Hallyu

Korean Wave/Hallyu refers to a phenomenon in which numerous elements of Korea 's popular culture spread widely around the world and become popular in many foreign countries.[1] In a narrow sense, the Korean Wave refers to music , movies , dramas , and the Korean entertainment industry centered on them gaining resonance in foreign countries, but in a broad sense, the Korean Wave goes beyond popular culture and encompasses all aspects of Korean culture, including fashion , cosmetics , food , tourism , and martial arts . This may also be the target.

The 'Korean Wave Industry Promotion Basic Act' promulgated on October 22, 2024 defines it as "a phenomenon in which our country's culture spreads abroad or cultural products or related products are consumed as a result."

As a side note, due to the Korean Wave, the entire entertainment field (pop, drama, entertainment, hair, fashion, etc.) in many Asian countries was greatly influenced by the Korean entertainment field, and China's entertainment field was particularly influenced the most. The problem is that China is denying this fact and attempting to distort history by calling K-pop “A-pop.”[2]

The term 'Korean Wave' is a coined word that was coined in the late 1990s when Korean idol dance groups and dramas became popular among youth in the Greater China region, starting with the repercussions of HOT , which was exported to the Greater China region. There are two main theories about the origin of the term.

Of course, even before the 1990s , there were no Korean stars who went abroad and gained popularity. As of the 2010s to the early 2020s , the worldwide popularity and explosive influence of the Korean Wave among young people in their teens and twenties has increased since the 2000s when YouTube was created , but a phenomenon in which domestic stars continue to gain popularity overseas It can be seen that it began to appear in the late 1990s. In terms of time, it can be seen that there is a deep connection with the Internet culture developed in the early 1990s.

 more detailsHallyu/Statistics documentPlease note.

As of 2022, games account for a large proportion in terms of money . It accounts for 70% of the total.

However, unlike physical products such as automobiles and semiconductors , cultural content is not only about monetary value, but also about the value of the cultural ripple effect of the cultural content on the country of origin. Even if a game is popular outside the country where it was produced and has a large cultural influence, the resulting cultural ripple effect on the country of origin may not be large. Games are usually set in a virtual world or a famous historical situation such as World War II, and do not often include the color of a specific country. Therefore, most gamers do not care much about the nationality of the game company, and they usually do not think about visiting the country where the game was produced.

For example, Battlegrounds, made by Korean company Krafton, has achieved tremendous results, ranking in the top 5 best-selling games in the world, but it is difficult to say that it has contributed greatly to the status of Korean culture. PUBG gained popularity because it successfully solved the genre of battle royale in a virtual world as a game, not because it actively exposed and promoted Korean culture. As a result, there are quite a few Koreans who do not know that this game is a Korean game. #

On the other hand, video works naturally include many aspects of the country or cultural elements while filming in live action, and in the field of music, interest in singers can arouse interest in the singer's nationality. In addition, media such as dramas and movies can cover various age groups, including the younger generation. So even if you don't earn a single penny from piracy , the ripple effect it brings to your country's culture is generally greater than that of games. Since Hallyu is essentially a cultural phenomenon, it is necessary to look at various fields besides financial statistics.

 more detailsHallyu by period documentPlease note.

 more detailsHallyu by country documentPlease note.

 more detailsK-POP documentPlease note.

 more detailsKorea Drama documentPlease note.

 more detailsKorean cuisine documentPlease note.

The Korean government and the private sector are making great efforts to globalize Korean food .

Even in the 2000s , if someone from a foreign country spoke of Korean food at least a little, it would appear as gossip news on domestic TV . Of course, there are still many things to be done, but Korean food, at least, can be seen as having taken root in the global market.

 more detailsWeb toon documentPlease note.

In the meantime, the publishing market has already been difficult for the Korean cultural world to establish. That's why I left the old board behind and made a new board. It is the online webtoon market. The current online webtoon market has a high possibility of becoming a new standard beyond the existing published comic book market, so it has the advantage of being a frontrunner.

The Korean comics industry has moved away from the publishing market and into online-oriented webtoons . Among Naver and Daum's webtoons, some of them are receiving a certain amount of response abroad. Korean IT conglomerates are developing webtoon platforms and actively pioneering other markets.

