SEOUL, KOREA – “Les Militaribles,” a 13-minute parody of the movie musical “Les Misérables” featuring members of the Korean Air Force is a huge hit. On YouTube, the Air Force version of “Les Miserables” is nearing 4 million views. In the spoof video with English subtitles, Javert is a duty officer who forces exhausted conscripts to toil away shoveling snow.
The production cost of the video was a paltry KRW one million since it was produced by the Korean Air Force’s official blog team. As it catches on globally, New York Times and CNN also reported on the popularity of the viral video.
Of course, it is true that the video enjoys such popularity riding on the coattails of the hit movie musical “Les Misérables, which was watched by over five million people in Korea. Reversely, the original Les Misérables can be more bandied around thanks to the so much buzz around its parody.
Some people belittle parodies, citing that they detract from the original works. However, culture has to embrace diversity in order to endure. The Korean wave fueled by PSY’s Gangnam Style has been driven by an amalgam of ICT and content. Therefore, the Korean content industry has to take on board diverse factors to march forward.
Sean Chung (hbpark@etnews.com)
**Article provided by etnews [Korea IT News]
[Reference] : http://english.etnews.com/electronics/2715655_1303.html