The group SSAK3, that appeared on the TV show Hangout with Yoo (Nolmyeon mwohani in Korean), recently finished their work. SSAK3 was a group of three members--Lee Hyo-ri (Linda G), Yoo Jae-seok (Yuduraegon), and Rain (Biryong)--formed for the summer season. As soon as they made their debut, they ranked highly on various music charts and enjoyed great popularity. On one music channel, SSAK3 ranked first just five days after its debut. On another music channel, there were reports that their broadcasts had a 2.1 percent audience rating, the highest ever for music broadcasts in recent years.

Why did SSAK3 receive so much public acclaim?
Not only is each member very well known, but they also broadcasted the whole of the production process from the start of rehearsals to their debut performance, and they communicated with their fans often. These were the reasons for their receiving such public acclaim. However, I think that the symbolic retro style that they adopted to form a new group and sing new songs may have attracted the attention of many people of various ages.
So, let’s think about why they made people think about the past.
The leader and main vocalist of SSAK3 was the youngest, Biryong. His real name is Rain (Jung Ji-hoon). He became a member of SSAK3 because his song Kkang, which was released in 2017, has received so much attention recently. He swept Asia, including South Korea, in the 2000s, and he was considered one of the world's biggest stars. His performances in SSAK3 are likely to have rekindled viewers’ memories of the 2000s, not only in Korea but also around the world.
Lee Hyo-ri (Linda G), the center of SSAK3, debuted in 1998 as the leader of a girl group known as Finkl. Following the success of her group, she has received constant love from the public as a solo singer and entertainment artist in the 2000s. She may have evoked nostalgic feelings among people thinking of the nineties, the 2000s, and the 2010s.
Yuduraegon was in charge of rapping and narrating, and he had some other vocal roles in SSAK3. His real name is Yoo Jae-seok. Yoo Jae-seok is not the same type of person as Lee Hyo-ri or Rain, who were in the spotlight for much of the 1990s and 2000s. That's why people old enough to remember the 1990s or 2000s may have empathized with his memories of those times. And since then, he has done his best and reached the summit of his field, so he started a new challenge with them. I think that’s why so many people liked the group. I think that each member evoked memories of the past, becoming a symbol of Newtro.”
The title song of SSAK3 also played a great role in their success, too. Their title song was Beach Again, which is about nostalgic memories of summer. The song was a Newtro song reinterpreting the 1990s in a modern style, allowing the older generation to relive their memories and feel nostalgic, and the new generation to experience both nostalgia and novelty.

What exactly is Newtro that played such a big role in the success of SSAK3, and why and when did it start to become popular?
Newtro, which refers to the enjoyment of retro styles in a new way, is a recently coined term combining new and retro. Newtro is also associated with the saying 'fashion goes around.' Designs that were popular in the past can often be seen again decades later. Newtro culture refers to products (services) enhanced using up-to-date technology. It has been a popular culture in Korea since 2019.
I think the reason Newtro has become popular is because of the development of online streaming services like YouTube and Netflix. Using these services, people can easily enjoy older videos and cultures. Online streaming services allow people to interact with contents that were popular in the past, so they become interested in what they thought was just old, and try to reinterpret ideas. Phenomena repeat like trends, so I think the demand for Newtro has grown.
In the process of reinterpreting retro styles from the past to the present, I think the Newtro trend has occurred. People often say that when the economy is in depression, retro trends become obvious. That is because people do not want to spend too much money on fashion, so they find classic clothes which they can wear on any occasion. This can be seen from the fact that during the economic downturn in 2009 in Korea, retro fashion became popular, seeing a rise in sales. The recent spread of the new coronavirus has caused a great damage to the Korean foodservice industry and the self-employed. In addition, there have been large national economic losses, with one report stating that Korea's annual economic loss would likely be 67.2 trillion won and that 678,000 jobs have been lost. During this economic crisis, just like in the past, the demand for retro fashion has increased, and in the process, I think the demand for Newtro has also increased.
If you think about Newtro like this, one question may arise: What is the difference between retro and Newtro? In other words, what resulted in two separate terms, and why was the word Newtro coined later? Is there any noteworthy feature between the two words?
In fact, there is only a very subtle difference between Newtro and retro. However, this subtle difference plays an important role in distinguishing between the two.
First, retro, which refers to recollections or memories, is an abbreviation of retrospect. And, culturally, it refers to the phenomenon of trying to go back in time or imitate bygone days. The term retro adopted its modern usage in the 1970s. In 1971, Yves Saint Laurent recreated the fashion of the 1940s and called it the 'retro look'. The retro look was familiar to people and made them nostalgic for the past. It swept the fashion world of the day. After that, retro styles began to appear frequently, becoming popular in various areas such as music and art.
In this way, retro styles evoke a sense of nostalgia among the elderly who reminisce about past cultures, while Newtro refers to young people presently looking for contents from the past. In other words, retro means recreating the past and enjoying it in the same way of the past, while Newtro means reinterpreting the past in a modern way.
Newtro is meaningful in that it does not simply recreate the past but reinterprets it creatively based on the subject matter of past times. For this reason, it has new features and is becoming a new trend in the modern world. Newtro is of great significance in that it creates a culture that resonates with the young, the middle-aged, and the elderly--by evoking nostalgia among the middle-aged and the elderly and by providing new attractions for the young.


