@mju.ac.kr
Nostalgic films, retro fashion style-such as chokers, bell-bottoms-and retro sound, have been leading the trends since early 2015. As a result, tvN’s drama, ‘Reply 1988' has succeeded. Due to the retro media’s popularity, retro fever has been sweeping the nation through various categories such as music, fashion, cinema, marketing, and it has gained a following not only with the middle-aged, but also the younger generation. This phenomenon is not a one off as in the past, but has become a trend and part of culture. So, let us illuminate the marketing of this retro fever through many different angles analyzing different aspects, causes, and viewpoints of this phenomenon.
Current state and cause of the Retro fad
The Retro fad started from entertainment programs and dramas and has spread to movies, music, and even fashion. The drama 'Reply Series' gained great popularity and recently began a journey back to the past for the viewers. As these hot retro fads do not look like they will be cooling down anytime soon, it is easy to find things from the past in our society. To many people, these things from the past are unfamiliar in this day and age although popular music from the past being played on TV is quite common. The Retro fad has become even more popular by giving the 90s generation unforgettable memories and exciting nostalgia. Also, the movies titled 'Ode to My Father' and 'C'est Si Bon' were released, and the 70s and 80s culture also began to make a mark. These movies stirred the memories of the middle-aged and inadvertently created a new trend.
Throughout the years, the 1990s has received a lot of attention and the reason is simple: the 90s was the period that reached a peak politically and economically, and various parts of culture began to bloom. It was a very interesting time when analog and digital coexisted. The Retro fad reflected the public's appetite which missed the analog sensibility and close links have reappeared between the two. Those people who spent their adolescence as a part of this influential cultural event have now become producers and consumers. Their emotions and desires consumed them and lead them in the direction of the Retro genre.
Specifically, in the case of music of the 90s, popular songs suppressed modern pop music and various music genres, such as ballads, folk music-trot- and dance. A new era of mass culture began. Until the 1980s, the influence of pop music was strong, but since the 1990s, artists such as Seo Tai-ji and Boys, Kim Gun-mo, Shin Seung-hun, Shin Hae-chul, and others introduced new types of music and pushed the boundaries of previous singers. At that time, there were quite a few sellers in the music market. Several legendary singers who sold over one million copies of their albums appeared. Also, there was a huge wave in 90s K-pop history with Seo Tai-ji and Boys at the center of it. They introduced performance-centered music and changed the trend of Korean music. They had strong influences socially as well as in the K-pop world. Especially after releasing their 4th album, 'Come Back Home,' a strange phenomenon occurred in which teenage runaways came back home as the title was named. At the same time, K-pop groups Lula, Solid, and others enjoyed the Golden Age. In the late 1990s, the first-generation idol star driven dance music, such as S.E.S, H.O.T, and G.O.D, were gaining ground and created a strong fandom culture.
What about the generation that enjoyed the 90s mass culture? There were special names for the youth of the 90s: generation X, New generation, Neoanthropinae, and Orange Generation. It was the generation that pursued freedom and diversity because they had clear tastes. At that time, the youth thought they had their own identity and they were obsessed with that thought. Their adolescence had a more liberal dress code and they enjoyed their freedom to the fullest until their college life. Then, 'self-realization' filled their hearts. They were also widely recognized as being too optimistic. The first affluent generation became the depressed generation. The Korean economy began to worsen. A large-scale restructuring was carried out and the unemployment crisis became serious. So, it is natural for them to have been missing their affluent past. Before the Retro fad began, they had already been looking back to their own pasts.
Retro fad: Drama, Fashion, Cinema, Music
Drama: Last winter, 'Reply, 1988' achieved a sensational level of popularity. The ‘Reply Series’ fever, which is a revolution for cable networks, reached nearly 20% of viewers and had become more popular than general public television programs. This fever reflected the public feeling of being tired of the harsh reality and a desire to return to the pure and happy days of their lives in the past. Also, it is because they have achieved convenient and affluent lives, but lost bonds with neighbors and friends, as well as their analog sensitivity. The ‘Reply Series’ is based on travelling to the past, and utilizing the Retro fad to maximize television viewers. People who lived through 1997, 1994, and 1988 can recall those times and those who did not can indirectly experience the past. As a result, these two generations are related each other by the Retro.
