korean wave essay

Korean Wave (Hallyu) – The Rise of Korea’s Cultural Economy & Pop Culture

The Korean Wave (Hallyu) refers to the global popularity of South Korea’s cultural economy exporting pop culture, entertainment, music, TV dramas and movies.

Hallyu is a Chinese term which, when translated, literally means “Korean Wave”. It is a collective term used to refer to the phenomenal growth of Korean culture and popular culture encompassing everything from music, movies, drama to online games and Korean cuisine just to name a few. During former president Barack Obama’s state visit to Korea in March 2012, he made reference to the Korean Wave, which was made the country’s top priority by the government.

South Korea is one of the only countries in the world, if not the only one, that has a dedicated goal to become the world’s leading exporter of popular culture. It is a way for Korea to develop its “soft power”. Soft power is a popular term coined in 1990 by Harvard political scientist Joseph Nye. It refers to the intangible power a country wields through its image, rather than through hard force. Hard force refers to military power or economic power. An example of soft power in play is how the US enticed the world to buy its Levi’s jeans, Apple iPhones, Marlboro cigarettes, Coca-Cola soft drinks and Hollywood movies, by leveraging on a desirable image. A unique image of cool.

Hallyu first spread to China and Japan, later to Southeast Asia and several countries worldwide where it continues to have a strong impact. In 2000, a 50-year ban on the exchange of popular culture between Korea and Japan was partly lifted, which improved the surge of Korean popular culture among the Japanese.  South Korea’s broadcast authorities have been sending delegates to promote their TV programs and cultural content in several countries.

Hallyu has been a blessing for Korea, its businesses, culture and country image. Since early 1999, Hallyu has become one of the biggest cultural phenomena across Asia. The Hallyu effect has been tremendous, contributing to 0.2% of Korea’s GDP in 2004, amounting to approximately USD 1.87 billion. More recently in 2019, Hallyu had an estimated USD 12.3 billion boost on the Korean economy.

Over the last two decades, South Korea has become very rich and very futuristic. In 1965, Korea’s GDP per capita was less than that of Ghana. Today, South Korea is the world’s 12th largest economy.

Origins of Hallyu

The popular media in the region has attributed the origins of Hallyu to a couple of movies and TV dramas that were released in 1999. “Swiri”, an inspiring movie about the North Korea/South Korea espionage released in 1999, gave Hallyu the public face as it became hugely successful across South East Asian countries. It was followed by a drama called “Autumn in my heart” in 2000 that sustained the excitement created by Swiri. These were followed by “My Sassy girl” in 2001 and “Winter Sonata” in 2004. All of these became very popular not only in Korea but also in Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and Vietnam. The success of these entertainment products created a tremendous buzz about the exploding popularity of Korean culture. Regional media sources were quick enough to pick up the cues and collectively announce the birth of Hallyu.

Although this was the public face of Hallyu, the actual origins go back further in time. Five main factors contributed tremendously to the evolution of the Korean wave:

Lifting the ban on foreign travel for local Koreans: Probably the most important factor which eventually made way for Hallyu, was the Korean Government’s decision in the early 1990s to lift the ban on foreign travel for Koreans. This made way for a number of Koreans to explore the western world, mainly the US and Europe. Many pursued their education in these countries and others started their careers in esteemed companies in the Europe and the US before returning to Korea during the late 1990s. These western educated Koreans brought with them new perspectives of doing businesses, new subtleties and interpretations to art, cinema and music and innovative forms of expressions. This gave birth to an immense pool of fresh, young, and highly qualified talent waiting to explore opportunities within Korea.

Restructuring of Korean chaebols: During the same time as the ban was lifted, Asia (and Korea) was going through the severe Asian financial crisis of 1997-98. The Asian financial crisis was a perfect storm of bad debt, panic among lenders and regional economic challenges. In December 1997, the Korean government took out a loan of USD 97 billion from IMF (International Monetary Fund). They ended up using only USD 19.5 billion, and the loan was paid back in 2001 three years prior to schedule. Korea had been a poor country just a few years prior to the Asian financial crisis, and defeating poverty was something that the country had learnt the hard way. Therefore, all measures were used to pay back the loan and get back on track in record time.

The crisis left Korea with a serious image problem, as many global stakeholders still believed Korea was in bad shape, so the country lost foreign direct investments, lacked tourism, and faced global skepticism. To solve this, the incoming president Kim Dae-Jung and the Korean head of global PR agency Edelman co-authored a book “Korea: On Course – and Open for Business” aimed at global investors.

One of the biggest consequences of the crisis within Korea was its effect on the Korean chaebols. Korean chaebols were highly diversified conglomerates which operated in literally every sector of the economy from chip to ship making. The Asian financial crisis forced these chaebols to restructure their business models by divesting many of their business units and concentrating on their core competencies. This in turn opened up the market internally and gave other smaller players an immense opportunity to venture into varied businesses. More entrepreneurs emerged from the crisis emboldened by the opportunities. Korea realized that it was dependent on the chaebols – if they failed, the country would fail. President Kim Dae-Jung pushed for information technology and popular culture as the two key drivers for the future Korea. Technology would create new industries above the traditional manufacturing Korea has been dependent on since it rose out of poverty and industrialized, and popular culture could become an important export product worth billions of dollars – while it would help rebrand Korea.

Samsung is one of the most prominent Korean chaebols, and the implications of the 1997-98 crises gave birth to an enhanced push for internationalization by the company and its owners as they sought new growth outside Korea. Samsung and its rise since then have been a prominent example of how Korean firms have benefited from the global interest in what Korea is and what the country has to offer.

Banning the censorship laws: The Korean censorship laws had prohibited movie makers and other artists from showcasing many topics considered controversial. This had curbed their creative independence for a long time. In 1996, the Korean constitutional court banned this censorship and opened up a barrage of topics for artists to explore. This move provided immense opportunities and independence to the young and vibrant generation of Korea to express newer and bolder ideas through cinema and music. Many influential film makers rose during this period.

Increased emphasis on branding by leading Korean companies: Some of the major chaebols of Korea like Samsung and LG had started their branding journey by mid 1990s. There was an increased emphasis on quality, design and marketing and branding on a global scale. These skills were rubbed off to various other sectors of the economy as well. Collectively, there was an increased urge to improve overall quality to provide superior goods to the world market.

Increased focus on infrastructure: The Korean government has been and is spending significant funds to develop high-tech Internet infrastructure as it believes that every Korean citizen will benefit from being connected to the global world. In addition to this, Korea is one of the few countries worldwide that invests its funds into the nation’s start-ups. In 2012, government funds constituted over 25 percent of all venture capital money disbursed in Korea. One-third of all venture capital in Korea is spent on the entertainment industry.

All the above things occurred at more or less during the same period in the mid-1990s. A potent talent base of young and energetic Koreans on one hand and a very conducive cultural environment in Korea backed up by operational excellence on the other, gave an excellent base for young Koreans to experiment with music, drama and movies. Movies with more controversial and never-before-tested topics were filmed, which gained popularity across the region. Family dramas with a common sensitivity and cultural background which appealed to a vast population of Asians also become very popular, increasing the overall craze for Korean entertainment products. Many young local singers and bands adapted the US rap music to suit the Korean taste and it emerged as a big rage. These entertainment products (music, movies and dramas) initiated the phenomenal growth of Hallyu.

Growth of Hallyu

Hallyu has consistently and exponentially grown since 1999, when it surfaced as a major cultural phenomenon. But the growth of this wave has not been totally spontaneous and unplanned. The five major factors discussed above shaped the cultural environment of Korea, which led to the birth of the Korean wave. In a similar fashion, the sustained growth and popularity of this wave has been well managed by all its chief stakeholders.

Five important factors have been crucial for maintaining the popularity of Hallyu and further boosting its potential to expand into other markets:

Growing popularity of Korean brands:  The Korean brands are doing the exact same thing to Japanese brands now, what the Japanese brands did to US brands during the 1960s and 1970s. Samsung and LG have been the forerunners in creating world class brands in the consumer electronics industry. In the recent annual 2019 ranking by Interbrand of the world’s top 100 brands, Samsung was listed as the 6th brand in the world with brand value of USD 61.1 billion. LG has transformed itself from a manufacturer of cheap products to a brand of repute. Hyundai and Kia brands are creating a similar revolution in the car industry. Hyundai, which was once the source of jokes in the US industry due to its horrible quality, is now touted as one of best quality cars in the market and is competing head on with the Japanese giants Toyota and Nissan. AmorePacific is South Korea’s largest beauty company and ranks 7th on Women Wear’s Daily (WWD) list of top 10 global beauty companies.

On a collective level, the acceptance of these brands in the international market has improved the overall perception of its country of origin – South Korea. Gradually the world is associating Korea with Samsung and Hyundai instead of the Korean War. This new interest in Korea has been a great driver of Hallyu.

Increased R&D in design, production and overall quality: The popularity of leading Korean brands across the world including the US has highlighted certain key dimensions of success for Koreans – superior quality, cutting edge designs and a contemporary feel for the products and services. This lesson has been absorbed by almost all business sectors. This new emphasis has seen an increased investment in research and development in creating products of superior quality. The entertainment products like movies, music, dramas have all been described as having excellent production quality. South Korean movies now are of Hollywood production value and quality. This newfound focus on quality has enticed many new customers and helped sustain the popularity of movies, music, and dramas, which are the main products driving the Korean wave.

As the popularity of these movies, music and dramas increased manifold in the region, it has also resulted in increased creative output. Since 1999 to the present, many Korean movies with innovative and appealing themes have been released.

The must-see Korean movies

• Swiri (1999)
• Joint Security Area (2000)
• The virgin stripped bare by her bachelors (2000)
• Ching (Friend) (2001)
• My Sassy Girl (2001)
• Failan (2001)
• A tale of two sisters (2002)
• Memories of Murder (2003)
• Silmido (2003)
• Old Boy (2003) – Winner of the Grand Prix award at Cannes 2004
• Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter….and Spring (2004)
• Taeguki (“Korean Flag”) (2004)
• King and the Clown (2005)
• The Host (2006)
• D-War (2007)
• Scandal Makers (2008)
• Haeundae (2009)
• The Man from Nowhere (2010)
• War of the Arrows (2011)
• The Thieves (2012)
• Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013)
• The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014) – top grossing Korean film of all time
• Veteran (2015)
• Train to Busan (2016)
• A Taxi Driver (2017)
• Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018)
• Extreme Job (2019)
• Parasite (2019) – made Oscar history by winning a record 4 Academy Awards at the Oscars 2020, including being the first non-English film to win Best Picture
• Squid Game (2021)

As a result, Korean producers have been able to source capital for these movies from countries outside of Korea, like Japan. People in many countries like Singapore, China, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong are being treated with more and more new movie numbers across the years. The fact that Parasite is the first non-English film to win Best Picture at the Oscars alongside 3 other Academy Awards is testament to the global recognition of the increasing quality and authenticity of Korean entertainment products.

In addition to movies, Korean pop music by Korean music bands have also skyrocketed across the last 10 years. One does not need to be a K-pop fan to have heard of bands like Big Bang, Super Junior, PSY or Girls’ Generation. These four most popular Korean music bands have cumulatively sold more than 238 million records worldwide. Today, there are at least 115 active K-pop groups with an online presence and amongst these, 92 have debuted in 2010 or later. According to a report by the Korean Foundation, there were 89 million hallyu fans in 113 countries in 2019. Out of these, over 70 million live in Asia and Oceania, 11.8 million live in the Americas and 6.6 million in Europe. This speaks volumes about the explosiveness and the way that Korean pop music has proliferated the globe in the last 15 years.

Even the Korean dramas have emerged as well packaged goods with a good measure of visual and emotional appeal. Many of the dramas have traditionally depicted exotic and serene coastal and rural areas, and the theme has been the underlying values of Asian audience – family melodrama with lots of emotions and innocent love. With growing popularity across the years, the dramas today explore a wider variety of themes, including tensions between traditional familial values and economic development. Many of these dramas have created records of sorts.

The historical drama Dae Jang Geum or “Jewel in the palace” experienced extensive global commercial success in Asia (Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Brunei, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan), Middle East and Africa, and even the Americas and Europe. An illustration of this success would be in Hong Kong and Taiwan, where it was the number 1 program in both countries during the time of its airing, and its winning of the “Best Foreign Program” at the TVB Anniversary Awards 2005.

The drama Winter Sonata became so hugely popular in Japan that its male lead Bae Yong-joon was renamed Yonsama, a title usually used for royalty. The recent “Descendants of the Sun” television series, aired in 2016, has also enjoyed immense success across Asia, with 1.1 billion views during the 2 months it aired.

This increase in the quantity and quality of movies, music and dramas has helped sustain the growth of Hallyu.