Let's find out why Newtro is so popular with people of different ages with respect to the psychological factors of each age group.
First of all, millennials in their 10s to 30s are part of the digital generation, so they have been exposed to a variety of cultural stimuli. Therefore, they are open to accepting different cultures. And they feel value in scarce things. These millennials' values and desires for consumption, combined with retro marketing, are making Newtro more popular. And because millennials live in a hyper-connected society, they often feel tired; so they are fascinated by the retro sensibility that provides a temporary sense of release. Millennials can be said to find an escape from a hyper-connected society through Newtro.
For older generations, Newtro is an opportunity to recall their beautiful memories of the past. It is also related to Methuselah syndrome. Methuselah syndrome is a psychological term referring to blocking out bad memories and preserving only good memories. As we all know, life is not always happy and beautiful. However, as Methuselah syndrome shows, older generations treasure past beautiful memories and can recall them through Newtro.
In this way, Newtro is becoming a popular culture that brings comfort to both the young and old generations.
With Newtro being recognized by the public, we can now see Newtro everywhere in our lives. Looking at the latest fashions, you can easily see bluish colors and blue fashionable clothing, high waist (bottoms long enough to cover the lower abdomen) clothing, trumpet pants, and bootcut pants, all of which are similar to the fashion styles of the 1990s. Popular cafe interior designs and home-renovated cafes have also been influenced by Newtro. Additionally, on many camera filter options, you can take Newtro pictures by using the same filter as a retro film camera. And in various products such as beverages, snacks, and game consoles, the influence of Newtro is clear. The influence of Newtro can even be seen in the activities of BTS, who recently made a comeback adopting the disco genre in their new hit Dynamite.
Due to the recent coronavirus pandemic, many cultural activities such as musicals, concerts, other performing arts, and movie releases, etc. have been put on hold, and there are currently restrictions on the daily activities we enjoyed before. Given this, I think people's desire for Newtro will increase even more because people will yearn for the freedom and memories they had in the past. And I think Newtro will become more popular as a way to understand and endure a whole new present, along with enjoyable recollections of the past.
In addition, through Newtro, we can foster a culture that both old and new generations can empathize with. I think SSAK3 made an impression on both young and middle-aged viewers, and also created a culture that both old and new generations can relate to. If we create a Newtro culture that everyone can empathize with within broadcast media, I think that the generation gap, which is one of the causes of conflict in modern society, will be gradually reduced.
I think that Newtro can influence change in local communities as well. If we find a way to enjoy both existing cultures and new cultures, especially in places like Gunsan and Jeonju which have well-preserved local cultures and histories, it will greatly contribute to the development of such communities.
Through this Culture Sketch, we have taken the time to learn about the latest trend Newtro. If we understand the concept of Newtro and its significance in solving problems in our society and finding ways to further develop our society, I believe that our society and culture will be better.

 

저작권자 © 충대신문 무단전재 및 재배포 금지