In Korea, a new word namely Newtro is becoming popular. It is a compound word meaning ‘new’ and ‘retro.’ Compared to retro, which simply evokes memories and nostalgia for a phenomenon experienced in the past, newtro refers to a new way of enjoying the culture of the past by the younger generation who have never had direct contact with the past. The group SSAK3, which was derived from the TV program Hanging Out with Yoo, revived summer dance music that was the mainstream of the ’90s during the summer of 20s, recalling the memories of the 30s-50s, as well as talking about songs and fashion of that time. It has succeeded in attracting the attention of the younger generation. It’s not only in Korea. Dolce & Gabbana launched a women’s line featuring the retro disco glam style of the ’00s in their ’22s collection, and Christian Dior showed off ’60s go-go boots and ’20s Mary Janes in its ’22s spring collection. Find out more about retro’s psychology and consumer science through this article.
  Gain an understanding of the long view of the phenomenon of retro, through the lens of psychology, from an interview with Professor Park Sang-hee (Dept. of Psychology).

Q. Is there a psychological cause for the popularity of retro?
  If we look at the psychological interpretation of nostalgia from the past, the most easily applicable explanation is what Freud called regression. According to this study, when people experience psychological difficulties, such as unresolved desires, they can cope with these difficulties by showing behavior to return to a time when they felt comfortable in the past. If applied to retro, it is thought to be a tendency to temporarily forget the difficulties of the present by consuming products or services that symbolize a childhood when one’s needs were satisfied in the past or a point in the past that can replace that childhood.

Q. Is there any reason why the 10s-20s, which has not experienced the fashion of the past, responds more actively to retro?
  As I said above, this past can be a substitute for their actual past, and at the same time, I think they will find it more attractive because it provides freshness from what they have not experienced. In particular, flashy fashions in times of booming economy, such as the late ’90s, can be felt anew in preparation for the gentle trends of recessions.
  Gain an understanding of the long view of the phenomenon of retro, through the lens of consumer science, from an interview with Professor Yoo Hyun-jung (Dept. of Consumer Science).

Q. Is there a consumer science’s cause for the popularity of retro?
  The popularity of retro is not a recent event. Korea had achieved rapid growth until the ’90s, and since the late ’90s, the economy contracted due to the IMF, and the retro trend had constantly continued to appear. The retro trend continues to occupy an important aspect of the trend and exists with us. This is because the familiarity and nostalgia for the past that they have already experienced exists within the consumer’s psychology. Also, as everyone misses the familiar and comfortable times of the past at least once when they are having a hard time, they feel happy about products or images that remind them of those days.

Q. There is a myth that retro is in high demand during a recession. Is this right consumptively?
  Products from that time are older and cheaper than now because they represent the past. It is economically burdensome to buy new innovations (products). However, if retro is in fashion, you can get some psychological comfort from buying them. Therefore, there are reasons for the myth that retro is in high demand during a recession. However, price is not the main reason for people to seek out retro style. For young consumers who are familiar with new advanced products which is developed quickly by science and technology, retro products can be experienced as unusual.

Q. Although the 10s-20s didn’t experience it, what is the reason that they are enthusiastic about retro?
  The reason is the Millennial family. People who were born after 1970 and became an adult in 1990, are known as generation X. They became adults in 1990 when our economy was truly flourishing, so they are the generation which enjoys mostly a plentiful abundance. In the ’90s, culture and art levels were very high and developed, people who lead today’s entertainment culture were active in the ’90s. Gen Xers share and enjoy their style with their children known as generation Z. Moreover, because the 10s-20s pursues novelty, they will show more interest in an analog sensibility than an advanced product which has now become stale.
  Professor Yoo commented on the positive side of retro saying, “Retro gives nostalgia and rest to anyone who is sick of their urban life which changes quickly.” Professor Park said “Retro can be particularly fashionable at a certain time, but it is rather more appropriate to view it as an item that is taken out and used whenever the industry runs out of ideas. Therefore, if the trend of retro comes back frequently, I think it may indicate the poverty of thinking in the industry and in our society as a whole.”
  According to the report ‘The Impact of Culture on Creativity’ from Directorate-General for Education and Culture, Cultural productions, as communication tools charged with subjectivity and emotion, have participated in the expression of social life since the origin of human kind. Culture-based creativity plays a key role in generating social innovation. Art and culture can benefit public service delivery and innovation in a variety of ways. As the report clearly shows, it can be new and developable when culture is creative and society is productive. Rather than attaching a new word to the existing retro, marketing and exaggerating it, shouldn’t the public go in the direction of cultivating a creative culture with an attitude of ‘review the old and learn the new?’

By Park Su-min | psm0129@cbnu.ac.kr
By Kim Ji-min l jimin41@cbnu.ac.kr