Effective management of all touch points: Even though multiple factors have tremendously influenced the birth and evolution of Hallyu, one of its drivers is careful and effective management of all possible touch points. Touch points are the numerous instances where the customers come into contact with Hallyu. The entertainment industry, the different organizations involved in movies, music companies, online gaming companies, Korean chaebols and the Korean government have meticulously orchestrated their efforts in ensuring a consistent experience. Large event organizers such as the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and Winter Paralympics have also helped to build a more positive perception of Korea. All these players have ensured portrayal of the interesting aspects of Korean culture in their respective media. They have also effectively optimized the use of new Korean celebrities to further the cause of Hallyu across the region.

Continuous support from the Korean government: Korea is probably one of the only countries in the world that has a Ministry of Culture (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to be exact). A division of the ministry, the Popular Culture Industry Division, focuses on Korean pop music, fashion, mass entertainment, comic books, cartoons, and other key products. The division along with three other divisions are referred to as the Cultural Content Office. Its budget is a staggering USD 5.5 billion, with the aim to boost economic growth particularly through growing the country’s cultural industry export industry. Additionally, the Korean government sponsors 20-30% of a USD 1 billion investment fund earmarked to nurture and export popular culture. The remaining funds comes from investment banks and private companies and are managed by the Korean Venture Investment Corporation.

One of the strategies of managing Hallyu is the careful study of its target audience – mostly people in Asian countries. The Korean government and its divisions follow these Asian countries and cultures closely to understand which Korean Wave products would have the best probability of success in different markets. The secret is that no one understands these markets better than Korea.

The Korean government has also been very active in managing Hallyu outside of Korea by conducting different cultural festivals displaying the Korean offerings, conducting PR campaigns to publicize Korean uniqueness and indirectly helping the entertainment industry by creating a very conducive environment. As of August 2020, the Korean Culture and Information Service has set up 32 Korean Cultural Centers in 28 countries across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and America to promote Hallyu.

According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the global trade of cultural goods amounted to USD 16.4 trillion in 2017, and the Korean government is eyeing a significant part of that pie moving forward. In her 2013 inaugural address, President Park Geun-hye announced the Creative Economy Policy Enforcement Process. The seven core strategies to lay the foundation for a creative economy are:

• Creation of new markets and jobs
• Development of software as a future growing business
• Realization of the creative economy through opening and sharing
• Realization of nation for start-up
• Construction of a recruitment system to look beyond specifications
• Promotion of K-Move in which Korean youths move the world
• Creation of MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning)

The entertainment industry has been very proactive in feeling the pulse of the masses and producing appealing movies and dramas. The Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) has made the best use of this huge interest in Korea by offering very attracting tour packages to tourists. These packages involve trips to locations made famous by the Korean dramas, travel to exclusive shooting locations and so on.

The Korean government has also built and opened “K-Culture Valley” in Goyang, a Hallyu inspired theme park which would house everything from film studios, Korean restaurants, live music concerts to movie galleries, hotels, shopping malls selling Korean celebrity merchandise and even a Korean theme park at a cost of USD 1.2 billion. The purpose of this theme park has been to put in one place all the interesting components of Hallyu for visitors.

Lesser animosity towards Korea in Southeast Asian region: History, in a strange way, is positively aiding Korea and the growth of Hallyu. Most Asian countries were former colonies of Japan during the World War time. The direct result of this has been the continuing animosity towards Japan in many Asian countries, most notably in mainland China. This has been the main reason for Japanese music or lifestyle not becoming a rage in many Asian countries. Korea on the other hand has been a former colony of Japan and thus is on the same page as many other Asian countries. This has helped Korea in both ways. The Japanese are able to identify with them as they are closer to Japan in terms of development and sophistication than any of the other Asian countries and therefore, Korean cultural exports have been huge in Japan.

At the same time, being a former colony of Japan, Korea and China share the same history. The Chinese are able to relate more closely with Korean cultural products and relate without an underlying sense of animosity and hatred. This has been a major factor for the explosion of Korean culture in mainland China.

The spillover effects of Hallyu

The cumulative effect of movies, music, dramas and games has been tremendously positive to the Korean economy and the Korean country image in the region. According to the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, Hallyu contributed USD 9.5 billion to the Korean economy in 2018. Hallyu has contributed immensely to Korean tourism as well. An opinion survey conducted by the KTO in 2019 found that the total Hallyu-related tourist spend is USD 1.1 billion and that Hallyu-related tourism made up 55.3% of all inbound tourism. With the K-Culture Valley or “Hallyu-wood” theme park already built and with further upcoming developments, this traffic is expected to increase, which will in turn fuel the growth of the Korean wave.

Some of the spillover effects of Hallyu on tourism in Korea include:

Rise of the Korean superstars: The main components of the Korean Wave – movies, music and the dramas – has given birth to a new generation of Korean celebrities who have attained superstar status in the entire South East Asian countries including Japan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Bae Yong-joon (Yonsama), BoA, and others have been drawing huge crowds where they go. A case in point is when the Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi mentioned in a press conference that he wished that he were as popular as Yonsama. This has given Koreans a great boost in their confidence as their stars are being looked up to by millions of people in the region. On a lighter note, this has also helped soften the tension during international discussion between politicians as many politicians who visit South Korea have been insisting on meeting these celebrities on a personal front.

Increased interest in Korean tourism: Hallyu has given Korean tourism a shot in the arm and helped tremendously in repositioning the Korean country image globally. As the movies, music bands and the dramas gained popularity, people from many countries have been flocking into Korea to experience the Korean culture first hand. KTO has been very active in offering package tours which includes a visit to the shooting locations, the various towns and resorts made famous in the movies and dramas and so on.

In 2019, Korea earned USD 21.5 billion from tourism, attracting a total of 17.5 million tourists. With South Korea’s international tourist growth forecasted at an annualized rate of 3.3% to hit around 1.8 billion by 2030, the Korean government is planning to increase its tourism revenues to USD 35 billion a year by then. The side effect of this tourist boom has been an increased popularity of Korean cuisine.

Improved Korean country image: Korean popular culture has had a significant impact on the global fashion industry as an increasing number of Korean celebrities are included in the social fiber of fashion.  New York has had its appearances of K-Pop girl groups like Girls’ Generation, Hyuna from 4Minute and CL from 2NE1. The singer G-Dragon dresses in an influential way that gets international notice as Korean celebrities are known for mixing styles and genres in clothing. Korean popular culture products including TV series such as My Love From The Star, music from PSY, boy bands like EXO and girl bands like Girl’s Day, are putting Korea on the global scene.

Till very recently, South Korea evoked the images of the Korean War, the North-South Korean conflict, the burgeoning chaebols, many of which suffered hugely during the Asian financial crisis and the Seoul Olympics. All in all, nothing very positive and glamorous. Brand Korea was pretty elusive to everyone outside of Korea.

All of that has started to change with the explosion of Hallyu. Hallyu has provided Korea with an excellent opportunity to showcase its diverse culture, people, its unique entertainment products, exotic locales and its own pan-Asian superstars to the rest of the world and thereby create a very strong brand Korea. With the maddening popularity of Korean movies and dramas, the focus seems to have shifted towards Korean values, society, emotions and the beautiful locations projected in these movies. This in turn has given Korea a good chance to create new perceptions and images of itself across the world.

All these factors have had the unstinting support from the Korean government, all the artists, businessmen as well as the Korean population. This collaborative effort has propelled Hallyu into a sustained cultural phenomenon rather than just a mere fad.

Future challenges for Hallyu

Although Hallyu has sustained and grown for the last many years, carrying on into the future will be very challenging. One of the main reasons for its popularity to explode across the region has been its novelty and newness. After all, there are only a certain number of emotions! Though the Korean government and all the others involved have shown great maturity in handling this Korean wave, sustaining it over long periods of time will truly be a challenge.

Some of the major challenges for the Korean Wave are discussed below:

Sustaining innovation in the cultural products: Innovation lies at the heart of the success of many Korean movies, music bands and dramas. To continue to lure viewers across South East Asia, Korean producers have to be innovative not only in the themes and stories but also in the creative execution. This is easier said than done given the enormity of the task at hand. South East Asian countries are all unique in themselves. Though dramas like Winter Sonata was able to tap into the underlying common emotions and become hugely successful, it is open to discussion as to how long can Korean producers continue to do that. This will prove to be a major challenge as the best-selling management book “Asian Brand Strategy” by Martin Roll has illustrated in much detail.

Avoiding over-exposure of Korean stars: The main players in the success of Hallyu have been the Korean stars like Yonsama, BoA and others. These celebrities have emerged as regional superstars with major companies – local and international – choosing them as their endorsers. The movies, dramas and the various commercials are milking their popularity to a great extent. This may lead to an over-exposure of these celebrities. As the success of upcoming movies and dramas depend on these stars to a large extent, diluting their brand equity and image through over exposure would not be a very good idea. At the same time, controlling this over-exposure will be a great challenge for everyone involved from producers, companies to the celebrities themselves, as each one of them will want to maximize the star power.

Sustained investment from the Korean government: The Korean government has been actively participating and supporting the growth of Hallyu. With the Discover Korea Your Way campaign by the KTO and other Hallyu-wood projects, the government will need to invest heavily and increase their spending throughout the entire journey. In addition, the government will need to work closely with the KTO and other authorities to think of innovative and effective campaigns to boost Hallyu tourist spends. To sustain investing over a long period of time and to see through projects thoroughly will indeed be a daunting task.

Conclusion: Korea needs to tap on the massive potential of the Korean Wave

All in all, there is no doubt that Hallyu has catapulted Korea on to the global stage. With so much international attention on Korea and its pop culture scene and its creative economy, it is imperative for the Korean government to leverage on all its entertainment and cultural products to further drive the brand equity of Korea as a country.

Brand Korea needs to be able to strike a balance between not over-commercializing Hallyu, but to market and build its identity in a genuine way. The growth of the Korean Wave over the past 2 decades has been a fascinating one, and it is still unfolding. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how Korea continues to innovate and tap on the massive potential and popularity of the Korean Wave to sustain its appeal to global audiences. This could further enhance the nation brand equity of Korea, and contribute to the continued success of the Korean society, economy and culture.

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Hallyu – Everything you need to know about the Korean Wave

Last modified: Nov 07, 2023 | 10 min read | By Laura Toyryla

You might have come across the term “ Hallyu ” if you’re a K-pop fan or of  South Korean culture in general. In this article, we will tell all there is to know about Hallyu and how it relates to the Korean entertainment and culture that has gained global popularity.

• 1.1 Hallyu meaning
• 2 Why is Hallyu Wave popular?
• 3.1 When did Hallyu start?
• 3.2 The spread of Korean culture abroad
• 3.3 The popularity of Korean brands
• 4.1 Korean Movies
• 4.2 Korean Pop Music
• 4.3 Korean Dramas
• 5.1 How does the Korean Government support Hallyu?
• 6 What’s the future of Hallyu like?
• 7.1 A positive impression of Korea
• 7.2 A growing interest in anything Korean

What is Hallyu Wave (Korean Wave)?

Hallyu is considered to be one of the largest Korean exports as this also means exporting South Korea’s popular culture, which makes South Korea unique. No other country in the world is as dedicated to making its pop culture one of its leading exports as Korea is, making Hallyu its “soft power.” They want Hallyu to be the leading popular culture export globally.

Hallyu meaning

The term “ Hallyu ” (한류) originated in the Chinese language that translates as “ Korean Wave ” (sometimes referred to as K-wave ). It pertains to the popularity Korea’s cultural economy has gained around the world, specifically in terms of K-pop, K-dramas, movies, and other Korean entertainment cultures.

Why is Hallyu Wave popular?

Initially, Hallyu reached Japan and mainland China , and after that, it spread to other countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia. These days, especially after K-pop, BTS , Parasite, and Squid Game, Hallyu is beginning to gain popularity worldwide. It is one of Asia’s most significant cultural sensations today and has boosted South Korea’s economy by millions of dollars.

History of the Hallyu Wave

Hallyu didn’t just happen overnight and certainly didn’t occur recently. Here are some facts about the history of Hallyu.

When did Hallyu start?

Hallyu was deemed to have started in 1999 when journalists from China first coined the term Hallyu Wave or Korean Wave. With the release of a few TV dramas and movies that gained popularity in Asian countries outside of South Korea. Among these were the famous dramas Autumn in My Heart, Winter Sonata, and My Sassy Girl .

The first movie released under the concept of Hallyu was the 1999 movie called Swiri . The term Hallyu was coined after the successful broadcasting of the 1997 Korean drama What is Love in China.

The spread of Korean culture abroad

Besides the popularity of the shows themselves, of course, other factors have contributed to or enhanced Hallyu. Until the early 1990s, Koreans were actually not allowed to leave the country, but once the ban was lifted, it became easier for Korean culture to start spreading abroad.

During the reconstruction of the country’s economy after the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, Kim Dae Jung, who was the president at the time, decided to start shaping up the country’s popular culture as the main export. Also, once censorship laws became obsolete, the content in Korean series and movies began diversifying.

