Globalization Culture and Politics in Asia Essay

Hats and Globalization

The hat stand in South Korea is visible in the picture "global" in a cultural sense because it is reflective of the cultural changes swirling all around the South Korean market. It sits, first of all, in front of a Western bakery shop -- a Dunkin' Donuts -- which is in and of itself an emblem of a foreign culture within the Asian culture of South Korea. The hat stand benefits from the sign hanging over the stand, like a cultural guardian angel, pointing to the hats to show how Western culture is available for sale to the South Koreans not just in the form of food but also in the form of attire. Secondly, the hats themselves are a Western fashion statement. They stand out as a cultural statement of globalism. As Hansen points out, in the era of globalization, "dress has been analyzed, by and large, as representing something else rather than something in its own right"[footnoteRef:1] -- which means that the hats in the picture are not just hats but rather a symbol of how South Korea is now integrated into the fabric of the whole world and is no longer a small unnoticed, out of the way portion of a peninsula in Asia. The hats signal that South Korea is now "part of it all," culturally speaking. [1: K. Hansen, "The world in dress: Anthropological perspectives on clothing, fashion and culture," Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 33 (2004), 369.]



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The hat stand stands out in a legal sense in two ways: first, the fact that the items are not being sold in a store but rather on the street is significant, as it gives the vendor the impression of being one whose legal standing is tenuous. Secondly, there is no guarantee of authenticity, if the hats are indeed meant to be brand items. As Chaudhry and Zimmerman have pointed out, globalization has enabled "consumer complicity" in the sale and purchase of counterfeit goods,[footnoteRef:2] especially in Asia, where Western tourists are happy to purchase authentic looking products like brand name hats at an ultra-cheap price, as there is no way of knowing that the product is a knock-off. This presents certain legal problems, as Chaudhry and Zimmerman note, especially when it comes to stealing brand images and intellectual property rights. Were globalization not in effect, the likelihood of a counterfeit market exploding as it has in recent years would be far less. [2: P. Chaudhry, A. Zimmerman, "The demand for counterfeit trade: Consumer complicity," Protecting Your Intellectual Property Rights (NY: Springer, 2012), 72.]



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The hat stand is visible in the picture in a political sense for two reasons. First, it highlights the political trends that have come to South Korea since the Korean War and the U.S.'s presence there. The hat stand symbolizes the extent to which the U.S. has influenced events in South Korea on a political level…