For example, Piccoma , a webtoon platform created by Kakao 's Japanese subsidiary, and Naver's webtoon, Line Webtoon, achieved desired results by encroaching on the Japanese and Asian markets .[3]

As seen in the 'Digital Hallyu' below, Korean content companies expand their markets to the world through online platforms. Recently , Korean content conglomerates such as Naver , Kakao , and CJ do not focus on specific content. It is a strategy to focus on a farm (platform) where content is developed, consumed, and spread, such as Disney in the US or YouTube by Google .

 more detailslearning cartoon documentPlease note.

In addition , learning comics that have survived harsh regulations and censorship during the military regime are also strong . It also reached number one in sales in the comics category.

In the past , the Korean Wave began when dramas and movies that were already popular in Korea were exported overseas . This form of Hallyu gained great popularity in Japan , Mongolia , Greater China , Islam , and Southeast Asia . However, the new Korean wave led by K-POP is characterized by being consumed simultaneously around the world rather than spreading abroad after being popular in Korea. This is because social media, including YouTube, has emerged as a key means of spreading the Korean Wave . And it was PSY in 2012 that first showed such a worldwide radio wave .

In the domestic music industry in the 2010s , releasing music videos in advance through YouTube prior to album release became a kind of formula. 2010 Girl group 2NE1 , who released their first full-length album in September , previously released music videos for three title songs, 'Can't Nobody', 'Clap Your Hands', and 'Go Away' through YouTube. . Within two weeks of its release, it recorded more than 10 million views (3 videos combined), drawing attention from fans around the world.

It is thanks to this digital power that second-generation idol groups such as BIGBANG , Wonder Girls , Kara , Girls' Generation , and 2PM , SHINee , and f(x) began to gain large fans in North America , Europe , and South America , where they had not officially debuted . It was found that videos of domestic singers (belonging to the three major entertainment companies, including SM Entertainment , YG Entertainment , and JYP Entertainment) registered on YouTube last year were viewed nearly 800 million times at the end of 2010 in 229 countries around the world.

At this point in 2020 , when the scale of online streaming services such as YouTube , Netflix , and Spotify has grown incomparably, the scale of the digital Korean Wave has grown to such an enormous scale that the 800 million total views in 2010 in the photo above seem ridiculous . Now, no one takes it as a surprise that an idol's music video from a major entertainment company has garnered billions of views.

Even if they are not planned idols or famous singers, there are cases where personally uploaded cover songs like J.Fla gain attention from overseas fans and gain international popularity.

According to the '2019 K-POP World Map' published by K-Pop Radar , which analyzes K-pop-related data, the total number of K-pop video views around the world in 2019 was approximately 26.55 billion , of which 89.1% were from overseas. happened. 9 out of 10 people who watched K-pop videos are foreigners.

Until the early 2010s , many Koreans did not realize that their country was an advanced country .[5] Therefore, it was not expected that Korean culture would be accepted globally, and naturally, the dominant perception was that the Korean Wave was nothing more than exaggeration by the media.[6][7] In 2003, even the term Korean Wave was still awkward. Even on April 14 , there was a derogatory article in the Hankyoreh that said, "Hallyu is a fabrication by the Korean media, and its popularity will soon completely fade away." Source

And in 2012 , the Maeil Business Newspaper announced a survey result that 6 out of 10 foreigners think that 'the Korean wave will end within 5 years'. # It was evaluated as "because dramas and popular songs are similar and too commercial, so it's boring." In addition, the <2014 Hallyu White Paper> published by the Korea Foundation for Cultural Industry Exchange published the results of a survey of 4,400 Hallyu content users in 11 countries around the world in January and February 2014, and 50% of the 400 Japanese respondents When asked how long the Korean wave will last in the future, they answered “it has already ended”, and most of the respondents (85.8%) predicted that the Korean wave would disappear within 4 years (within 2018).