The cultural content is still heavily present, but with more concepts added, they created more exciting material for people all over Asia to watch. This has definitely helped in boosting the Korean economy.

However, although South Korean media and content are rapidly growing popular abroad, especially with the help of social media, it remains banned or prohibited in North Korea.

The popularity of Korean brands

There have also been a few other reasons that have resulted in Hallyu growing how it has. For one, the exponential growth in popularity of Korean brands such as Samsung and LG, and Hyundai drew attention to South Korean products, which opened doors for Hallyu. For another, Korea has put a lot of focused effort into shaping its popular culture into a formidable export.

Continuance of Hallyu

Hallyu has continued to grow and become known globally. Today, Hallyu is not only popular in Asian countries, but it has also invaded the majority of the countries in the world. Here are the major reasons why Hallyu continues to gain global recognition and popularity.

Korean Movies

Korean moviemakers especially have drawn together financial resources from outside of Korea to make the movies. This, in turn, helps enhance the quality of the Korean movies that the country puts out to the market, which then helps them gain recognition around the world. Parasite by Korean director Bong Joon Ho is one excellent example of a Korean movie that has become a worldwide phenomenon.

Korean Pop Music

Of course, K-pop music bands have also become a huge thing outside of Korea, gaining millions of K pop fans in various countries. K-pop’s typically seen as the front and center of the Hallyu movement actually. While BTS is undoubtedly the most famous and successful K-Pop idol group performing on the global stage, it is not the first one to succeed.

PSY’s Gangnam Style song was a major hit everywhere in the world and remained one of the most-watched K-Pop songs on YouTube.

There are several South Korean artists and K-pop groups that have been widely popular in Asian countries. Some of them are BoA, idol groups like Super Junior (also dubbed as King of Hallyu Wave), who debuted under SM Entertainment, Big Bang, Girls’ Generation, and Dong Bang Shin Ki (TVXQ). They even make each K-pop song and some albums in the Japanese language.

Korean Dramas

The third major section of Hallyu is Korean dramas. While they were one of the first aspects of K-culture that became widely popular in some countries at the start of Hallyu, overall, they have been slower to reach recognition worldwide. The K-drama Winter Sonata starring Choi Ji Woo and Bae Yong Joon was one of the first dramas that became hugely popular in Asian countries.

One of the most popular K-dramas was My Love from Another Star among the Chinese. Descendants of the Sun is another example of a K-drama from the past couple of years that was hugely popular all over Asia. Today, thanks to Netflix, global audiences have also gained access to K-dramas, which has led to the creation of the incredibly popular Squid Game and Hellbound.

Korean Government on Hallyu

K-pop culture and the Korean Wave have flourished largely, thanks to the Korean government for allocating resources to these cultural industries. Even events like the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics helped push the Korean Wave forward.

How does the Korean Government support Hallyu?

Since the beginning, Hallyu has been managed in a detailed and structured fashion by the people involved in the entertainment industry. The government’s Ministry of Culture focuses on allocating resources to pop culture, tourism, and sports, among other cultural aspects, and this allows for the entertainment industry to grow.

After all, the Hallyu phenomenon isn’t something that happened by chance. Instead, a lot of focus, planning, and strategy has gone into turning it into a great Korean force.

Determining the target audience

For a start, a lot of time and effort has been placed into studying the target audience in detail. This target audience, first and foremost, comprises people from other Asian countries.

Through this, the industry and the government can gain an understanding of which “products” are the most popular and likely to succeed among those people. And then, of course, the next step is to create those Korean films, TV dramas, and music. Koreans perhaps understand these markets better than anyone else in the world.

Tourism in South Korea

South Korean government and Ministry of Culture have further busied themselves by organizing Korean culture festivals and opening up Korean culture centers in as many countries as 28. The Korea Foundation then provides reports to determine the recipient groups of Hallyu in these countries. All of this has been done to promote the Korean pop music industry and other aspects of the Hallyu Wave.

For tourists coming into the country, specific enticing packages with trips to shooting locations, attendance of music events, and so on included have also been created. In Goyang, there is even a theme park called “K-Culture Valley” for tourists coming into the country to discover in detail the K-pop culture they so love.

More than half of all tourism to Korea today is Hallyu-related, and in general, tourism to Korea has been on the rise. Idol groups and Korean celebrities, such as BTS and the main stars from Squid Game, are becoming superstars like those who star in Hollywood movies. This allows Korea to be included in international film festivals, academy awards, and top the Billboard music awards.

What’s the future of Hallyu like?

Well, for starters, it mostly looks like it will be bright, and the Hallyu Wave will keep on expanding around the world. However, there will also be challenges present for Hallyu to continue as a profitable export.

There needs to be continuous innovation in music, movies, and dramas to keep audiences excited. Also, the leaders behind Korean Wave need to remain careful that they do not overexpose the K-Pop stars and film celebrities so that audiences, Korean and otherwise, don’t get tired of them.

And, of course, ultimately, the Korean government will also have to keep supporting K-Pop and other parts of the wave for innovation and projects to keep going.

It can also be expected that many more popular Korean drama series and movies will continue to be turned into remakes in the U.S. and other countries. Some TV shows like The Good Doctor, and movies like A Tale of Two Sisters, have already been remade. And now there are talks about Squid Game getting the same treatment, too!

The Hallyu effect in South Korea today

Just ten years ago, many people, especially in Western countries, seemed to know little about South Korea besides Korean War. Furthermore, they may not even have been able to differentiate which country is which!

A positive impression of Korea

But today, if you ask someone what comes to mind when you mention South Korea, you’re more likely to hear answers like BTS, Parasite, Squid Game, or popular South Korean restaurants and Korean food , among other options.

So not only has Hallyu put South Korea on the world map, so to speak, but it has also turned its image from something negative and war-ridden to something positive and modern.

A growing interest in anything Korean

Hallyu has launched South Korea into stardom of sorts, with tourists flooding in to visit South Korea as of late. And it is quite impressive what measures the country has gone into to make themselves such a force to be reckoned with its pop culture.

Today, even the Korean language , Korean skincare products, and cosmetics , online gaming, all sorts of Korean entertainment, and Korean cuisine are considered part of the Korean Wave. The rise of the Korean Wave has even spilled over to the fashion world . Some female celebrities are becoming fashion icons, not to mention getting invited to the world’s leading fashion events.

With the recent successes in the arenas of TV shows, movies, and music, one can only get excited about what Hallyu has in store for the future in South Korean popular culture. We’ll also remain hopeful that the masterminds behind its global success will find ways to retain its authenticity for years to come so that the scene remains as fruitful and exciting as it is today.

Have you heard of the term Hallyu before? Is it among the reasons why you started learning Korean? Who are your favorite Hallyu stars? Let us know in the comments below!

Also, if you are interested in deep diving further into popular culture in Korea and Korean culture , don’t forget to look up our articles on K Pop , Korean TV dramas , and Korean movies . Til next time!

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12 thoughts on “Hallyu – Everything you need to know about the Korean Wave”

Very informative article! I googled Hallyu and this was in the list. I discovered Korea artists when I started watching foreign films. I had no idea Korea has such talent and beautiful people. I love watching Kim Hyun Joong perform his music and Lee Min-ho should win every award possible for his role in The King eternal monarch. I am in my 70s and was looking for quality movies and TV and I am so glad I discovered Korea’s hallyu!

Thanks for sharing, Jo! I’m glad that our article has been valuable to you. ^^ If you want, you can check our blog and visit our YouTube channel for articles and videos with great Korean content.

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Title: The Korean Wave

In early 2020, South Korea achieved two major cultural industry breakthroughs. Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite became the first non-English speaking film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, its most prestigious honor, along with Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best International Feature Film. BTS, the seven-member South Korean boy band, continues to dominate the global music scene, releasing its new album Map of the Soul: 7 on February 21. This was its fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, after having already topped the chart with its last three albums in the past two years. These are unprecedented accomplishments that confirm the continuous growth of Hallyu —the Korean Wave—a term describing the rapid diffusion and export of South Korean popular culture to the global cultural markets, ranging from digital contents, such as video games and webtoons (webcomics), to K-pop (Korean popular music) and television programs. This historical moment has prompted scholars, creators and followers of cultural content, and policy makers to examine its future. The nascent surge of the Korean Wave around the world has not only expanded South Korea’s economy but also strengthened its soft power and cultural diplomacy.

The Korean Wave became a global phenomenon thanks to the prevalence of digital platforms and the persistent efforts of entertainment companies. Until the end of the 2000s, the Korean Wave was recognized only within Asia with fans mostly in their teens and twenties. Since the early 2010s, social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Viki have played a primary role in spreading South Korean cultural content more widely in global cultural markets. CJ E&M, the largest entertainment company in South Korea, and Netflix have entered into a strategic partnership, highlighted by a multi-year content production and distribution agreement since 2019 . These digital platforms have fundamentally transformed the circulation of local cultural content to reach a wider audience. Previously, people bought CDs, caste tapes, and DVDs in order to enjoy Korean popular culture; nowadays, social media and on-demand platforms like Netflix have replaced the physical formats, becoming the predominant form of cultural consumption for a global audience, as exemplified by Parasite and BTS.

The expansion of South Korea’s cultural industries has boosted its domestic economy. The nation’s export of cultural goods and services has grown exponentially: a forty-time increase from $188.9 million in 1998 to $7.5 billion in 2018. The soaring popularity of South Korean cultural content has also prompted South Korean corporations to recruit more cultural content creators, such as writers, film directors, television producers, music composers, and crew members. The overall number of employees in the South Korean cultural industries increased from 575,060 in 2005 to 644,847 in 2017, consisting of 3% of the entire job market, which was bigger than the sizes of the semiconductor, computer, and telecommunications sectors in 2017. The Korean Wave has also caused a ripple effect as other industries—including tourism, cosmetics, foods, fashions, and electronics—have greatly benefited from its global success. According to Korean Development Institute, the export of every $100 worth of cultural content had led to the export of $248 worth of these consumer goods between 2011 and 2016. During the same period, K-pop especially became one of the most influential cultural products exported from South Korea, generating as much as 17.7 times increase in the export of consumer goods, including cosmetics and foods. Though an exaggeration, a common saying among the South Korean people that digital contents and popular culture “feed the nation” accurately depicts the influence of the Korean Wave on the national economy.

In addition to stimulating economic growth, the Korean Wave enables the government to enhance its national image and acquire soft power for the attractiveness of its cultural content. South Korean popular culture becomes more than entertainment or art but a method by which South Korea can promote human development, nurture intercommunity interaction, and establish collaboration between countries. The Korean government has thus aspired to utilize the Korean Wave in support of its foreign policy goals. Notably, a South Korean actor, Jeon Kwang-ryul, visited northern Iraq in 2012 with the invitation from the then-First Lady, Ms. Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, for his leading role in a K-drama which was unprecedentedly popular in Iraq. Ms. Ahmed also sent an invitation letter to the Korean Embassy in Iraq and South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to issue a passport permit for all South Korean citizens, given that South Korea was imposing a travel ban on Iraq. The successful utilization of the Korean Wave in diplomacy established a model for many countries to also broaden their support to cultural sectors.

Even though the Korean Wave has gained global prominence, South Korea’s cultural industries also face economic, political, and social challenges. For example, the United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement since 2006 included a provision that reduced screen quotas—the number of days per year reserved for domestic films at theaters dropped from 40% to 20%. The South Korean government had to sacrifice some of its key protective measures domestically for the success of the Korean Wave overseas. Furthermore, the significance of its cultural sector can be used against the South Korean government. In late 2016, the United States and South Korea jointly announced the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), an American anti-ballistic missile defense system. China, considering the deployment a threat to its own security, retaliated by stopping airing Korean dramas, movies, TV shows, and commercials that featured Korean celebrities for several years, which hurt the cultural industries. In addition, due to the increasing role of Netflix in the Korean cultural market, firms in cultural industries suffered from less funding and network. Having to work with global platforms has resulted in a loss of cultural identity as firms emphasize Western cultural values to attract a global audience.

People around the globe are keen about the future of the Korean Wave because the continuous prosperity of a local culture in the global cultural markets could send an inspiring message about understanding and inclusion. The success of the Korean Wave may also be a signal of the shifting dynamics between Western and non-Western cultures. These implications suggest that the Korean government may need to pursue policies to further prosper some cultural forms and digital technologies in the global scene. The Korean cultural industries must also develop innovative strategies to diversify the circulation of cultural content and guarantee the quality of production to overcome any upcoming challenges. Strong collaboration between the public and the private sectors on cultural development could prolong the influence of the Korean Wave.

Dr. Dal Yong Jin is Director of the Center for Policy Research on Science and Technology, Distinguished SFU Professor, and Graduate Chair in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University, Canada. He was a Visiting Associate Professor at Yonsei University, Korea.

