SDLC Cultural Post #8

[June Choi]

As South Korean culture became more prevalent and global especially in the Western world, I experienced more and more friends coming up to me asking about Korean pop culture and media. This stimulated me to learn more about the Korean Wave itself, which in Korean is called Hallyu (한류). It signifies the increase in popularity of South Korean culture globally, mediated by the internet and social media, as well as K-pop music videos. Korean entertainment has been able to promote and expand to East, South, and Southeast Asia, as well as America. Korean dramas have have experienced global success, starting with “Winter Sonata,” “Dae Jang Geum,” and “Full House.” Especially in large cities such as Los Angeles and New York City, K-pop music has expanded awareness and popularity of Korean culture. Artists such as Psy, BTS, and BoA have become popular among US citizens. Hallyu 2.0 is deemed as the “New Korean wave” that began in 2007 and was successful largely because of the strength of youtube’s global platform. With the Korean government’s decision to allow more freedom for Koreans to produce with less censorship and more foreign travel, South Korean culture has been able to expand to other countries. As a result of the Korean waves, Korea’s GDP has also increased. It makes me very proud to think of the advancement of Korean culture and how it is common to hear about Americans listening to Korean music or watching Korean dramas, instead of negatively judging our culture because of how different it is. I also believe that this will help with more people across the globe to learn about the Korean language and traditional customs and thus make them more culturally aware and diverse. Personally, I find that listening to Korean music and watching Korean dramas helps with my language learning drastically because it is a casual, enjoyable way to improve my language skills.