But in 2012 The Korean Wave began in earnest in the West with the huge hit of Gangnam Style , and in the late 2010s and 2020s, famous K-pop groups such as BTS , BLACKPINK , and TWICE rekindled the Korean Wave. In particular, BTS was the first Asian artist in the 21st century to top Billboard's Hot 100 chart with their new song Dynamite , released in mid-2020 when the world was in chaos due to COVID-19.[8] , the first non-English speaking singer and the fifth in the world to achieve No. 1 on the Hot 100, Artist 100, and Billboard 200 charts, establishing themselves as world-class artists. In addition, in mid-October, they simultaneously swept the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart , a record that only four groups have achieved: The Beatles , Bee Gees , Outkast , and Black Eyed Peas . Furthermore, after Dynamite, they proved that the Korean Wave is not a temporary phenomenon by taking No. 1 once again with Savage Love and once again with Life Goes On . In 2019 In December, the American media outlet CNN , in an article about East Asian popular culture that grew around the Korean Wave, predicted that this popularization would continue steadily for the next 10 years, thanks to the rise of social media and other means.

The film sector also left a big mark in the 2010s. Domestic film stagnation theory emerged, but the series Train to Busan and With the Gods brought a lot of box office success abroad, and director Bong Joon -ho's film Parasite won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and set an unprecedented record by winning four awards, including Best Picture at the Academy Awards . It is the first time in nearly 90 years of Academy history that a foreign film has been awarded the Academy Award for Best Picture. In terms of box office, it also set the record for the highest sales ever for a Korean film, and is the only domestic film with sales of more than 100 million dollars, with a higher percentage of overseas sales. Excluding this, films from the mid-late decade such as Train to Busan and Along with the Gods 1 and 2 were successful in the Asian market, expanding their target countries. In addition, director Cho Il-hyeong's work " #Alive " ranked second on the global movie chart on Netflix one day after its release, and on the second day (as of September 10), major European countries such as the United States , France , Spain , Sweden , Russia , and Australia It topped the movie charts in 35 countries around the world, including the first Korean film to top the Netflix global movie chart. #

As for dramas , since 2020 , Netflix has been activated around the world due to home quarantine due to Corona 19 , helping several Korean dramas armed with excellent content gain sensational popularity. # ' Psycho But It's Okay ' , starring Kim Soo - hyun , is being shown in 190 countries through Netflix . It also reached the top 10 in all of South America , including Brazil and Peru . In Netflix's global overall ranking, it rose to 6th place. In particular , Season 2 of ' Kingdom ' landed on Netflix India 's 'Today's Top 10' immediately after its release, and other Korean dramas such as Crash Landing on You and Itaewon Class also occupied the top ranks on Netflix Japan from April to September and beyond . It is even evaluated as "Japan's 4th Hallyu", such as mentioning that the Japanese Foreign Minister also watched it. # Squid Game took first place in all countries where Netflix is ​​officially serviced, and in just 17 days, 110 million households watched it, breaking the record for the most watched Netflix.[9]

In fact, skepticism about the Korean Wave is often influenced by biased views toward the Anglo-American world . Since it is not very popular in English-speaking countries, including the United States, it is difficult to say that the Korean Wave is globally popular . However, this is also an error that arises from the unconscious notion of many Koreans who equate the Anglo-American world, especially the United States, with a foreign country and the world. The Anglo-American region has a much stronger tendency to produce and consume culture within the Anglo-American region compared to other cultural regions. Anglo-American people prefer English media and have little interest in foreign languages ​​and external cultures, so they are very less influenced by external cultures. In particular, the United States, which leads the English-speaking world, has very few passport holders and is so uninterested in outside culture that even watching movies with subtitles is uncomfortable. This trend is similar in other countries within the English-speaking world, such as Australia and Canada , although there are differences in degree. There are bound to be limits to the spread of Korean pop culture in the English-speaking world. Of course, the cultural influence of the Anglo-American world is strong, but there are various cultural spheres other than the Anglo-American world in the world. Ignoring the popularity of the Korean Wave in other cultural areas just because the Korean Wave is not popular in the English-speaking world is ignoring many cultural areas outside of the English-American world. Moreover, despite these adverse conditions, the craze is growing significantly in Western cultures, including the Anglo-American world, starting from the mid-to-late 2010s to the 2020s .