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Hallyu to the world: the incredible rise of Korean culture

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October 27, 2021 | 12 min read

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As we take a Deep Dive into how the pandemic has sped up the globalization of the marketing industry , The Drum looks at the incredible buying power of the Korean pop culture (Hallyu) audience and how something so seemingly hyper localised transcended borders to become the biggest cultural export the world has seen for some time.

Hallyu, Korean pop culture, is in an all-time high demand, with tv-series like Netflix’s Squid Game, Oscar award-winning films like Parasite and K-Pop stars like BTS and BlackPink dominating entertainment across the globe, from the US to the Philippines and Thailand to the United Kingdom. But what is it about these Korean hits that makes them so appealing to the Western world and beyond?

The Asia connection

There has been a deliberate government initiative to push the Korean wave to the world on a global scale, says Margot Peppers, Foresight Factory, consumer trends editor. An effort stemming from the 90s as a way to build Hallyu towards the world through media and music.

However, it does not come as a great surprise that Korean culture would be so successful considering the Western world has been obsessed with Asian entertainment for quite some time. In the 90s and early noughties, Japan had some of its most successful moments with Anime, Manga, the J-pop scene, and cultural hits like the Studio Ghibli, Pokémon, Ring and Audition.

But what Japan did not have in that time is what Korean culture strives on now, a digitally globalized world. “There’s something very accessible about it,” says Peppers.

“They [Japan] are still seen as offbeat, quirky and are cool to like, but it is not necessarily mainstream. Whereas Korean culture is very accessible and there has been such a push for K-dramas and stories that are rooted in Korean settings but have universal themes and archetypes that everyone across the globe can relate to. They are built on this accessible universality that has really resonated with people.”

Hallyu has especially benefited from global digitalisation where K-pop fandoms have thrived on platforms like Twitter.

YeonJeong Kim, head of global K-pop and K-content partnerships at Twitter explains that the success of Korean content comes from the dedicated, organized, and smart fandom culture that started from K-pop music.

“There is a huge community around the world that is centered around K-pop and K-content,” adds Kim. “After third generation, Kpop music acts, fandoms began to evolve into open global communities thanks to the development of SNS platforms. These fandoms radiate influence, and their explosive power has created synergy in the new media environment known as Twitter.

“Twitter has been called the “Holy place of Kpop” because anyone can become a content producer or consumer, start a conversation, or become the one who spreads new information. “

In recent years, we can also accredit TikTok to the Korean Wave. Jureeporn Thaidumrong, Chief Creative Officer, GREYnJ United expresses that active communication with fans through social media accounts for K-pop’s ever-growing popularity. “Group members are devoted to real-time communication with their fans from around the world through Twitter and other platforms, thereby quickly building a strong, authentic and close bond with them.

“The rise of TikTok (with a fan base from China as well as the U.S) has also had an impact and allowed the bands to cross borders and become global. Most have their own Tik Tok account with millions of followers and Kpop music and dance moves are popular to emulate - this has resonated

A brand paradise

Brands need to be jumping at the opportunity to benefit from Hallyu, especially as it resonates not just with Gen Z but also older generations. It is a truly global experience.

For Twitter, it is the place people connect to speak with their favorite K-pop artists and the #KpopTwitter community around the world. During the pandemic, K-pop continued to dominate the conversation over a 12-month period from June 2020 to July 2021, there were 7.5 billion Tweets about K-pop.

“This passionate community has proven to drive results for brands,” explains Kim. “Over the past 10 years, Twitter and Kpop have become a true dream team. #KpopTwitter's growth analysis shows how the passionate global K-pop community shares their love and connects with their favorite artists.”

TWICE 1ST Full English Single "The Feels" #TwitterBlueroom LIVE with TWICE https://t.co/jPnNkaB8z9 #TWICE #트와이스 #TheFeels #GetTheFeelsWithTWICE — TWICE (@JYPETWICE) October 1, 2021

Back in April, McDonalds announced ‘The BTS Meal,’ the ‘Famous Order’ launch blew up on social media which became the number one trend in the US and number two globally. Brands are benefiting from partnering up with K-pop stars.

K-pop bands engage fully with their fans. Whether that is addressing them directly in interviews, replying to a tweet, musicians like BTS would never forget to thank their fans.

“They acknowledge them all the time,” says Sandeep Dutta, vice president of insights at Kantar Group, “It makes them feel especially important and immensely proud. That is a huge lesson for brands. They must learn to express their gratitude towards the consumers and make them believe that their success, their growth, everything depends on the consumers.”

Over the past two decades, Korean culture has been moving across Asia and in 2020, GREYnJ United, Thailand launched a campaign with K-pop girl group Black Pink for their client Kbank. They saw a surge of more than 500,000 new accounts within the first four weeks and introduced a branded debit card with a successful one million cards issued.

Thaidumrong, explains that “Finding a shared message between the K-pop celebrity bands and brands is critical. The Kbank and BlackPink campaign was aimed at connecting with Gen Z – who account for one-third of Thailand’s population and are the age bracket that will hold high purchasing power in the future. The key message - empower your belief - was blended in between the brand message and the behind-the-scene success story of the girl group. It was the right approach for the target age group that K-Bank was trying to penetrate.”

In Spring 2020, SMART Telecom in the Philippines relaunched its brand positioning with South Korean actor, Hyun Bin at the height of popularity of the K-drama series Crash Landing on You.

Agnes Martinez, Chief Strategy Officer, GREY Philippines says, “SMART Telecom (Philippines), was one of the first brands to bring in Korean superstars as brand endorsers and we found having these Korean stars helped with brand awareness, consideration, and brand love.

“With the emergence of COVID lockdowns, the Hallyu wave just got stronger and broader -it was no longer a niche and quickly became mainstream. As people were stuck at home, this translated into more hours of digital entertainment and access to Korean movies and music.

“Since our client is a digital brand that leads on what is new in pop culture and enables passion points for their subscribers, we wanted to support their love for Hallyu. We included their favorite Korean stars in communications by creating specific Korean data plans, merchandise, and special edition kits (BTS), etc.”

The Kpop fandoms are huge and incredibly influential, adds Peppers. In the past couple of years, we have seen them mobilising online to achieve social or political goals, whether it is raising money for Black Lives Matter or hijacking racist hashtags.

“People expect to be active members of a brand and influence how products get made and where NPD comes from," she explains. “Korean cultural fans that have a lot of collective power expect to have influence over brands, culture, and the directions that they are heading. Brands need to heed just how much power they have and how much influence they bring to that.”

Kim backs up the idea that fans are also devoted to the causes and philanthropic activities that their idols support.

BTS recently accompanied South Korean President Moon Jae-in to the UN General Assembly, where they spoke about vaccinations and climate change. Kim explains that in order to support their idols, the BTS Army launched a new Twitter campaign called #ARMYvaccinatedtoo, where they shared their vaccination stories.

“The campaign trended worldwide and generated buzz from fans across the globe,” she adds. “As K-pop fans are a very engaged audience on Twitter, it makes Twitter the best place for brands to introduce something new.

"However, K-pop fans are very cognizant of brands who try to ride the K-wave for the sake of it without truly understanding or appreciating the culture and work, so authenticity certainly is key to winning the hearts of K-pop fans on Twitter.”

Crash landing on diversity

As we live in a digitally globalised world, Hallyu has been given the best circumstances to thrive. On the other end, Peppers explains that for it to continue there needs to be a consumer appetite for global content as well.

Within the Foresight Factory platform, one of the newest trends Peppers has seen from its framework is called diversify and decolonize. She explains, “This looks at how consumers want to see brands and companies, dismantling exploitative power structures, and amplify the voices of those who are underserved or underrepresented. When you look at media, part of this is about questioning, the sort of ‘west is best’ mindset that has really dominated much of global pop culture for the past few decades.”

Dutta adds that while western culture will always continue to dominate the media what is coming from South Korea is fresh and new. “People have become more interested and hungrier for diverse cultural content. And today people get so bored easily. They just want something different, and Korea is giving a lot of that.”

And it’s routed in bringing back old traditional values, Dutta explains. “The values that groups like BTS perpetuate like gratitude, respect and humility are something that the audiences are currently missing in their everyday lives. And the way it is presented is very modern, contemporary, and aspirational. People eat that up.”

With Netflix's strategy to really push out these global stories we are witnessing what looks like the beginning of the end of the domination of English in media, adds Peppers.

“South Korea is creating these Hollywood quality films that people really resonate with and Netflix subscribers aren't just open to this, they're actually seeking it out. They want to see those diverse stories and characters on screen and to participate in those different cultures. It's something that we'll definitely see growing as that trend continues to rise.”

The future looks bright for Hallyu, it is clearly not a fad as some may have thought says Martinez. It is a cultural phenomenon that has seeped its way into music, K-series, movies and now there is an increase in Korean technology, Korean cuisine as well as people learning the Korean language.

She adds, “In the Philippines, Korean skincare products are also flooding the market because everyone suddenly sees the "Korean dewy glow" as the ideal skin to have, and Korea is also one of the top travel destinations for Filipinos - influenced by their movies and Korean series.

“Filipinos are very 'personality' focused and tend to hero-worship their idols; the fans are loyal and will stick with them for the long haul - I expect Hallyu will only continue to get bigger and become even more influential.”

Peppers concludes, “How interesting it is, and how much richer the content landscape in the media landscape will be once we're open to all these diverse stories. Non-English content is only going to continue to grow but it is the strategy of focusing on a story that is specific but has those universal themes that really unites us and shows just how much we share across cultures as different as they may seem.”

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ESSAY: Hallyu, the Korean wave

But apart from the story lines, Korean dramas are also designed as a tool to advance their soft power. It is not enough to bring Korean culture to the world, but Korea also needs to understand how the world moves.

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hat happened to me in the first two weeks of 2017? I became a novice K-pop fan. But seriously, what’s so unusual about that? Are there not millions of K-pop fans too? Yes, that would be true, until I tell you my age. K-pop bands target teenagers, not grown-ups and certainly not people who are almost senior citizens like me.

But wait, I also became a novice fan of Korean drama shows. Please excuse me for being gender-biased. I once had the idea that K-drama shows only appealed to young girls or middleaged housewives, and I must now admit that’s absolutely wrong.

My views have changed and I also no longer think of K-dramas as trashy, sentimental soap operas able to catch the hearts of many in Southeast Asia, except myself.

The South Korean government strongly supports its popular culture and treats it like an export commodity. A shopping mall in Jakarta, a branch of a Korean department store chain, was in fact officially opened by the South Korean President herself. The mall has a somewhat Korean atmosphere, with Korean restaurants and shops and walls decorated with huge portraits of Korean pop idols.

I was also not completed unexposed to Korean culture prior to this. I had watched a few Korean movies at international film festivals and at a Jakarta cinema that occasionally showcases selected, good-quality Asian films. I also once learned basic Korean with the intention to attend a conference in Busan, but then could not make it.

Read also: Korean dramas escape to fantasy

But why this sudden enthusiasm on Korean popular culture? It all started when I watched My Annoying Brother during the recent holiday season — a touching drama-comedy that has what I consider good-quality acting. This led me to buy DVDs and watch Jealousy Incarnate (with Jo Jung-suk as the main lead) and Doctors (with Park Shin-hye as the main lead).

The Korean wave, known as Hallyu, was indeed South Korea’s soft invasion to the rest of the world. Soft power, a term coined by Harvard political analyst Joseph Nye in the early 1990s, is used to describe the intangible power a country wields through its image rather than by force, or hard power, like military invasions. The United States has demonstrated its world conquering soft power in the 20th century, through Levi’s, Coca Cola, Marlboro Man and Hollywood. Now it is South Korea’s turn.

South Korea was still a developing country up to the mid-1980s. With all its advancement as a new economic power in Asia, it had never occurred in their minds that their music would take up significant market share in the US or Europe. Instead they focused on the developing world.

As they were once a developing nation too, South Korea would understand more the stages developing countries would have to go through. Hallyu became their number one priority. Their economists worked hard to find out how South Korea could prosper through the “creative economy.”

Read also: Where to enjoy all-you-can-eat Korean BBQs in Jakarta

Indonesia has begun developing its creative economy in recent years, but we still have much to learn. South Korea has multiple five-year plans. If you want to make changes, the change has to be drastic. One example is the internet. Spreading Korean culture was dependent on the internet and so the government subsidized internet access throughout the country. But as Hong further explains, it was not just the government that had five-year plans; private enterprises have them too.

A Korean entertainment company or record label will invest through training of their future stars. Take the EXO members, for example. They all had to go through a training period of five to seven years before their debut. Training was like going to school. They learn to sing and dance, they learn etiquette, they study languages, and most importantly they learn to bond until a firm brotherhood (or sisterhood for the girl bands) has been established before they go public.

Can our entertainment industry learn from them too? If you remember in the mid-2000s there was this craze of Indonesian Idol and Akademi Fantasi. Newly discovered singers became overnight superstars, starting from television-reality shows and off-screen performances. But where are they now? A few were able to maintain popularity for a couple of months, but then they disappeared. The only preparation they had was a few weeks’ quarantine before their show with the risk of being eliminated afterwards. Compare this with Koreans idols who spent years being trainees (and yes, that’s the term used in Korea) without public exposure.