In the ‘Reply Series,’ the hairstyles, fashion, make-up and other things prevailing at that time were almost perfectly recreated. Moreover, small props such as beepers, big walkie-talkies, and briquettes, which are hard to find nowadays, brought back the past. Also, people can watch and listen to the major events of those days on TV and radio, allowing them to naturally recall their pasts. The major news of the increase in homicides due to IMF, the collapse of the Sampoong department store, and the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games made the program more exuberant.
Fashion: Tam-o'shanters, duffle coats, hip-pop, and bright green fashion were the 4 fashion keywords of the 90s. The youth were stylishly dressed with a duffle coat, called Tteok-bokki coat, blue jeans with a big logo of a brand name, and spiced up their outfits with a tam-o'shanter cap. Today, these retro fashions have gained popularity for the age groups in their 30s and 40s, in addition to those in their 20s. Recent sales of retro fashion items such as berets and baseball jumpers, which were widespread in the 90s, have increased in department stores. On an entertainment program called ‘Infinite Challenge,’ the singer, IU, wore a choker and flight jacket that the character Matilda wore in the movie titled ‘Leon’, making this fashion popular again.
Cinema: Lately, theaters have been gaining fans as it has re-released hit movies from the past. Among them are 'Love Letter' (1995), 'April Story’ (1998), 'Cinema Paradiso’ (1988), 'Eternal Sunshine’ (2004), and 'Secret’ (2007). They have provided audiences with a source of reflection. Audiences who were in their teens to twenties at that time of the original releases are able to watch these masterpieces not on a small monitor but rather a big screen.
Not only re-released movies, but recent movies like 'Architecture 101'(2012), 'Ode to My Father'(2014), and 'Gangnam Blues' won popularity by returning to the past and allowing the audience to reminisce. Especially 'Architecture 101'(2012), which let audiences shed new light on the 'Study of Memory' by Jun Ram-hoe and added some fun with props such as beepers, 386 computers, and film cameras that simulated the emotions of the 90s. 'Ode to My Father'(2014) dealt with Korea's separated families and hit the 10-million-viewer mark.
Music: In the mid to late 2000s, the fashion was following idol singers' retro sounds. Funky retro sounds such as 'Roly-Poly' and 'Bo Peep Bo Peep' of Tiara, and 'Tell Me', 'Nobody', and 'I Feel You' of the Wonder Girls reigned in the K-pop world. So, idols have been sweeping over the music market for the last decade. But lately, the public has felt a thirst for beautiful lyrics, melodies, and impressions through the voice of singers. Naturally, interest has risen in music and musicians of the past like Deul Guk-hwa and Jo Yong-pil, who gained enormous popularity in the 90s and have both made recent comebacks. Retro clubs that play music from 10 to 20 years ago are gaining enough popularity to have waiting lines at the entrances, which also speaks for the popularity of 90s music.
In addition, old fonts, signs, games, old-fashioned coffee shops, and junk food have resurfaced and people looking for them have increased. Currently, reviving old fonts and signs make people feel invigorated and fascinates the public. It is easy to see old-fashioned cute games aside from cruel and violent games of the present era.
Retro for Sale
As the retro fever, which has been sweeping trends since early last year, came to its climax in 'Reply 1988,' various enterprises have started to attract customers with retro products. Companies have released product packages with 70s and 80s designs and rereleased prevalent commercial films that have been countrified.
In reality, Lotte Confectionery Co., Ltd., which participated in the PPL (Product Placement Advertising) of 'Reply 1988,’ presented their products such as Pepero, World Cone, Gana Chocolate, and Watermelon Bar. Keeping up with the momentum, Lotte Confectionery sold special offer retro snacks with packaging designs from 1988 in supermarkets and online shopping malls. Also, Gana Chocolate CF featured by the model Lee Mi-yeon, appeared on screen with the main character, He-ri's dream on ‘Reply 1988.’ Hence, Lotte chose He-ri as a model for Gana chocolate and produced the CF, which had a similar concept in 1980s advertisements. And, we can see Lotte Confectionery's old sun logo once again, which changed over the years.
Other operations have also been focusing on retro marketing. Bing-grae Co., Ltd. launched Banana Milk '1988 Edition' in which CI (Corporate identity) and handwriting used in those days were revived. And, they contained fad words that received attention through 'Reply, 1988' on the multipack packaging. Furthermore, the Hite Jinro Co., Ltd., rereleased a limited edition of Crown Beer, which was discontinued since 1993. The new Crown Beer, 22 years after being discontinued, recreated the 80s taste and the original crown symbol and has been continuously selling out. Also, CJ CheilJeDang produced 'Ham 88 edition', bringing the 1980s design to the present.
