한국 관광호텔 라이브 바의 필리핀 여가수: ‘뮤지션’과 ‘엔터테이너’ 사이

초록

In Korea, where it is uncommon to employ live-in domestic helpers, the entertainment sector has become the group which most typically represents the ‘Filipina-ization’ of migration. In this paper, based upon in-depth data from two principal interviewees, I describe and analyze various aspects of Filipina singers’ performances, examining the importance of their nationality and working circumstances in terms of gender. The Filipina singers I interviewed represent their singing jobs as being enjoyable. This is despite spending long hours in preparation and performing, living with a reversed day-night cycle, enduring the emotional effort of smiling constantly, being alienated from the local community, and having to bear the prejudiced opinions of other Filipino migrants. Under these conditions, being professional musicians to the best of their ability is perhaps the only way to maintain their self-confidence. To this end they attempt to impersonate original numbers as perfectly as possible. Korean guests from non-English speaking regions do not expect them to imitate Western pop music exactly, but singers must be able to pronounce Korean words accurately when performing in the K-pop genre. Filipina singers are also wary of singing songs in Japanese in front of Korean guests, even when these are requested. On stage then, the different nationalities and languages of the singers, songs, lyrics, and audience are combined in various ways, and the position of Filipinos is shifting in relations among the West, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines. On the other hand, the trends towards the feminization of entertainment migration and the downsizing in the number of performers on stage may impact on some aspects of gender image in the Korean entertainment market. Filipina singers are now offered more opportunities than males to work with computerized accompaniment because they are better able to adjust to singing songs written for either sex, they can dance in a variety of ways to attract guests, and are generally more friendly towards male guests. At the same time, however, there is a risk of their value as musicians being reduced, and they are more personally vulnerable in their relations with agencies and bar managers. In addition, they are often exposed to the capricious emotions of male guests who may confuse pity with sympathy and misunderstand the situation to believe that the performers are sexually accessible. So it seems that living as Filipina singers in Korea entails a struggle to keep a balanced position between being a musician and an entertainer.

키워드