My presentation to the Culture Convergence Symposium, at the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, 15 December 2015. For more, visit www.theplayethic.com

1. THE RICH DYNAMICS OF
CULTURE AND
TECHNOLOGY
PAT KANE,THE PLAY ETHIC
CONVERGENCE CULTURE SYMPOSIUM,
SEOUL, DEC 16, 2015

2. I AM PAT KANE
Director ofThe Play Ethic
(www.theplayethic.com)
Curator, FutureFest
(www.futurefest.org)
Editor/Journalist/Writer
Pop Musician
www.patkane.today

3. LEE SOO MAN: “CULTURALTECHNOLOGY”
MY 3 CULTURE ANDTECHNOLOGY COVERGENCES
1. FESTIVAL: FUTUREFEST
2. MEDIA: JOURNALISM, DEMOCRACY ANDTECH
3. MUSIC: BEYOND K-POP?
CONCLUSION : HALLYU ANDTHE PLAY ETHIC

4. Lee Soo Man on “CulturalTechnology”
“Cultural technology is
much more exquisite
and complex than
information
technology”
Stanford, April 19, 2011
[Play video 1.1]

5. In UK, relations of
culture and
technology have a
civic and social, as
well as a
commercial
dimension

6. 3 examples of C&T
from my practice:
Festival: FutureFest
Media: Journalism,
Democracy &Tech
Music: After K-Pop?

7. [Play video
1.2]

8. FESTIVAL – AN ANCIENTAND
GLOBAL PRACTICE AND
TRADITION
JOYFUL, DIVERSE, ENERGETIC
EXPRESSION OFTHE
COMMUNITY – CITY, REGIONAL,
NATIONAL, OCCUPATIONAL,
UTOPIAN… CHUSEOK
ANTWERP, 17TH CENTURY
BURNING MAN, US, 2015

9. FESTIVALS FEATURE
SHAMEN/ORACLES…
BRINGING INSIGHT,
WISDOM, STRATEGYTO
COMMUNITY, FROM
WIDERWORLD & DEEPER
REALMS
WE HAVETHEM IN
MODERNTIMESTO0 - AT
BURNING MAN, US, 2015

10. BURNING MAN, US, 2015
VIVIENNE
WESTWOOD
BERTOLT MEYER
GEORGECLINTON

11. FESTIVALS ARE FAIRS – WHERETECHNIQUE IS
DEMONSTRATED, STORIESTOLD, CONNECTIONS
MADE, PLEASURES CONSUMED, DEALS DONE
“THE BEST WAYTO PREDICTTHE FUTURE ISTO INVENT
IT” – ALAN KAY
BURNING MAN, US, 2015

12. ANOTHERWAYTO GET READY FORTHE FUTURE ISTO
IMAGINE IT IN ADVANCE…
ANCIENT FESTIVALS HAVE DRAMA AND RITUAL
MODERN ONES HAVE IMMERSIONS AND DESIGN
FICTIONS
BURNING MAN, US, 2015
[PLAYVIDEO 1.3]

13. 3 examples of C&T
from my practice:
Festival: FutureFest
Media: Journalism,
Democracy &Tech
Music: After K-Pop?

14. BURNING MAN, US, 2015
I AM A FOUNDING EDITOR OF
SUNDAY HERALD (SCOTLAND),
LAUNCHED IN 1999 – UNDER NEW
SCOTS PARLIAMENT
IN 2011, UK & SCOTTISH GOVTS
AGREEDA REFERENDUM ON
SCOTTISH NATION-STATE
INDEPENDENCE – 18TH SEPT, 2014
PAPERSAVAILABLE IN SCOTLAND
WERE ALMOST ENTIRELY
SUPPORTING “NO”…EXCEPT SUNDAY
HERALD, 4TH MAY, 2014

15. BURNING MAN, US, 2015
And then the vote… [Play video 1.3]

16. BURNING MAN, US, 2015
FOUR RESULTS FROM SCOTTISH
INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM:
1) SEPT 18TH, 2014: SCOTLANDVOTES
AGAINST INDY:YES – 45%, NO – 55%
2) THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY
(FOR INDY) GAINS 100,000 NEW
MEMBERS –THEN WINS 56 FROM 59
SEATS IN UK GENERAL ELECTION IN
MAY 2015
3) THE SUNDAY HERALD DEFIES
HISTORIC DECLINE IN CIRCULATION
IN PAPERS – INCREASES BY 15%,

17. BURNING MAN, US, 2015
4) AN ENTIRELY NEW PAPER IS LAUNCHED
BY OWNERS OF SUNDAY HERALD –THE
NATIONAL (FORWHICH IWRITE) –
CELEBRATING ITS FIRSTYEAR
SIMPLE LESSON – LISTENTO
CONSUMERS/CITIZENS! 45% OF SCOTTISH
POPULATION HAD NO NEWSPAPER
ECHOINGTHEIRWORLDVIEW, OUT OF 30+
TITLESAVAILABLE IN SCOTLAND. NOW
TWO, AT LEAST…
TECH/BIZ RESPONDSTO CULTURE!

