Imagine your Korea: Hallyu (3)
Other than the Samsung phone or the Hyundai vehicle I drive, I must say that I was largely ignorant about Korean culture. But during the height of the coronavirus-imposed lockdown, when bingeing on Netflix streamed movies was the norm, the top-rated K-Drama series “Crash Landing on You” and “Squid Game” proved to be valuable diversions for forgetting the deadly drudgery of the virus. Do you wonder how Korea evolved into an international powerhouse cultural trendsetter?
With a bit of Internet research and chats with some Gen Zers and Millennials, I’d like to share with you how I think the Hallyu phenomenon of Korea evolved.
It is a fact that not only K-Dramas but even the mainstream Western social media music entertainment world has been taken by storm by the Hallyu phenomenon, which is aptly exemplified by the youthful tunes, fancy dance steps, and rumored plastic surgery-altered looks of BTS and Twice, the hottest boy and girl bands in the world, and the bouncy tempo of Psy’s Gangnam Style hit music video, the first ever to hit a billion views on YouTube.
What is Hallyu all about anyway? Hallyu in Korean literally means “Flow or Wave,” which stands for the phenomenal popularity of Korean Pop Culture, recognized as a form of soft power, defined by a 2009 Harvard Belfer Center study as a non-coercive form of influence driven by an attraction to a country’s culture, political ideals, and policies, which is reaping significant economic gains for Korea through entertainment export and tourism.
Read more: https://tribune.net.ph/2023/11/imagine-your-korea-hallyu-3/