People who have negative thoughts about the continuity of the Korean Wave often have the thought that "The Korean Wave, which is focused on broadcasting and celebrities, will not last long because it is unstable and limited." However, according to the <2018 Global Hallyu Trend> report published by the Korea International Cultural Exchange Agency, as a result of investigating the most popular of the Korean Wave fields based on the criteria of 'popular popularity/moderate popularity/popularity with minorities/rarely used', ' The most popular answer was not K-POP, but Korean food (42.7%). It was followed by Fashion & Beauty (39.8%), K-POP (38.9%), and Animation (33.0%).

There was one more interesting fact in the report. Contrary to concerns, foreigners' interest in fields such as fashion, cosmetics, food, tourism, martial arts, industry, movies, and even books that might not have been so well-known was focused on the concept of Hallyu. It showed a tendency to become wider and firmer. This is also proof that the popularity of Hallyu is not limited to entertainment and broadcasting. Even Korean companies that have nothing to do with the entertainment and broadcasting world have an impact on the overseas expansion of Korean companies based on the Korean wave.

In order to maintain the influence of the Korean Wave, there is a need to pay attention to Korean language education. This is because the language must be widely spread to facilitate foreigners' access to Korean culture. There are quite a few foreigners who learn Korean simply with the thought, 'I want to watch Korean dramas and entertainment without subtitles!'

A similar case can be found in Korea. The reason why Japanese subcultures are in constant demand in Korea is that there are many cultural similarities, but the solid fan base that learned Japanese to quickly get in touch with Japanese culture also plays a part. They voluntarily serve as a stepping stone between Japanese and Korean culture and contribute greatly to spreading Japanese culture to those who do not speak Japanese. As such, language acquisition is a very important factor in cultural dissemination.

Korea also established the King Sejong Institute Foundation and the Korean Cultural Center, public institutions under the Overseas Culture and Information Service, in 2012 and 2009, respectively, to educate and disseminate their own language and culture to foreigners , such as China's Confucius Institute or France 's Alliance Francaise , and By establishing 180 " King Sejong Institutes " in 60 countries and 32 Korean cultural centers in 27 countries around the world, they are making efforts to develop the Korean Wave.

Recently, universities in Europe, including France and Germany , Central and South America, including Mexico and Brazil , and even Egypt , have opened departments of Korean or Korean language , attracting many students and attempting direct cultural and social exchanges with Korea. are doing As a representative example, since several years ago, students from Lyon 3 University and Paris 7 University (Didro) from the Department of Korean Studies have participated in improving the French dictionary of Naver Dictionary, and Korean language students from the University of Hanoi have been directly participating in improving the Vietnamese dictionary .

The biggest key to soft power is the fact that it must become a natural thing rather than a one-time fad . For example, does the hamburger restaurant on the side of the road seem like a unique restaurant where you can feel the unique American culture? Or do you feel like cola is a drink with American flavor? Otherwise, we would have already been assimilated into American food culture to the point where we wouldn't even feel the novelty of it. It is true that the Korean Wave is a phenomenon that is leaving a mark on the world, but it has not yet reached the stage where it has unconsciously permeated the daily lives of people around the world.[10]

Moreover, even those in high positions were unaware of these characteristics of the Korean Wave, and in the process of attracting international events, the purpose and detailed strategy were put aside and the strategy was to simply beg for votes by plastering Hallyu stars and K-POP, which resulted in an overwhelming defeat. there is.[11]

We must keep in mind that the formation of the Korean Wave was mostly made up of people. If you look at the <2018 Global Korean Wave Trend> mentioned in the above paragraph, you can see that aside from the fact that all Western countries except the English and American countries are missing from the statistics, North Korea is showing off its presence next to K-pop. It is virtually difficult to find content other than Kpop that can surpass North Korea's overwhelming presence .

It is true that the Korean Wave, led by K-POP, is gaining immense popularity with human-centered content such as dramas and entertainment, but it is quite difficult for human-centered content to last for a long time. In particular, music is already densely packed with superstars and countries that have passed. Few people now remember how rock music was incredibly popular worldwide in the early 2000s. Also, few people know about the time when the UK was the center of global pop. Although Michael Jackson of the United States had a huge influence on the world and is now considered a legend, this does not mean that Michael Jackson is leading the popularity of American culture today, and the same can be applied to the human-centered Korean Wave.

