Not a Habitus for the Have-Nots: The Walker Hill Shows, 1962-2002

Abstract

In an effort to boost its foreign currency earnings, in August 1961 the South Korean government enacted the Tourism Promotion Act, which led to the establishment of many new hotels in and around Seoul. The plan for the Walker Hill resort was to create an Oriental oasis of calm, culture, and splendour in a city still reeling from the massive destruction and devastation caused by the Korean War. Despite the Walker Hill being very competitively priced compared to other resorts across East Asia, it failed to move into profit. This was due, at least in part, to American military preferring to spend holidays outside Korea or at least away from other servicemen. For approximately half a century, as the Hill shows set benchmarks for the use of sound and visual effects, they had a profound influence on the Korean music scene in general. American servicemen of the 1960s and 1970s found familiarity within the range of facilities that Hill offered.