Teaching East Asia: Korea Teaching East Asia: Korea | Page 213

Lesson
4
Korean Wave:
Korean Pop Culture Phenomenon
Written by Key Cheol Lee
Consul General of the
Republic of Korea in Los Angeles
What is the Korean Wave? Why is the Korean
pop culture getting very popular not only with-
in Asia, but also in America and Europe? Let’s
find out!
The term “Korean Wave” (Hallyu in Korean) was
coined by the Chinese press a little more than a
decade ago to refer to the popularity of Korean
pop culture in China. You may have heard Psy’s
Gangnam Style. Because of Gangnam Style, some
Dutch people became interested in Korean pop
music in 2012. In this chapter, we will examine
how the Korean Wave has moved from the edges
of global pop culture to the center stage.
Psy
4.1 Birth of K-wave: K-dramas
In July 1997, CCTV, the Chinese public TV, aired the Korean drama, What is Love, throughout
the nation, making it the first Korean drama aired in China. What is Love is a family drama
about two families – one liberal and one conservative – and their conflicts and solutions. The
Chinese audience fell in love with this drama because it reflected a family-oriented way of
thinking and featured the modernized life of Koreans, which differed greatly from the Com-
munist lifestyle. As such, What is Love rated second highest among foreign dramas in China.
K-Wave bridged the gap of distrust and ignorance that had existed between Korea and China
since the Korean War in the 1950’s.
In 2003, the Japanese TV network, NHK, introduced Winter Sonata, a drama about being destined
to be with your first love. When the show’s star, Yongjoon Bae, arrived at the Tokyo airport in
2004, more than 5,000 female fans welcomed him. Winter Sonata stirred up feelings of nostalgia
and passion among middle-aged female viewers, whose feeling were typically restrained due
to Japanese social norms and etiquette.
What is Love
Winter Sonata
Some 5,000 Japanese fans filled an
airport to welcome Mr. Bae in 2004
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