Currently, in the 2020s, BTS and BLACKPINK are leading K-POP . However, we cannot be sure that the next step will be successful. In particular, the current corporate-led, profit-oriented operation policy makes new musical innovation difficult, which suggests that the public may become tired of one genre. This leads to the closed nature of the fandom. In particular, boy groups are already developing in a fairly closed direction. Since the 2010s, except for BIGBANG and BTS, the profit structure within the fandom has been thoroughly structured. This can already be seen by looking at Japan's idol culture. After the 2000s, when Japan's idol industry began to be neglected in overseas markets other than its own country, it changed to a method of relentlessly attracting domestic fandom.

When it comes to France , it 's French cuisine , the Eiffel Tower , the Louvre ; when it comes to Japan , it's sushi , ninja , samurai , sumo , karate , Shinto , Japanese comics , Japanese animation , when it comes to China, it's Chinese food , kung fu , Peking opera , and the Forbidden City . When it comes to Egypt, it's pyramids , the Sphinx , the Pharaoh , and India. If you think of yoga , curry , Taj Mahal , if you think of Russia , vodka , ballet , Russian literature , matryoshka , ushanka , if you think of Mexico , tacos , Mexican cuisine , mariachi , lucha libre , if you think of America , American cuisine , the Statue of Liberty , Hollywood , cowboys, etc. Countries with strong soft power around the world have spread a semi-permanent culture around the world, which is a difficult task to achieve for a medium that is fast-moving and completely dependent on one person's popularity.[12] When you think of a country, how many countries are first associated with music or movies? If a person or a genre becomes the image that comes to mind when thinking about a country, the country's image has no choice but to follow the decline of trends. Korea has established a semi-permanent and valuable unique Korean culture (e.g. Korean cuisine , Taekwondo , Hanbok , Gat , Seonbi , Pansori , Pungmul Nori , Namsadang Nori , Cheoyongmu , Talchum , Ssireum , Hanok , Gyeongbokgung Palace , Changdeokgung Palace , etc.) Unless we do this, this is bound to be a major issue that needs to be considered in continuing the Korean Wave.

One limitation is that the vast majority of Korean Wave content is limited to popular culture . It is true that all elements that make up the Korean Wave emotionally entertain people around the world. However, some point out that it only focuses on metaphysical factors such as materialism. For example, Professor Immanuel Pastreich (Lee Man-yeol) pointed out that the Manchu people were once culturally powerful, but because they were indifferent to metaphysical elements such as their own philosophy and ideology , their culture disappeared. At the same time, he warned that if philosophies such as Confucianism , Buddhism , scholar spirit, Hongik Ingan spirit, etc. are excluded, Korea could also follow the steps of the Manchurian people. If we cannot continue to secure new content that satisfies consumers due to its origin , we cannot rule out the possibility that its popularity will cool down at some point like Hong Kong movies .

As experts say, in order for the Korean Wave to continue to appeal overseas, the domestic cultural industry needs to face the limitations of the current Korean Wave and create new forms of novel and high-quality Korean Wave content. In particular, we provide opportunities to experience Korean pop culture in common, and according to consumer needs,[13] There are many opinions that it is important to produce a variety of consumer products.

Because of this, DC Inside and some community sites , which do not have a positive public opinion, sometimes look down on the K-POP-centered Korean Wave and put themselves down, and there is an opinion that overemphasizes the position of games, saying that there is nothing special about the Korean Wave except games. In support of this , it is said that the foreign currency earned from the gaming industry is much more than 10 times the foreign currency earned from the music industry, including K-POP . People who have a favorable opinion about the influence of K-POP sometimes argue that the value of K-POP lies not in the profits from performances and albums, but in spreading Korean culture itself. It is argued that K-POP's promotion of national prestige is a very important core value that cannot be converted into money because it has the effect of advertising numerous other Korean products and Korea itself. However, contrary to this opinion, in some communities, due to the backlash against the game shutdown system and antipathy toward idol-centered K-POP, there is an opinion that underestimates the value of the 'K-POP-centered Korean Wave' compared to the 'value of Korean games'. Quite a few.

