Korean Wave
The Korean Wave or Hallyu (Korean: 한류; Hanja: 韓流; RR: Hallyu; lit. Flow/Wave of Korea; ⓘ) is a cultural phenomenon in which the global popularity of South Korean popular culture has dramatically risen since the 1990s. Worldwide interest in Korean culture has been led primarily by the spread of K-pop and K-dramas, with keystone successes including BTS and Psy's "Gangnam Style", as well as Jewel in the Palace, Winter Sonata, and Squid Game. The Korean Wave has been recognized as a form of soft power and as an important economic asset for South Korea, generating revenue through both exports and tourism.[1][2]
Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the end of military censorship over the South Korean entertainment industry, South Korea emerged as a major exporter of popular culture. The Korean Wave was first driven by the spread of K-dramas and Korean cinema into China and parts of Southeast Asia, following the rise of satellite media in the late 1990s. Taiwanese journalists first coined the term "Korean Wave" (Chinese: 韓流; pinyin: hánliú; lit. 'Korean wave') in 1998, referring to the success of South Korean television in the country. During the 2000s, Hallyu evolved into a global phenomenon, expanding rapidly into South Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. By 2008, the value of cultural exports from South Korea surpassed the value of cultural imports for the first time.[3] This expansion was fueled by the advent of social media and the internet, which played key roles in allowing the Korean entertainment industry reach overseas audiences, as well as the endorsement of the phenomenon by the South Korean government.
Etymology[edit]
The term Hallyu (Korean: 한류; Hanja: 韓流) is a neologism composed of two root words: han (한; 韓) meaning "Korean" and ryu (류; 流) meaning "flow", "wave", or "trend".[4] On 19 November 1999, the Beijing Youth Daily published the first known use of the term "Korean wave" (Chinese: 韩流; pinyin: hánliú; lit. 'Korean wave') in an article describing the "zeal of Chinese audiences for Korean TV dramas and pop songs."[5] Other terms used at the time included "Korean tide", "Korean heat", and "Korean wind".[5] In China, the term "Han fever" was also used, comparing the phenomenon to the ongoing Avian flu pandemic in the country.[6] The term entered common usage following the airing of the romance K-drama Winter Sonata, which was particularly successful in Japan.[7]: 13
Hallyu refers to the international diffusion of South Korean culture since the 1990s, following the end of military rule and the liberalization of the culture industry.[8] The term primarily refers to the spread of Korean television, pop music, film, and fashion, but can also include animation, video games, technology, literature, cosmetics, and food.[9][10][11] While the first generation of Hallyu in the late 1990s to early 2000s remained confined to Asia and referred to the popularity of Korean dramas and film on the continent, the second generation, or Hallyu 2.0, was driven primarily by the popularity of K-pop distributed on online platforms like YouTube.[12] Both "Hallyu" and "Korean wave", were added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2021.[13]
Background[edit]
Under the military dictatorship of Park Chung Hee, South Korean mass media underwent a process of rapid expansion, despite facing increasing control and censorship from the government.[14] As part of Park's development plans, the first commercial radio and television stations opened in the early 1960s and were subject to strict censorship under the Broadcasting Ethics Committee (Korean: 방송윤리위원회).[14] This brief expansion ended in 1972, when Park enacted the Yushin Constitution which broadly expanded his powers and codified his de facto dictatorial rule.[15] The enactment of the Yushin Constitution coincided with a broad crackdown on the South Korean culture industry against what Park alleged was the influence of "foreign decadent culture".[16] Following Park's death and the 1979 coup d'état of December Twelfth, the military regime of Chun Doo-hwan enacted additional restrictions over the media.[17] In 1980, Chun forced the merger of all 29 private broadcasters into the state-owned Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), creating a state-led media monopoly.[17][18]
As a part of the decolonization process in South Korea, imports of all Japanese media were banned in 1945.[19] Despite this ban, Japanese media was still widely distributed and pirated in South Korea, with both state broadcasters and individual bootleggers being found guilty of illegal importation.[20][21]: 132 The signing of the Japan–South Korea Joint Declaration of 1998 ended this ban, and it was gradually lifted across four stages between 1998 and 2004.[19][21]: 136–137 To protect the South Korean culture industry, the South Korean Ministry of Culture received a substantial budget increase, allowing for the creation of hundreds of culture industry departments in universities nationwide.[22]