Now what about Korean dramas? K-drama is certainly not of the same quality as sinetron. Story lines can be sentimental, with tales of love triangles and tearjerking scenes, but characters are well-developed as not being black and white.

They knew how to arouse our emotions and heat up our curiosity towards the ending of the series. But apart from the story lines, Korean dramas are also designed as a tool to advance their soft power. It is not enough to bring Korean culture to the world, but Korea also needs to understand how the world moves.

The Korean Cultural Trade Commission published a handbook Hallyu Forever (in Korean), which is a well-researched guide on how to approach world markets, paying attention to socioeconomic, political and cultural factors of each region. A chapter on the Arab world, for example, points out the importance of keeping Muslim praying times in mind. Thus TV stations should avoid airing drama programs during these moments. One historical drama The Jewel in the Palace was so popular in Iran, that on the other hand Iranians also organized their mealtimes as not to interfere with the show’s broadcast time.

The best thing about popular culture is knowing that it is not shallow at all. In fact it is something we all like and need in our lives. Perhaps the government should give more support to our own popular culture, and then our goals of a better “creative economy” can be achieved.

If Ada Apa Dengan Cinta (What’s Up with Love) became so well-loved in our neighboring countries, could we export our films to non-Malay speaking countries too? Maybe yes, if we have a more sound strategy like Hallyu, using soft power to make Indonesia become known to the world.

Danny Yatim is a lecturer at Atma Jaya University and a creative writing instructor at The Jakarta Post Writing Center.

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An Essay on K-pop: Korean Wave, Idols, and Modernity

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Korean Popular Culture in Global Context

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Re-thinking Popular Culture

When public diplomacy faces trade barriers and diplomatic frictions: the case of the Korean Wave

• transformation

Table of contents (11 chapters)

Front matter, introduction.

Yasue Kuwahara

Hallyu as a Government Construct: The Korean Wave in the Context of Economic and Social Development

Transformations of the korean media industry by the korean wave: the perspective of glocalization, the politics of the dancing body: racialized and gendered femininity in korean pop, glocalization, my sassy girl goes around the world.

• Jennifer Jung-Kim

“Gangnam Style” as Format: When a Localized Korean Song Meets a Global Audience

• Claire Seungeun Lee, Yasue Kuwahara

That’s My Man! Overlapping Masculinities in Korean Popular Music

• Crystal S. Anderson

The S(e)oul of Hip-Hop: Locating Space and Identity in Korean Rap

• Myoung-Sun Song

A Cultural Imperialistic Homecoming: The Korean Wave Reaches the United States

• Sherri L. Ter Molen

Consumption

Winter sonata and yonsama, ideal love, and masculinity: nostalgic desire and colonial memory.

• Young Eun Chae

Hanryu : Korean Popular Culture in Japan

Back matter.

"Yasue Kuwahara and her collaborators add profusely to the burgeoning literature about the Korean Wave, fielding questions and systematically answering them, on aspects such as global audiences, hegemonic relationships with the United States and Japan through Korean popular culture, glocalization, and government promotional policies. Their multidisciplinary and case study approaches to the study of Korean films, TV dramas, music, and social media, expressed in readable prose and filled with anecdotes and first-hand research, make this a very important contribution to communication and cultural studies." - John A. Lent, publisher and editor-in-chief of International Journal of Comic Art

"The Korean Wave offers an illuminating view into the world of Korean popular culture. Sometimes provocative, sometimes surprising, but always clear-sighted, each author offers an essay that stands well on its own but that also contributes to a scholarly, informative, and captivating volume. Yasue Kuwahara is to be commended for editing a collection that will appeal to scholars across disciplines, both those new to Korean popular culture and those who are well versed." - Jimmie Manning, Associate Professor, Communication, Northern Illinois University, USA

Editors and Affiliations

About the editor, bibliographic information.

Book Title : The Korean Wave

Book Subtitle : Korean Popular Culture in Global Context

Editors : Yasue Kuwahara

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137350282

Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan New York

eBook Packages : Palgrave Media & Culture Collection , Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)

Copyright Information : Yasue Kuwahara 2014

Hardcover ISBN : 978-1-137-35027-5 Published: 20 February 2014

Softcover ISBN : 978-1-349-46832-4 Published: 20 February 2014

eBook ISBN : 978-1-137-35028-2 Published: 20 February 2014

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : IX, 243

Topics : Asian Politics , Asian Culture , Youth Culture , Regional and Cultural Studies , Cultural and Media Studies, general , Cultural Studies

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Hallyu! The Korean Wave

Music provided by John Yanvary / Pond5.com

From tradition to trendsetting

Today, South Korea is a cultural superpower—a global trendsetter producing award-winning films like Parasite , riveting dramas like Squid Game , and chart-topping music by K-pop groups such as BTS and BLACKPINK. But behind the country’s meteoric rise to the world stage—a phenomenon known as the Korean Wave, or hallyu—is the story of remarkable resilience and innovation.

Just a century ago, Korea was in search of a new national identity, following its occupation by Japan and the Korean War. Harnessing cutting-edge technology, the country has rapidly transformed its economy and international reputation. At the same time, its creative outputs are deeply rooted in its past, with many contemporary artists, filmmakers, musicians, and fashion designers paying tribute to traditional values and art forms dating back to Korea’s dynastic kingdom days.

“Hallyu! The Korean Wave” features approximately 250 objects—costumes, props, photographs, videos, pop culture ephemera, and contemporary works. Among the highlights are outfits worn by different generations of K-pop idols, dresses by couture designer Park Sohee and Next in Fashion winner Minju Kim, a large-scale needlework designed by South Korean artist Kyungah Ham and made by anonymous embroiderers from North Korea, and pieces exploring the Korean American experience by Timothy Hyunsoo Lee and Julia Kwon. Additionally, the exhibition showcases objects from the MFA’s own renowned collection of Korean art, including the iconic moon jar and hanbok .

Join us on an immersive and multisensory journey through a fascinating history, and celebrate a vibrant creative force that bridges cultural, societal, and linguistic divides and continues to reach new heights today.

• Ann and Graham Gund Gallery (Gallery LG31)

“...a poetic connection between past and present...the best undergraduate elective history course ever” — The Boston Globe

“Thrilling” — Boston magazine

What Is Hallyu?

See it with a ticket.

New this spring, when you purchase “Hallyu!” tickets you are no longer required to choose an entry time. Booking your preferred date in advance means your exhibition ticket is good all day.

Get Tickets

From the Joseon dynasty to today

South Korea has experienced a dramatic rise, from a country ravaged by war in the late 1950s to a leading cultural powerhouse by the early 2000s. Its remarkable trajectory from “rags to riches” is marked by governmental control, daring strategies, and IT innovations paired with a ppalli-ppalli (“quick-quick”) ethos, where speed is of the essence.

Korean Moon Jars: More than Meets the Eye

Take two minutes to look closely at a Korean moon jar from the Joseon dynasty with Christina Yu Yu, Matsutaro Shoriki Chair, Art of Asia, and MFA curator of “Hallyu! The Korean Wave.” Exemplifying the Confucian principle of understated beauty, moon jars are prized for their subtle complexities—imperfections in the glaze that add nuance to their seeming simplicity.

Unidentified artist, Moon jar, Korean, Joseon dynasty, early 18th century

White porcelain. Bequest of Charles Bain Hoyt—Charles Bain Hoyt Collection. 

Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities, 2016–17

Silk threads on cotton. Photo by Chunho An. © Kyungah Ham. Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. 

Unidentified artist, wrapping cloth, Korea, 1800–1900

Polychrome pigments, hemp. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Jun Min Cho, Gangnam view of Hyundai apartment blocks, 20th century

Photo Jun Min Cho. Courtesy Museum of Contemporary History of Korea. 

Unknown artist, Mirror box, Korean, 1850-1950

Lacquered wood, with mother-of-pearl inlay and brass fittings. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Unidentified artist, screen decorated with the eight Confucian virtues, Korean, Joseon dynasty, late 19th century

Ink and mineral color on paper. Charles Bain Hoyt Fund.

From rubble to smartphones

In the 1990s the South Korean government developed high-speed internet infrastructure information and communication technology, driven by the belief that the slow embrace of industrialization in the late 19th century caused the country’s colonization. South Korea was subsequently heralded as a model for high-speed internet and digital technology, leading to the birth of a tech-savvy nation.

Art Meets Innovation

A very special visitor stops by the MFA: Spot, the four-legged robot from Boston Dynamics! Watch Spot and its new pal Riley, the MFA’s canine volunteer, as they explore “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” and enjoy a dance party with local K-pop dance crew OFFBRND BOSTON.

Samsung, SPH-M2500, first mp3 integrated mobile phone, 1999

Plastics, electronic components. Courtesy of the Samsung Innovation Museum.

Panorama of Gangnam City at Night, Seoul, South Korea, 2020

Getty Images: MIenny.

Unidentified artist, Samsung Electronics' TV production line, 1970–79

Paper. Courtesy of the Samsung Innovation Museum.

A visitor at “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” at the V&A Museum, London, September 2022

Stephen Chung / Alamy Live News. 

From hanbok to haute couture

Hallyu has positioned Korea as a global trendsetter in the fields of beauty and fashion. Today K-beauty combines centuries-old formulas with new ingredients and advanced technology to create innovative cosmetic ranges tailored to modern living. K-fashion is also gaining prominence with a renewed interpretation of hanbok, the traditional Korean garment, and a versatile, fast-moving, and mix-and-matching approach to fashion.

Connecting to Tradition: Crafting Hanbok in America

Jessica Kim says that being in the business of crafting hanbok, the traditional Korean dress, connects her to her roots and culture. She and her mother, Jeoung, run the Philadelphia-based shop bdk | mint, a third-generation family business that began in Daegu, South Korea. Hear from Jessica in this two-minute video about modern interpretations of traditional hanbok, the value of exposing global audiences to hanbok in museums, and how hanbok are worn today.

Ji Won Choi x Adidas

Courtesy Adidas.

Designed by Lee Young-hee, Woman's costume, 1993

Silk; plain weave. Gift of the Korean Costume Society.

Kim Young Jin 김영진 for Tchai Kim 차이킴, Modern Girl hanbok, 2009

Gossamer silk, organza, cotton, rubber. Purchase funded by Samsung. Courtesy the designer. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Minju Kim, Moon Jar Dress, Blue, 2021

Cotton wool mix. Seoul, 2021 © Minju Kim, Photo Sangmi An, Model Leehyun Kim.

Lee Seung-ju for Darcygom, Saekdong jeogori (multicoloured striped jacket), 2020

Vintage silk. Saekdong by Darcygom. Photo by Jihoon Jung, courtesy Darcygom.

Miss Sohee, The Peony Dress, from 2020 graduation collection The Girl in Full Bloom, 2020

French lamé. Photograph by Daniel Sachon. 

From Psy to BTS

K-pop music has transported hallyu to all corners of the globe. Its success as an export product stems from a combination of addictive tunes, catchy lyrics, perfectly synched choreography, edgy fashion, and high-production value music videos, all centered around the star power of its idols. Bridging cultural and linguistic divides and riding on the crest of emerging social media platforms, by the mid-2000s K-pop was rocking the world.

South Korean rapper Psy performs his massive K-pop hit "Gangnam Style" live on NBC's "Today" show, Friday, Sept. 14, 2012, in New York, 2012

Photo by Jason DeCrow/Invision/AP Images.

aespa Next Level MV, 2021

© SM Entertainment.

Twenty-One K-Pop Songs You Need to Know

Berklee professor Ray Seol selects and breaks down some of the tracks most essential to the history and development of K-pop.

Listen and Read

Spotlighting K-drama and cinema

With the budding democracy of the late 1980s in South Korea, broadcasting and film industries started to flourish. K-dramas have radically transformed the image of Korea from a little-known country in East Asia to that of a leading global trendsetter. The renaissance of the Korean film industry in the late 1990s saw the emergence of a new generation of movie makers who have become leading figures in world cinema today. The film Minari is an ode to the gyopo (Korean diaspora) community.

A Netflix Original Series

Squid Game © 2021 Netflix. All Rights Reserved.

Andrew Bannister for Curzon, Parasite poster, 2019

Oldboy poster, 2003

Paper. © Celsius Entertainment.

Minari poster, 2020

Courtesy of A24 Productions.

Don’t Miss These Hallyu Movies and TV Shows

Go beyond blockbuster favorites like Oldboy and Parasite with this curated hallyu watch list by Boston College professor Christina Klein.

Read the Article

Tales from the Diaspora

While the Oscar-winning film Minari paints a relatable picture of the Korean immigrant story, there are so many other stories of Koreans immigrating to the US that didn’t make it to the silver screen. From 1970 to 1990, over 500,000 Koreans moved to the US, and today nearly two million people identify as Korean American.

