Have you ever wondered what the average Indonesian thought about Korea before the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, came to Indonesian shores? If you think that we used to know a lot about Korea, you're wrong. We all know that Korea is a country in Northeast Asia, but that’s all. Don’t expect many of us to know that Seoul is the capital, for example. Thanks to the Korean Wave, however, now many Indonesians have gotten to know a lot about this beautiful country Korea.

I can’t really say when the Korean Wave first landed in Indonesia. I think it was the TV show "Autumn in My Heart" that started in 2002. Surprisingly, this evening soap opera got a lot of attention from Indonesian viewers and became an instant hit. For us, this show was different because it came with a full package of great storylines, good acting, a good looking cast, and a beautiful soundtrack. Because of its huge success, local television started to air many popular Korean shows in prime time slots that previously had been occupied by Taiwanese or mainland Chinese evening soap operas.

Before the Korean Wave, there were only three things that came to mind if you asked about Korea. There was kimchi, being an expensive tourist destination and plastic surgery.

Kimchi

Did we know about kimchi back then? Yes, we knew; some of us knew about kimchi, but not as a part of banchan, that wide array of side dishes that accompanies most traditional Korea-style meals. To be honest, I thought kimchi was the main course of Korean cuisine. I used to think that all Korean food was sour like kimchi.

Thanks to the Korean Wave, however, we can now find many Korean restaurants in Indonesia. From the authentic ones to the fusion ones, each gives us new knowledge about the wide world of Korean cuisine. Nowadays, many Indonesians know what banchan is, and some even know how to cook Korean cuisine and have opened Korea-themed restaurants.

Massive advertisements from the Korea Tourism Organization and other organizations have also played an important role in promoting Korean cuisine. Every year, those organizations hold many events that give us an opportunity to taste delicious Korean food and to learn how to cook it.



Nowadays, you can find many Indonesians who love kimchi, including me. If there's someone who doesn’t want to eat Korean food because they don't like kimchi, I'll tell them that they don’t need to worry about it. First, there are many kinds of kimchi. If you don’t like the type that's made from radish, you can try others. Don’t say you don’t like kimchi before you’ve tried various kinds of it. Second, if you really can’t eat kimchi, you can simply not eat it. You still have plenty of choices on the menu. The main course is not going to be kimchi, for sure! The side dishes, banchan, also come with various choices. I did this to my parents last year since they always refused to eat Korean food because of kimchi, and it worked. Believe it or not, now they're one of the biggest lovers of Korean cuisine that I know. They said they love Korean food because it’s delicious and good for the health.

Travel there is not cheap

For many people, Korea is an expensive place to visit. Rumors have it that there's a high cost of living in Korea. A decade ago, I never thought of visiting Korea because it had an image of being too expensive, even though at that time I had already become a big fan of Korean TV shows. In my case, what changed my mind was the famous Indonesian travel writer Claudia Kaunang. She was the first travel writer from Indonesia to write a book about how to travel around Korea for only IDR 3 million, around KRW 262,500 or USD 225 these days. After reading her book, I decided to put Korea on my bucket list. My dream came true in 2011. I visited Korea for the first time, joining an independent tour group that was actually organized by the author. After my first visit to Korea, I’m starting to spread the word through my blog posts that traveling to Korea isn’t really that expensive. I want to tell everyone that Korea can be an affordable place to go, and also that it's "foreigner friendly."

As a result of the Korean Wave, many Indonesian travel writers are now interested in writing guide books and blog posts about Korea. We can easily find Korean travel guide books in our stores now, too, from the most general ones through to the more specific ones based on the type of trip. We can also get a free copy of the official "Korea Travel Guidebook" that is published by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). Either visit the KTO office in Jakarta or request a copy via their official website. Phenomena like these are changing our thoughts about Korea, and now many of us have visited Korea more than once.



Plastic surgery

Honestly, I used to think that Korean celebrities were beautiful because of plastic surgery. Later on, however, after I fell totally in love with all things Korean, I learned that not all of them have gone under the knife.

As a result of the invasion-like Korean Wave, local tabloids are more and more interested in information or even just gossip about Korean celebrities. From there, we learn that not all of them have had plastic surgery in order to get their face. The power of Korean cosmetics, skin care and makeup are also factors as to why celebrities always look flawless. Once you visit Korea, you’ll be amazed at people’s skin there. Believe me: they all have good skin because they've all learned how to protect their skin since they were young. That is why the price of Korean cosmetics is more affordable than those of Western ones. In Seoul, you can easily find beauty stores in every neighborhood.

Thanks to the Korean Wave, we now know about Korean makeup and its great innovations. We're starting to believe that Koreans have good skin because they follow good skin care habits and lifestyles. We can easily find Korean beauty products in Indonesian cities. We're starting to love Korean beauty norms and hope to have a good skin, like Koreans, soon. That's why the number of Korean cosmetic customers has been increasing over time. We can find many Indonesian bloggers and YouTubers who write about Korean makeup and cosmetics, and who put Korean skin care products on their recommended skin care or make up lists.

The obvious results of the Korean Wave may be the increasing number of Indonesians who travel to Korea. However, the greater one is that now we can find many Indonesians who can speak Korean fluently. A couple of years ago, it was really hard for us to learn Korean. It was hard to find a Korean language teacher or even a Korean language textbook back then. However, now we can find Korean language institutes and we can always learn through online courses.



By Theresia Kurniawan
Korea.net Honorary Reporter
Photos: Theresia Kurniawan, Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Indonesia

http://koreanetblog.blogspot.kr/2017/01/korea-in-indonesia-before-and-after.html