In this retro marketing fever, the corporations with more than 50 years of history take advantage of their old CI logos. They replaced their current CI logos that were changed to more refined simple designs over the years, and brought back past logos on product packaging.
BYC brought back their well-known white sheep head logo. The white sheep logo was loved by customers and was a symbol of pure white undergarments for 30 years after being licensed in 1957. In 1979, BYC changed their corporate name to Baik Yang Co, Ltd., which is the same as the product's name, to integrate the organization's image and brand. In 1985, they developed the trademark 'BYC', the initials of the company’s name. However, the white sheep character is being reused on the front of BYC's shopping bags these days.
Shinsegae Department Store has also returned to the 80s with a strategy to present new and fun concepts to customers, including the elderly, stimulating the nostalgia of the 80s, which was a rapid period of growth. In particular, Sinsegae has revived the peacock, which symbolized Sinsegae, and proved successful as major goods of Sinsegae Department Store in the 70s. Recently, the department store made a special shopping bag with the peacock logo with retro handwriting and put a retro paper doll playing in DM (Direct Mail). They also organized various events with the retro concept.
The Vision Retro
There is a vision that retro culture is past-oriented and a regression of culture. It shows that new culture isn't being produced any more and current culture has lost its power. Reminders of the past and discovering past culture means that people want to avoid the harsh present world and are having difficulty finding hope.
It is common that cultures are formed for market potential in a capitalistic society. However, retro culture weakens the progression of popular art. Retro places emphasis on the current tough and nervous generation and hides the merits of modern society.
But, it is such an extremist view that our culture is not progressing due to the regressive tendency of retro culture, is it?
Retro is a reaction to the hostile world. It is also often criticized because it is a distortion of the past that consists of only fond memories while not including the bad memories and the darker side of culture.
A lot of movies and programs only express beautiful memories of the past and a longing for it. Sad stories and bad memories of the past are just vaguely mentioned. Though, this distortion and editing of memories are not the only bad things. As beautiful memories of the past resurface, retro can appeal to not only the original generation but all generations. Now, young people are more accepting towards retro culture. Similar to the music of the past hitting the charts, retro is gaining a positive response from the current generation.
Because retro conveys the positive things of the past, it can become popular and encourage people to communicate between generations. In other words, it achieves intergenerational cultural integration as it forms a consensus. Can it arouse nostalgia and cause a yearning to its original generation, if it portrays bad memories? It might offer painful memories to some people rather than a wanting of lost times of the past.
The meaning of Retro is to express the happiness of the past and edit peoples’ memories to free themselves from the harsh reality of present day. So, retro can provide positive feelings to all generations rather than cause cultural regression. It can also contribute to a synergy between generations and create a new culture of understanding and acceptance.
Beyond its significance for recalling memory, the Retro fever sets the culture and fashion trends of today. The remarkable aspect about this phenomenon is that the 1990s culture is spread to the next generation by default. For example, the generation who enjoyed 1990s popular music has widened. People in their 20s also enjoy listening to 90s music these days. And, forgotten singers have become main stream and have resumed their music careers. This is evidence that the Retro fever is not only recollecting old memories. In fact, the Retro fad has settled in our cultural life through the movie 'Architecture 101' and the 'Reply Series' drama. These are just a few examples of, how the Retro fever flows through media.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to retro itself because we have to learn from the past and be aware of the mistakes that were made. Retro doesn't matter, but we have to be aware of the media that forces retro trends and encourages consumption. As mentioned earlier, this can be thought of as offering the opportunity of communication between new and old generations. On the other hand, the Retro fever is dangerously apt to produce obscure cultural identities. Creating new things from something that has already been created can destroy the true cultural value between cultural succession and plagiarism.
The dictionary definition of retro is 'a return to the past form, politics, ideas, institutions and customs.' To the upcoming generation of the future, nostalgia is feared. We should not forget the future by looking back upon the past. Furthermore, if the past has nothing to learn from and is intoxicated with commercial viability, there is no need to turn back. Such retro fads are guaranteed to fizzle out over time, and be replaced, by the next popular trend that captures our attention.