Korean Americans Connect to “Hallyu!”

“Hallyu! The Korean Wave” features a family-centered work by Boston-based artist Timothy Hyunsoo Lee and family photos lent by MFA staff member Julia Kim. Take a few minutes to listen to Timothy and Julia speak about their Korean roots, their compelling family histories, and what it means not only to connect to an exhibition highlighting Korean and Korean American culture, but to see their work and families represented in “Hallyu!”

Exploring Korean Cuisine in Boston

To celebrate “Hallyu!,” food writer Jacqueline Cain spoke to Korean Americans in the local food scene about connecting with their cultural cuisine in Boston.

Related Exhibition

Work by Boston-based artist Timothy Lee is featured in both “Hallyu!” and “Community Arts Initiative: Our Family Portrait,” a collaboration between Lee and more than 150 local students, which also includes work from the MFA’s collection of contemporary Korean art.

Learn More About the Exhibition

Hallyu! Gift Box

Give tickets for “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” to your favorite K-pop fan—they’ll love you for it! Available at the Museum or online, two-ticket or four-ticket packages also include a limited-edition tote, a sticker sheet, and two posters.

Get Your Gift Box

In the News

Exhibition organizer.

Created by the V&A —touring the world.

Generously supported by Jean K. and Jeffrey D. Lee, the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation, and the National Museum of Korea.

Additional generous support from Laura and Tait Nielsen. Supported by Sonchu and Stefan Gavell, and the Museum Council Special Exhibition Fund.

With gratitude to CJ ENM, the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Boston, and Acentech.

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The Future of the Korean Wave Study by Jin & Yoon Essay

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Over the last decades, the cultural influence of Korea has been steadily increasing. Korean cultural exports such as music, video games, movies, and TV shows have reached remarkable popularity not only in Korea itself but also far beyond its borders, notably in the United States. The process of Korean media reaching international markets is referred to as the Korean Wave or hallyu in Korean. Following its emergence, the Korean Wave has become an object of study by many scholars. The article The Korean Wave: Retrospect and Prospect by Dal Yong Jin and Tae-jin Yoon discusses the history and implications of the Korean Wave, as well as the framework and prospects of its academic study. The authors argue that as the Korean Wave has impacted the world in many ways, the studies of this phenomenon should reflect these changes and include fresh perspectives on the matter.

To expand on this point, the authors present several arguments. According to the article, over the last 20 years, the unique popularity of Korean cultural exports has affected the world by shaping the global fan culture and the interactions between cultures. Notably, the Korean Wave is shifting the image of Korea in the eyes of Western consumers. This has not gone unnoticed by the Korean government, which introduced several policies with the aim of using the prolific Korean media as a source of soft power around the globe. Therefore, the sociocultural studies of the Korean Wave are expanding and have widened their focus to reflect these developments. As per the article, the research focuses not only on the contents of the media but also on their wider implications on the world and the relationships between national and global cultures.

To explore the argument further, it seems prudent to explore the relevancy of the article (originally written in 2017) to the current state of affairs. At the moment of writing, the Korean Wave phenomenon shows no signs of waning, as Korean music, shows, and games retain their popularity with Western and Asian audiences. Consequently, the study of the Korean Wave continues to proliferate. For example, the scientific database Google Scholar offers 62,500 articles based on the “The Korean Wave” query, as well as 7,220 results based on the “hallyu” query. Based on these results, we can conclude that the Korean Wave continues to provide discussion points that intrigue scholars all over the globe. This fact echoes the point of the authors regarding the need for fresh perspectives.

I would like to agree with the article; to me, it seems logical that the growth of the Korean cultural influence feeds the sociocultural studies around it. The penetration of global markets by Korean media products inevitably produces intercultural exchange between the creators and the consumers, which provides ground for the exploration of these relationships. From my point of view, the article has successfully captured the phenomenon of the Korean Wave and its historiography at its time.

As the Korean Wave continues to dominate the current global media landscape, more authors offer their view of the enlargement of Korea’s role in the global media market and the consequences of its rising power. It is likely that other works exploring the Korean Wave will be published going forward. The article has correctly predicted this development, so it seems fair to say that it has withstood the test of time.

Jin, D. Y. & Yoon, T.-J. (2017). The Korean Wave: Retrospect and prospect. International Journal of Communication, 11 (2017), 2241–2249.

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IvyPanda. (2023, December 6). The Future of the Korean Wave Study by Jin & Yoon. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-future-of-the-korean-wave-study-by-jin-amp-yoon/

"The Future of the Korean Wave Study by Jin & Yoon." IvyPanda , 6 Dec. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/the-future-of-the-korean-wave-study-by-jin-amp-yoon/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'The Future of the Korean Wave Study by Jin & Yoon'. 6 December.

IvyPanda . 2023. "The Future of the Korean Wave Study by Jin & Yoon." December 6, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-future-of-the-korean-wave-study-by-jin-amp-yoon/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Future of the Korean Wave Study by Jin & Yoon." December 6, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-future-of-the-korean-wave-study-by-jin-amp-yoon/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Future of the Korean Wave Study by Jin & Yoon." December 6, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-future-of-the-korean-wave-study-by-jin-amp-yoon/.

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Introduction: Conceptualizing the Korean Wave

Related Papers

International Journal of Communication

Dal Yong Jin

The Korean Wave (hallyu in Korean) marks a historical point and celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2017. The Korean Wave primarily started with a few well-made television dramas that were popular in East Asia, and the local cultural industries have advanced several cultural forms, including K-pop and digital games, which have gradually penetrated global markets. This Special Section focuses on the origin of the Korean Wave, and the articles emphasize either theoretical challenges in hallyu studies or empirical cases of hallyu in various areas of the world. The primary purpose of this Special Section is to explore the history of the Korean Wave as a catalyst of regional and global change by analyzing the evolution, structure, mechanisms, and strategies employed by the music, television, film, digital games, and animation industries in the global markets and their shifting relationships with the state. As the foundational basis for the articles in this Special Section, our goal in thi...

Korean Studies

Roald Maliangkay

South Korean popular culture has achieved startling success across much of the globe during the past decade. The first transnational form of popular culture that is not the legacy of an imperial project, the efforts to understand the significance of the “Korean wave” have been hampered by dominant scholarly approaches in the humanities that are not capable of grasping both its emergence and its appeal. This article argues that a key reason for the appeal of South Korean television and film is the fact that they explore the clash between tradition and modernity. South Korean media resonates with peoples across the world who are living out the conflicts between tradition and modernity and are thus eager for models for negotiating the competing demands of the two. Contemporary theory by contrast is a phenomenon of post-industrial society, where intellectuals have become wholly alienated from tradition, leaving them incapable of reconstructing and inhabiting the standpoints of the pre-modern past. Theory is the favored instrument to criticize the post-traditional society from which it emerges, but it cannot explain how a popular culture that is more traditional than that of the West could achieve global success. Furthermore, it cannot account for the economic and technological conditions behind the production of this transnational popular culture: the meteoric rise of South Korea itself from dire poverty to the ranks of the world’s advanced economies. This article underscores the need to pursue lines of thought that can grasp the significance of South Korea in relation to global culture.

Hằng Nguyễn

The Southeast Asian Review

Nga Khing Lim

Studies of the Korean Wave in Taiwan have construed the genesis of the Wave as either accidental, evitable, or taken it for granted. Problematising the genesis of the Korean Wave in Taiwan, the paper proposes to see it as the product of social and political forces pertaining to a specific moment of history of Taiwan. Other than deeming the genesis categorically as a cultural instance, it argues that the Wave is in effect the production manufactured at the convergence of social political changes at a historical moment unprecedented in Taiwan history. To respond to the new social and political conditions, the Korean Wave is deliberately appropriated as the extension of social institution and political control for the purpose of prolonging class interests of the traditional rulers. By means of mammoth circulation and transmission of print media and television broadcast, the Wave is immediately called into being and captivates a throng of Taiwanese audience. In return, the overwhelming popularity of Korean TV dramas is capitalized on politically besides socially and culturally in order to meet new needs. Resiting the Korean Wave in Taiwan in the social and political processes at the specific moment of Taiwan history, its genesis is thereby complicated and overdetermined on top of the advanced and promised drama qualities and productions. Inevitably a limited view, however, the paper is hoped to provide an alternative aspect to the studies of the Korean Wave either in Taiwan or other regions. In Taiwan, studies of the Korean Wave have seldom questioned its genesis: The emergence of the Korean Wave in Taiwan has been taken for granted4 since its nascent popularity in around late 2000.5 Yet, how the Wave came into being becomes problematic once it is examined not only in terms of the Wave per se6 but, in particular, in terms of the historical moment of Taiwan where the Wave was situated. Indeed, the importation of Korean TV dramas to Taiwan began as early as in the 1990s, yet, throughout the decade of the 1990s, very few of them invoked observable or distinguishable social reverberations. In other words, during the said period, there had been no distinctive signs of its popularity that would provide the material condition for a possibility of the genesis of Korean TV dramas to form a " wave " , a nationwide and invincible adoration for and social collective fascination with the Korean TV dramas, which would immediately captivate the whole island in the adjoining new millennium. If we keep track of the television history of Taiwan of trading in Korean TV dramas, the history shows that the cable network Star TV had televised masses of Korean dramas from 1993 on; since 1996, dozens of Korean dramas were being purchased and broadcast on the Pili Network (Wu, 2002, p. 3). Commonly regarded as the TV station which initiated the Korean Wave in Taiwan, the Gala Television (GTV) indeed started broadcasting Korean TV dramas in late 1999. However, none of the Korean dramas these channels transmitted had noticeable, let alone high, TV ratings,

This article analyzes several distinctive Hallyu contents to determine whether "transnational proximity" based on similar sociocultural experiences, including social inequality, youth culture, and fascinating choreography in the late-stage capitalist society, instead of traditional cultural proximity, works as a major frame in understanding the global popularity of the Korean Wave. Here I articulate whether transnational proximity works as a new theoretical framework for explaining the nascent flow of Korean popular culture in the global cultural sphere.

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How Has the ‘Korean Wave’ Impacted Japan-South Korea Relations?

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The Korean Wave, or hallyu, has seen ups and downs in Japan, but could exert political influence over the long term.

Members of the band BTS pose for photographers upon arrival at the Asian Music Awards in Nagoya, Japan, on Dec. 4, 2019.

The once-annual China-Japan-Korea trilateral summit was suspended for a third straight year in 2022, in part because Tokyo and Seoul have yet to reach a consensus on the issue of wartime forced labor. Although the Yoon administration in South Korea promised in November to continue talks with Japan on a solution to the controversy, a 2018 ruling by the Korean Supreme Court demanding compensation from two Japanese corporations still casts a shadow over bilateral ties.

While political relations have been rocky, cultural exchanges between the two countries are soaring. This was manifested by the NHK New Year’s Eve Special Kohaku Uta Gassen on the last day of 2022, where three Korean girl groups (LE SSERAFIM, IVE, and TWICE) performed. This marked the return of K-pop on the show for the first time since 2019, when TWICE appeared on the program.

In fact, the Korean Wave, or hallyu , has seen ups and downs in Japan, and so has its Japanese counterpart – Cool Japan – in South Korea.

Three Waves of Hallyu in Japan

Although Japan and South Korea normalized diplomatic ties in 1965, bilateral cultural diplomacy and imports and exports of cultural products did not happen until 1998, when Japanese Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo and Korean President Kim Dae-jung decided to build a “future-oriented relationship” aimed “towards the 21st century.” In line with the spirit of that joint statement, South Korea lifted its unilateral restrictions on the import of Japanese cultural products in the same year, in what was known as the Open Door Policy (1998-2004). This process coincided with South Korea’s “culture-oriented country” policy under Kim and the prevailing Japanese cultural industry.

Since then, cultural exchanges between the two countries have boomed, even while controversies such as the “comfort women” issue, Japanese officials’ visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, and territorial disputes continue to loom large. In a word, Japan-Korea relations entered a “honeymoon period” under Kim (1998-2003) and South Korea’s cultural diplomacy established a significant footprint in Japan.

There have been three waves of hallyu in Japan since the 21st century began. Hallyu 1.0 mainly focused on K-dramas and was marked by the broadcasting of “Winter Sonata” in 2003. When the series’ main actor, Bae Yong-joon, visited Tokyo the next year, the airport was full of female fans, proof of what Japanese called the “Yon-sama phenomenon.” From the mid-2010s to 2015, the second wave of hallyu was characterized by K-pop artists, such as BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, KARA, and Girls’ Generation. The third wave has prevailed since 2015 and is led by K-pop groups such as BTS, Seventeen, and TWICE.

Four major transformations took place during this process: increasing de-Koreanization and Japanization (i.e. Korean entertainment companies cooperating with Japanese entertainment conglomerates such as AVEX and absorbing Japanese members); a shift from drama actors to singers; a pivot from South Korea to Japan (where Korean artists debuted in Japan first); and a process of internationalization (the idols evolved from “purely Korean” to “globalized” celebrities).