18. BURNING MAN, US, 2015
WHAT OF DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA,
DURINGTHE INDEPENDENCE
REFERENDUM?
VERY STRONG – ANTICIPATESTHE
NEWSPAPER SHIFT…
BELLA CALEDONIA LAUNCHED IN 2007
WINGS OVER SCOTLAND IN 2011
- BOTH PROVIDE OPINION, IDEAS,
MEDIA MONITORING FOR SCOTTISH
INDEPENDENCE SUPPORTERS
THEY CROWDFUNDED £150,000TO
SUPPORTTHEIR ACTIVITIES

19. BURNING MAN, US, 2015
INDEPENDENCETHINK-TANK COMMON WEAL LAUNCHES COMMON
SPACE IN NOVEMBER 2014 - PAID FOR BY MONTHLY DONORS
AIMSTO PROVIDE A PROGRESSIVE NEWS SERVICE...
...ANDWILL INTEGRATETHIS WITH SOCIAL NETWORKING FUNCTIONS,
AIMED AT ACTIVISTS AND CITIZENS, IN 2016
I AM ONTHE BOARDS OF BOTH BELLA CALEDONIA AND COMMON

20. BURNING MAN, US, 2015
SO IN SCOTLAND, A NEW MEDIA
ECOSYSTEM,
GENERATED IN RESPONSETO SOCIAL AND
POLITICAL CHANGE...
AN EXAMPLE OF “THE RICH DYNAMICS OF
CULTURE ANDTECHNOLOGY”?
LEE SOO-MAN, 2011 STANFORD LECTURE
“The internet makes possible a transcendence of time, space and
knowledge” – yes, with pop music (next section)
But Net can also be an INTENSIFICATION ofT/S/K – can aid citizens in
pursuing their rights, give them tools to organise and self-inform

21. BURNING MAN, US, 2015
HAS MAYOR WON SOON
PARK’S ELECTION 2011 –
“CITIZENS ARETHE MAYOR” –
GENERATED SIMILAR
INNOVATION IN CITIZENS’
MEDIA?
ISTHERE A ROUTETO
INNOVATION AND
CONVERGENCE IN MEDIA
THROUGH NEEDS OF CITIZENS,
ASWELL ASTHROUGH
APPETITES OF
CONSUMERS/PROSUMERS?

22. 3 examples of C&T
from my practice:
Festival: FutureFest
Media: Journalism,
Democracy &Tech
Music: After K-Pop?

23. I was a pop musician
in the UK – and I still
am
Hue And Cry
“Labour of Love”
2012 – 2013 – 1987
[Play video 1.4]

24. …but not as good as
K-Pop!
G-Dragon, “Crayon”,
2012
“Why so serious?”
[Play video 1.5]

25. BURNING MAN, US, 2015
K-POP:
Very much in the classic “pop”
tradition – disciplined performers,
great teams, working on product.
Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys,Take
That, Destiny’s Child, X-Factor
K-Pop also perfect example of
convergence of culture and
technology... Lee Soo Man working
on a fusion of robots, celebrities
and big data... (October 25th 2015)

26. BURNING MAN, US, 2015
K-
PUNK?
K-ROCK?
K-ALT? K-DUBSTEP?
BUT ISTHERE SOMETHING AFTERTHE “POP” IN K-POP...
...K-NEXT?
WHAT ARE
THE BEST
CONDITIONS?

27. BURNING MAN, US, 2015
ONE OFTHE “RICH DYNAMICS OF
CULTURE ANDTECHNOLOGY” IN
UK/US/EURO MUSIC…
...ISTHAT CULTURAL
FRUSTRATION IS EXPRESSED
THRU TECHNOLOGY – CREATING
NEW FORMS, VOICES,
PRACTICES
BRIAN ENO – NOT GENIUS, BUT
“SCENIUS” –THE WAY A
BOHEMIAN/ALTERNATIVE
QUARTER CAN GENERATE NEW
CULTURAL FORMS. HOXTON...

28. LEE SOO MAN: “CULTURALTECHNOLOGY”
MY 3 CULTURE ANDTECHNOLOGY COVERGENCES
1. FESTIVAL: FUTUREFEST
2. MEDIA: JOURNALISM, DEMOCRACY ANDTECH
3. MUSIC: BEYOND K-POP?
CONCLUSION : HALLYU ANDTHE PLAY ETHIC

29. WHAT KIND OF CREATIVITY,
ART AND PLAY DOES A
CONFIDENT NATION
SUPPORT?
“HALLYU” –THE KOREAN
WAVE – POWERFUL IN
MUSIC ANDTV
…BUT WILL K-ART, K-
CRITIQUE, K-NOBEL-PRIZE-
FOR-LITERATURE COME
NEXT...?

30. MY 2004 BOOK “THE PLAY
ETHIC”
TALKS NOT ABOUT
CHILDRENS PLAYGROUNDS
- BUT ADULT “GROUNDS OF
PLAY”
WHAT ARETHE BEST
CONDITIONSTO SUPPORT A
SOCIETY’S CREATIVITY AND
INNOVATION?

31. WHEN COMPLEX
MAMMALS FEEL:
-- SECURE
-- WITHOUT STRESS
-- UNTHREATENED
-- BEYOND SCARCITY
-THEY PLAY AND CREATE
FREELY AND
POWERFULLY

32. A STRONG SOCIETY LIKETHE
REPUBLIC OF KOREA…
…CAN BE A “GROUND OF
PLAY” FOR ITS CREATORS,
ENTREPRENEURS & CITIZENS
...LIKE GOOD PARENTS ALLOW
THEIR CHILDRENTO GROW UP
AND MAKETHEIR OWN
MISTAKES, FORGETHEIR
UNIQUE PATH,WITHOUT
JUDGEMENT

33. THANKYOU SO
MUCH!
PAT KANE
Director ofThe Play Ethic
(www.theplayethic.com)
Curator, FutureFest
(www.futurefest.org)
Editor/Journalist/Writer
Pop Musician
www.patkane.today