As can be seen from the description above, there is a strong tendency to talk about the genre of the Korean Wave limited to dramas and movies in the early 2000s, and only to K-POP after the 2010s. However, the Korean Wave refers to a phenomenon in which all cultural contents produced in Korea become popular overseas, and the Korean Wave cannot be limited to only K-POP, Korean dramas, and Korean movies themselves. Unplay also played a role in this . For the continuation of the Korean Wave, the development and strengthening of other content genres in addition to K-POP, online games, and dramas is also necessary.

Still, interest in Korean-style makeup is increasing in countries such as Taiwan, Japan, and China, where Korean dramas and Korean idol singers were popular , and seeing this phenomenon expanding to other fields, it appears that this problem will also be naturally resolved.

 more detailscamouflage hallyu documentPlease note.

In China, Southeast Asia, etc., the problem of plagiarizing the concept of Korean idol groups (imitating private life, etc.) or stealing the entire Korean entertainment industry has already been a problem. This is because Korean companies steal the profits they should have legitimately earned with their stolen ideas. The problem is that along with this plagiarism of the Korean Wave, the fake Korean Wave, which can cause enormous harm not only to the cultural industry but also to the Korean economy as a whole, is getting bigger and bigger. See that document for details.

There is an analysis that one of the reasons why China's attempt to subjugate Korean culture in China, which began in 2019, is because the Korean wave is on the rise.

As Korean culture spreads throughout the world, anti-Korean wave movements are emerging in some groups as a reaction. Fortunately, these movements are still much smaller in number than Korean Wave fans and are not as carefully organized. However, it seems that officials need to keep a close eye on it as it could grow rapidly due to certain events.

Joseon exorcist This is a problem that was first highlighted in the wake of the pro-China controversy. At the time, foreign Korean Wave fandom only insisted on the unreasonable logic that the Korean fandom was violent and that it should be aired on Netflix because the suspension of the broadcast of Joseon Exorcist ignored their rights to watch, and did not try to know the background of the suspension due to concerns about the Northeast Project . Foreign fandoms may be angry when China's cultural usurpation is ambitious for them, but when they are greedy for other countries, it doesn't matter whether they are ruined with Chinese money or not, so they are just busy begging them to make dramas every day . Because of this, the image of Western fans worsened, and keyboard battles broke out between Western and Korean fans .

This is the biggest problem that no one expected, and during culture shock , it corresponds to 'separation' or 'resistance' in which people cling to their own culture and refuse to adapt to the other's culture. Unless the selfish indifference of foreign fandoms is resolved, long-term ill feelings between Korean and foreign fandoms will not be resolved. However, it is still difficult to find a solution for this.

Some netizens suspect that the broadcast of Joseon Exorcist on Netflix was fabricated by the Chinese Communist Party . Although there is no physical evidence, it is not impossible given the circumstances, so measures are needed to resolve misunderstandings and conflicts with foreign fandoms.

However, such a problem was not really unexpected in the first place, nor is the problem particularly serious for foreign Korean wave fandoms. One thing to keep in mind here is that the Korean Wave is a popular culture and subculture , not an archaic upper-class culture or culture . It may sound quite harsh, but extreme Western Hallyu fans need their favorite celebrities or dramas, not Korea .

Subculture and popular culture are as popular as they are treated lightly, and the level of understanding of the people who enjoy them is shallow. This inverse proportion of the qualitative depth and popularity of understanding and enjoyment applies not only to the Korean Wave but also to the overall culture. In the first place, the main reason for enjoying popular culture such as dramas, animations, movies, and popular songs is to enjoy light-hearted pleasure. However, it is not intended to discuss in-depth analysis of the local situation and examine the historical and social context. Therefore, it is rather natural that many overseas fandoms expressed opposition during the Joseon Gumasa incident.

Therefore, in the first place, the friction with the overseas fandom related to 'Chosun Gumasa' was fully predictable, and rather, the cause of the situation to some extent is the complacency of the Korean side, which did not prepare in advance by analyzing the characteristics of the subculture enjoyment method in advance.