The Gendered Element of Hallyu in Japan

Gender is a significant factor in Japan’s attitude toward hallyu. The main fandoms of the first wave of hallyu were predominantly Japanese women between the ages of 40 and 60. The most prominent representatives are two former first ladies : Abe Shinzo’s wife Abe Akie and Hatoyama Yukio’s wife Hatoyama Miyuki. Unlike her revisionist husband, Abe Akie makes no secret of her pro-South Korea position and has a good mastery of the Korean language. Both first ladies have advocated the importance of maintaining stable ties with South Korea on public occasions.

Conversely, a series of demonstrations against hallyu – originating from a 2005 controversial manga titled “Hating the Korean Wave” – was said to be tacitly backed by Abe while he was prime minister. The opinion leaders of the online anti-Korea movement are right-wing intellectuals such as Nishio Kanji, Nishimura Koyu and Otsuki Takahiro. The participants of online anti-hallyu activities were almost all male , and are regarded as “masculine, nationalist, patriarchal, xenophobia, and post-colonialist.”

Apart from manga, anime is another platform that has been harnessed by anti-Korea male chauvinists. “Nerima Daikon Brothers,” a 12-episode musical anime, opposed the Yon-sama phenomenon in Japan at that time by satirizing Zainichi Koreans (the ethnic Korean population in Japan) who become hallyu stars through plastic surgery.

Faced with male dominance in nearly every facet of Japanese society, the Japanese middle-aged female community, known as “hallyu moms,” have been trying their best to keep their children neutral and culturally appreciative of South Korea. These women see hallyu as an alternative with which to resist the traditional male-dominated Japanese pop culture of manga and anime.

Gendered melancholia and resentment are at the root of why hallyu has captivated middle-aged Japanese women. They use hallyu fandom to assert their personal preferences and raise their social and economic status, just as they resist male chauvinism by embracing the emphasis on gender equality in Western culture.

On the other hand, according to a 2018 study on the participants in the second and third waves of hallyu, while the younger fans are still predominantly female, there are more males compared with hallyu 1.0. It is surprising that these young hallyu fans distance themselves from the previous middle-aged female group on purpose, even though many of them are children of these “hallyu moms.” The youth refrain from using the word hallyu, but instead blatantly express their affinity toward South Korea as a way of distancing themselves from the right-wing anti-Korea political agenda.

Separation of Politics and Culture

Thus, a paradox has arisen between general Japan-South Korea relations and hallyu in Japan. On the one hand, according to an opinion poll carried out by Genron GPO in 2021, 81 percent of Koreans and 52.7 percent of Japanese had a pessimistic outlook on bilateral ties, and 63.2 percent of Koreans and 48.8 percent of Japanese have a negative image of the other country.

However, the same opinion poll indicates the optimistic prospect of Japanese respondents under 40 years old, 64.6 percent of whom admitted that they still enjoyed Korean pop culture even at a time when bilateral relations were deteriorating. More than three-quarters – 77.5 percent – of this group of young Japanese had a good impression of South Korea. Therefore, it remains to be seen if South Korea’s cultural diplomacy has failed in Japan, given that hallyu has been gaining more and more popularity, especially among young Japanese, since the late 2010s.

Furthermore, deteriorating relations do not discourage Japanese youth from consuming South Korean cultural products. The separation of politics and culture in Japan-Korea relations is a consistent attitude among young people, whose engagement in politics is the lowest in history. This is because they have adopted an “evasion strategy” toward the anti-Korea ideology: They have begun to increasingly enjoy hallyu on social media, rather than consuming mainstream media, which they believe to be monopolized by right-wing conservatives.

In a word, the impressive spread of hallyu in Japan has split Japanese people’s views of South Korea between pro-Korean fans and anti-Korean right-wingers, the latter of which still remain dominant. As the formulation of Japan’s foreign policy is still in the hands of right-wing politicians, even if hallyu has achieved great success in Japan, the Japanese government still takes a hostile attitude toward South Korea.

Since hallyu does not touch on the fundamental historical issues of the bilateral relationship, its influence is minimal in shaping Japan’s foreign policy toward South Korea and the relationship remains vulnerable to diplomatic conflicts, such as Japan’s embargo on semiconductor material exports to South Korea and the Korean navy’s fire-control radar locking on a Japanese military aircraft in 2018. But still, hallyu has culturalized and anesthetized South Korea’s international image in Japan, especially among the younger generations.

With the incumbent moderate Kishida cabinet in office in Japan and the conservative Yoon administration in power in South Korea, there is a rare window of opportunity for the two countries to further improve bilateral relations by addressing fundamental historical issues, as evidenced by their November meeting in Cambodia.

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Introduction

According to Kim (2007), the Korean Wave can be applied to many aspects, aside from making a more profitable economy for the country. The term Korean Wave gives it a generic definition which symbolized the “Korean-ness” of their cultural products, but more importantly, the nationalistic sentiment that made Korea a big hit not just in Asia, but the rest of the world. Aside from the popularity of the K-pop groups, the Korean cultural products became global success due to their uniqueness and fame (Kim, 2007). Hyun-key Kim (2013, p.135) stated that the term “Korean Wave” or otherwise known as “hallyu” in Korean dialect was coined by the Chinese media towards the end millennium as a description of the unexpected outpour in the popularity of Korean entertainment products in mainland China. The Korean Wave has become widely popular due to the hit Korean television dramas that are being shown worldwide. The Korean Wave has flooded majority of Asian countries including China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, and Japan during the latter part of the 1990s (Cho, 2011, p.385). The Korean television dramas became supernatural phenomena which started in China. The first Korean drama which was broadcasted regionally by the China Central Television (CCTV) is “What is Love All About?” which was first seen in 1997. This Korean drama became an instant hit. Aside from these, the K-pop groups became overly popular in the international scene. Several members of the all-male and all-female singing groups became instant idols for the present youth as they imitate their fashion, make-up, hairstyle and movements. Thesis Statement: The Korean Wave has benefited the K-pop groups through its worldwide influence among the present youth by making it a globalized culture in terms of the way they look, think, speak and move.

Aside from the Korean dramas, the Korean pop music has become a craze among young people that it was able to influence sexuality and globalism. This popular entertainment product which initiated the Korean Wave is the Korean pop music, commonly known as “K-pop” was influenced by the Korean shamanistic ritual called “icut” (Hyun-key Kim 2013, p.143). It did not come as a surprise that Korea was able to produce talented young singing and dancing pop artists which later on influenced the modern-day youth in the way the look, think, speak and move. These songs and dances became an integral part of the daily lives as part of the Korean national culture. This can be illustrated after seeing many Korean artists in music videos, who are dressed provocatively while they perform their songs. The audience is overly influenced by the K-pop artists that they imitate the way they look, without any due regard if the clothes they wear may suggest sexuality. Aside from the benefits to Korean national economy, the K-pop artists or K-pop groups stand to benefit from the Korean wave due to their worldwide popularity. Since these groups became famous all over the world, the Korean economy had tremendously flourished when majority of their followers from various parts of the globe want to use Korean products. These products include cosmetics, apparel, record albums, television dramas and food stuff. The love for the K-pop groups became the major factor which boosted the exports of Korean products and tourism of the country. In order to promote Korean talents, entertainment agencies in Korea have identified the internet as one of the effective means to spread K-pop in a global perspective. Some of the performances of these K-pop groups were initially uploaded in the popular website “Youtube”. Due to the powerful influence of social media, in spite of the language barrier, many young people watch the performances of these K-pop groups and copy they look, speak and act. Korean agencies continuously look for ways to maintain the popularity of the singing male and female groups. These Korean promoters were able to attract the worldwide audience by taking into account two considerations when launching songs to the followers. The marketability of the songs was dependent on two ideas: 1) sells sex and; 2.) the songs should be written partly in English (Hyun-key Kim 2013, p.144). The K-pop culture has influenced young people on the way they dress, the clothes they were, make-up, hairstyle and how they move. The K-pop groups emphasizes on sexuality by making both the male and female performers who perform sexy dance routines. Based on the Guinness Book of World Records, the K-pop stars or Korean wave artists are the most photographed celebrities all over the world since their pictures have appeared at least 500 million times in the commercial scene (Hyun-key Kim 2013, p.144). It is also interesting to note that these K-pop groups have dominated the solo artists. Most K-pop groups have more than five members, as compared to the other Western singing groups having at least five members only. Another noteworthy factor is that K-pop culture has more Western influence than the Korean television dramas. Most of the songs produced for the K-pop groups have patterned after the Western albums. Yoshida (2009, p.341) argued that the East Asian Pop Culture or Korean Wave focuses not only on the economic, socio-political and cultural effects of the circulation of Korean television dramas within the region. In fact, there are other specific issues such as gender identity, perception of colonial relations, and nationalistic attitude toward cultural exchanges that have been affected after the emergence of the Korean Wave. The Korean wave has far reaching effects in terms of national economy, the cultural unity and exchange among Asians, globalized culture and its power over the future of globalization. Over the last decade, East Asia has become the regional market where the Korean pop culture earned substantial profits before making its way into the global market (Cho, 2011, p.387). East Asia became the destination to highlight the superiority of Korean pop culture and the setting where Koreans are allowed the opportunity to accomplish their national interests. The cultural nationalist approach supplied such understanding after overstressing the influence of the Korean wave. The significant role of traditional values and cultural legacy brought about by the Korean Wave and by attributing its success to Korean capability to influence other Western countries.

The growth of the Korean Wave is a living testimony that people in Asia have rejected the American pop culture. The Korean pop music has become a craze among young people that it was able to influence sexuality and globalism. With the emergence of the K-pop groups, the Asians have explored other flavors of music and no longer made the Western culture as the primary reference point among pop group cultures. These K-pop groups have influenced the youth of today in several means by changing the way they look, speak, think and act. In fact, the Western mass cultural productions have become just one of the several choices that are available to the youth from Asian countries (Cho, 2011). The popularity of the Korean Wave became the means of transnational cultural exchange for the Korean products to be exported globally (Kim, 2007). It is also an indication that the rise of Korea at the expense of other neighboring Asian countries is a positive indicator of the growing openness and willingness to embrace other cultures. The Korean Wave has transformed to become the product of national culture that has boosted the overall diversity and the characteristic of East Asian popular culture (Hyun-key Kim 2013, p.144). The highly acclaimed Korean Wave only proves that the Koreans have the ability to influence not just their Asian neighbors, but also the rest of the world (Cho, 2011, p.390). The Korean Wave is a manifestation that global culture is aware of other regional tastes. Other countries learned to adopt the Korean culture among young people within the way they dress, the clothes they were, make-up, hairstyle and how they move. To conclude, the Korean Wave is advantageous for K-pop groups because the youth of today had considered them as their modern-day idols.

References:

Cho, Y. (2011). Desperately Seeking East Asia Amidst The Popularity Of South Korean Pop Culture in Asia. Cultural Studies 25(3), 383-404. Hyun-key Kim, H. (2013). The Korean Wave: An Asian Reaction to Western-Dominated Globalization. Perspectives On Global Development & Technology,12(1/2), 135-151. Kim, J. (2007). Why Does Hallyu Matter? The Significance of the Korean Wave in South Korea. Critical Studies In Television, 2(2), 47-59. Yoshida, K. (2009). East Asian Pop Culture: Analysing the Korean Wave. Pacific Affairs, 82(2), 341-343.

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The Influences of Korean Wave on Vietnamese Youth During the first two decades of the 21st century, the Korean wave has spread to many countries around the world, including Vietnam. The Korean wave had a profound influence on the psychology and interests of the Vietnamese people, especially the youth. Therefore, the study titled “The Influences of Korean Wave on Vietnamese Youth” will find out the effects of the Korean wave on young people’s behaviors.

On the other hand, the study also helps Vietnamese enterprises gain more experience about the success of this phenomenon so that they are able to take advantage of these effects on their business, which targets Vietnamese customers. Overview about Korean Wave In the last two decades, the Korean wave has earned a very huge popularity in many countries around the world. Following the initial surge of interest in Korean television dramas and popular music, nowadays all things made in Korean ? from food, movies and dances to fashion and language ? are quite the rage.

The Korean wave is establishing itself as a global phenomenon that has already washed over East Asia and is now reaching the shores of Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Korean Wave in the World The Korea Tourism Organization conducted an online survey of 12,085 non-Korean visitors from 102 countries on its website from May 11th to May 31st, 2012. The questionnaire, which included seven questions related to Korea, had been provided to the interviewees in different languages to see what makes the foreigners interested in the Korean wave.

The survey conducted asked the interviewees to select an item of the Korean wave that interested them the most. The results showed a little more than 53 percent of 6,447 respondents picked K-pop. This was followed by TV dramas with 33 percent, films with six percent and others with seven percent. By age group, 49 percent of the respondents were in their twenties, followed by those in their thirties at 18 percent, teenagers at 17 percent and those in their forties at eight percent.

The survey showed that, nowadays the Korean wave has been spread not only in Asia but also around entire world: from Asia to Europe, from America to Oceania and it is continuing to spread worldwide, where it is being consumed by an increase in global audiences. More importantly, most of the attracted people are in their 20s and teenagers who are enthusiastically consuming the images and messages offered by the Korean wave. Korean Wave in Vietnam Since the government of Vietnam and South Korea established an official diplomatic relationship, the Vietnamese audiences have more chances to enjoy Korean dramas.

Especially, during the final years of 20th century, many Korean television series were introduced in Vietnam through the exchange culture programs or promotional products offered from huge economic Korean groups. These films like “Yellow Daisy” (1997), “First Love” (1999), “Winter Sonata” (2002), “Jewel in the Palace” (2003), brought a fresh feeling to the Vietnamese audiences and were also the first step of the Korean wave beginning in Vietnam.

Moreover, this stage also saw a rapid development of information technology and mass media that made this wave closer to the audiences, especially the youth between 13 and 22 years old who were attracted easily more than other age groups. In the recent years, taking advantage of dramas’ fame, the Korean wave has been expanding to Korean music and fashion that has become an overwhelming cultural tendencies up to now. Three Main Aspects of Korean Wave on Young Generation Korean Dramas

During the last five years of 20th century, the Vietnamese dramas became boring because they were influenced strongly by the traditional viewpoints in society. In contrast, at this time, the first appearance of the Korean dramas with romantic love, complication in family relationship help the Vietnamese audiences be more satisfied with their entertainment needs. In addition, with the similarities in culture as well as the development of the mass media, Korean dramas have been accepted easily and have become more popular in Vietnam.

From the finding of our survey about the favorite movies, which was researched from 75 young people belonging to the 13-21 year olds in Ho Chi Minh City, the data was described by the pie chart below: [pic] As the chart shows, more than 30% of the interviewees pick Korean drama as their favorite film that also occupies the largest part in the chart. Following that, Chinese drama and European & American movies account for 23% and 25% respectively. The two last sectors are Vietnamese drama and the others with the figures being 11% and 10% respectively.

From the information above, it can be clearly observed that Korean drama is now dominating major attention of young Vietnamese audiences and it leaves strong influences on their lives. One of the most important reasons making the youth interested in Korean dramas is the beautiful appearance with the familiar formula being the handsome boys and beautiful girls with their perfect make-up. In addition, most of the characters always dress in fashionable clothes with hairstyles that not only attract the young generation to the content of the film but also create the fashion waves in reality.

Another side, Korean dramas are generally consistent with the psychology of young people. To be more specific, instead of some love stories with unhappy endings, the recent Korean films such as: “Boys over flowers”, “Dream High”, “You’re Beautiful” focus on the honest emotions of high school students with many funny and interesting details but not less romantic. Finally, an important point of Korean television series is the introduction of Korean culture, especially cuisines. According to Huang “Kim Chi, one of the traditional Korean foods, has become a [sic] accompaniment of the acceptance of Korean TV dramas” (2009, p. 26). In this way, these films lead young viewers to the content of the films as well as make the curious about them. Korean Music After the significant success of dramas, the Korean wave has continued expanding its influences on the young Vietnamese generation by the appearance of Korean music, also known K-pop as Shin Hyunjoon (2009) states “As the danceable rhythm and catchy melody performed by good-looking singers and groups swept across East- and Southeast Asia, Korean pop music has become one of the main components of the so-called Korean Wave” (para. 2).

According to our finding in a survey of 75 young people in Ho Chi Minh City, it can be clearly seen that the interest level in Korean music occupied a minority of the total interviewees. [pic] As regards details, 35% of young respondents picked K-pop as their favorite music. This was followed by European & American music with 27%, Vietnamese music with 21%, Japanese music with 11% and others with 6%. The results above shows that K-pop dominates the music market of the Vietnamese youth due to some reason below: Firstly, Korean songs always satisfy the tastes of young audiences with their dynamic melodies.

In addition, with the joyful voices and ear-catching rhythms, these songs overcome the barriers of language in order to become closer to young listeners. Secondly, Korean songs also attract young people’s attention to their perfect images. To be more detailed, handsome boys and beautiful girls who have professional dancing skills perform most of the music videos. Besides, these clips are carefully combined with the effects from the colorful lights to create the bright picture. That is also the reason why the song Gangnam Style by PSY becomes famous and creates a new Korean wave up to now.

According to the BBC, PSY became the first South Korean artist to hit number one on the UK music charts and his song became the first Korean song to reach No. 1 on YouTube (October 31st ,2012) Finally, an important element contributing to the success of Korean songs is the content or message from the video clip. Actually, these stories affect the Vietnamese music market because they may be so colorful and full of energy or may be so sad with a lot of tears by some love stories which the main actor or actress gets cancer.

Take the Single “Chuyen Nhu Chua Bat Dau” of well-known singer “My Tam” as an example of this. This song is also a sad story following the Korean style and it touches the hearts of the youth lightly. My Tam is very smart when choosing this song to register with Youtube and she became the first Vietnamese to be an official partner of YouTube (Tuoitrenews, August 2nd, 2012) Korean Fashion Fashion, which affects everybody’s lives by getting them involved in something has become an inevitable part of young people.

Gradually, Korean fashion is one of the strongest elements, which affects remarkably to the youth. According to survey about the fashion styles from the poll of the youth, Korean fashion was the most popular style, accounting for 93% of the overall interviewees. It was followed by Vietnamese fashion with 34%. Obviously, overcoming the culture barriers in modern society, the upward trend of Korean fashion has penetrated deeply into the lives of many young Vietnamese. A reality has shown that "in the streets of Ho Chi Minh

City and Hanoi, fashion conscious young Vietnamese have adopted the darker makeup colors, thinly shaved eyebrows, body-hugging clothes, and square-toed shoes of Seoul fashion" (The Russia Journal, Jan. 25th 2002, p. 33). [pic] Besides, the youth seem to be more fashionable and want to please each other, "stars of such dramas have become shining idols in those nations and fans there emulate the fashion, hairstyle or makeup of Korean stars" (“Hyundai heavy industries report on pop culture”, 2004).

To clarify, most of young people love the Korean fashion style due to its popularity and current fashion trend. Moreover, another reason that convinces the level of explaining the fashion choices is that the Korean fashion style suits their styles and helps them express their personalities. In addition, Korean fashion has many similarities with Vietnamese fashion with 40% and 28%, respectively. Subsequently, 10% of young people are interested in the Korean fashion style because they want to be like their Korean idols. [pic] The Positive and Negative Influences of Korean Wave

Obviously, these analyses above indicate that nowadays, the Korean wave leaves significant impacts on the Vietnamese people in general as well as the young generation in particular including both positive and negative aspects. Positive Influences Through admiring the Korean stars in dramas and music as well as for their fashion styles, Vietnamese youth can not only satisfy their own entertainment needs but also learn beautiful and fashionable dressing styles, smart and educated behaviors from their Korean idols in the films. Another positive effect is a number of Korean stars will be able to ecome shining mirrors for the Vietnamese youth due to their efforts in both entertainment and education. Take Kim Tae Hee, a beautiful actress is famous not only for her professional performance but also her admirable academic achievements, as an illustration of this. She always topped the class with a perfect G. P. A during the period of high school. After graduating, Kim Tae Hee continued her studies at Seoul University, the most prestigious University in Korea. Negative Influences The Korean wave has spread rapidly throughout Vietnam without selecting to be suitable for the Vietnamese tradition.

This means that through this wave, the majority of young generation gradually forget Vietnamese culture. In recent years, many young couples prefer wearing “Hanbok”, the Korean traditional dress in their weddings, to “Ao dai”, the Vietnamese traditional dress, for example. In addition, they also try to memorize the information about their favorite stars rather than the celebrities of our country Another significant drawback that should be noted is that a group of young people have an excessive devotion to their idols, which exceeds the acceptable limits of Vietnamese culture.

Moreover, a large number of young people spend too much time and money on dressing up and applying make- up like the Korean style, and hunting for clothes, which are rather similar to their idols. The consequence is the appearance of inappropriate fashion styles and hairstyles everywhere, especially in the big cities. Opportunities from Korean Wave in business The Korean wave brings positive images that become a transporter of other Korean products such as technologies, fashions, cosmetics, tourism and entertainment services.

Based on the influences of the Korean wave, Vietnamese enterprises can apply some effective strategies in Vietnam. The first strategy is the collaboration with Korean stars for marketing and development of the products in Vietnam, using Korean idols as models for advertising products, for example Lee Min Ho playing a role in advertising Lotte Pie and Jang Dong Gun modeling for Close Up toothpaste. By holding some events in Vietnam and connecting stars’ images with product concepts, producers can increase the demand and interest of Korean fans, then they can increase the consumption and revenue.

The SoundFest Music Festival on April 14th, 2012 was a very successful event sponsored by Samsung and Coca Cola. Instead of buying tickets at a high price to satisfy their passion for seeing Big Bang – a well-known South Korean pop band, fans also had chances to go to the festival free if they won the promotional prize from Samsung and Coca Cola. Korean fans found a code under Coca Cola bottle caps or sent the IMEI number of Samsung phones to get the tickets. Besides increasing the revenue, producers also upgraded their image and value in their market.

The second strategy is that companies can take full advantages of this wave to trade on fashion and cosmetic products because the image of Korean actors and singers significantly affected the youth’s consumption tendencies. The local distributors can import Korean fashion and cosmetic products to put up for sale in the Vietnam market. Besides that, they should also consider designing and producing fashion products with the Korean style so that they can match the youth’s taste. The third strategy is to develop tourism packages designed for Korean fans.

Tour packages that combine concerts, shopping and sightseeing help tourist not only understand the Korean entertainment industry well, but also can visit the wonderful places and studios in the dramas, such as the snow mountain in Sonata Winter and the palaces in Dae Jang Geum. The reality has shown that Vietravel Company cooperated with Korean Air to make the Korean tour package in August 2012, which combines some special activities on music festival and travelling tour. This is a shinning signal for cooperation between Korea and Vietnam in tourist industry.

The forth strategy is designing restaurant and coffee shop with Korean styles. Although the prices at the restaurant are expensive, the youth willingly spend their money on enjoying special Korean food. The youth can find Korean entertainment, such as movies and music discs, posters of famous singers and actors and the lasted fashion magazines, in these coffee shops. This is also a place to exchange cultural things, the Korean fans can share information and open a club for practicing the Korean language.

The Korean wave may bring many opportunities to Vietnamese enterprises so that if they can catch the chance and understand the wave well, they can have wise strategies to develop their businesses in the future. Conclusion The result of our survey of 75 young people in Ho Chi Minh City about the influences of the Korean wave on Vietnamese youth proves again that the Korean wave not only spreads around the world but also has a direct impact on Vietnamese youth, especially from three elements: drama, music and fashion.

Besides that, we can also find out the concrete psychology and interests of the Vietnamese youth for business strategies. Therefore, the Vietnamese policy makers are able to make reasonable policies to encourage the development of the Vietnamese entertainment industry. This creates the dynamic to propagandize Vietnamese art and culture around the world to bring more profits for the Vietnamese entertainment industry. On the other hand, the Vietnamese entertainment industry can benchmark the Korean wave to reach around the world so that we are able to create a same phenomenon in the near future.

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Russia Sends Waves of Troops to the Front in a Brutal Style of Fighting

More than 1,000 Russian soldiers in Ukraine were killed or wounded on average each day in May, according to NATO and Western military officials.

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By Julian E. Barnes ,  Eric Schmitt and Marc Santora

Julian E. Barnes and Eric Schmitt reported from Washington, and Marc Santora from Kyiv, Ukraine.

May was a particularly deadly month for the Russian army in Ukraine, with an average of more than 1,000 of its soldiers injured or killed each day, according to U.S., British and other Western intelligence agencies.

But despite its losses, Russia is recruiting 25,000 to 30,000 new soldiers a month — roughly as many as are exiting the battlefield, U.S. officials said. That has allowed its army to keep sending wave after wave of troops at Ukrainian defenses, hoping to overwhelm them and break through the trench lines.

It is a style of warfare that Russian soldiers have likened to being put into a meat grinder, with commanding officers seemingly oblivious to the fact that they are sending infantry soldiers to die.

At times, this approach has proved effective, bringing the Russian army victories in Avdiivka and Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. But Ukrainian and Western officials say the tactics were less successful this spring, as Russia tried to take land near the city of Kharkiv.

American officials said that Russia achieved a critical objective of President Vladimir V. Putin, creating a buffer zone along the border to make it more difficult for the Ukrainians to strike into the country.

But the drive did not threaten Kharkiv and was ultimately stopped by Ukrainian defenses, according to Western officials.

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