The Rise of Hallyu Wave

On September 30th, 2010, one of the nation’s largest cable companies, Comcast, re-introduced the on demand access to the music channel called K-POP.

K-POP or Korean pop was first introduced back in May in celebration of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. This time around Comcast decided to join together with TvK or TV Korea to expand the on demand access to subscribers once again, allowing them to discover music from South Korea which has gain much popularity worldwide in the past few years. Until November 1st, Comcast subscribers will have the chance to watch a large selection of K-POP smash hits that include 2NE1, Big Bang, Girl’s Generation, Kara, and Wonder Girls.

The K-POP trend has been rising and it’s all due to the Hallyu Wave. Also known as the Korean Wave, South Korean culture has grown immensely popular all over the world within the past eleven years. The Korean Wave or sometimes referred to as Korean Fever first began in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, and other Asian countries as the popularity and demand of South Koreans goods grew rapidly in the late nineties. From there, interests in South Korean popular culture began, shifting from industrial goods to television dramas, films, and music. We even can even see the effect at our own very school.

Sang Joon Lee, a Korean language instructor and currently teaching “Popular Culture in Korea” at The New School is still surprised at how fast the Hallyu Wave has grown.

“It’s all due to the popularity of Korean dramas like My Lovely Sam Soon and The First Shop of Coffee Prince along with pop music that has gained more popularity due to the Wonder Girls crossing over to the American music industry. People all over the world enjoy it,” Lee said.

But it doesn’t stop there. With Internet search engine Google, streaming-video website Hulu, and video-sharing website YouTube, people around the world can easily get access to Korean dramas, music, and variety shows with a click of a button. As a result, part of Lee’s teaching plan is to introduce his students to the television dramas, variety shows, films, and music in a more intellectual approach.

Currently in his thirds semester teaching the course Lee adds, “Every semester the course gets filled very quickly and I always receive e-mails from students interested in learning about the culture. Unfortunately, the course is taught in Korean so to see that a handful of students who are not native speakers of the language wanting to take part in the class always surprise me.”

As mentioned earlier, Hulu has picked up on the high demand for Korean dramas. At the moment, you can find a handful of popular dramas that include IRIS, Bad Guy, Bad Love, Pasta, and as mentioned by Lee, My Lovely Sam Soon and The First Shop of Coffee Prince are part of the list.

Today, many events occur in the United States to celebrate Korean culture. This past month, New York City found itself immersed in the culture with The 9th Annual New York Korean Film Festival (NYKFF), The 30th Annual Korean Parade & Festival, and the upcoming 28th Annual Korean Harvest & Folk Festival.

Yuni Yoon Jung Cho, Director of the NYKFF has picked up on this trend. The NYKFF kicked off on September 22, 2010 and ended on October 3, 2010, which showcased “the work of both mainstream and independent Korean cinema.” Eight films were chosen, ranging from action to comedy to drama to thriller, all released within the past two years and have received much acclaim from Korean audiences.

“I wanted to give North American audiences an opportunity to experience Korean films” Cho said, “not just to Korean-Americans, but to everyone.”

This coming weekend, New York City residents will get the chance to experience the Korean Harvest & Folk Festival at Randall’s Island Park as part of a celebration of Chuseok, a Korean tradition similar to America’s Thanksgiving. A two-day festival, family and friends get the chance to have a first-hand experience on Korean culture.

Ji Young Suh, The Korea Society’s special events manager showed her excitement for the upcoming festival.

“It’s always great to see not just Korean-Americans but every ethnic group to take part in the event,” Suh adds, “I didn’t think the Hallyu Wave was that big of a deal but when I see non-Koreans singing along to Korean songs, it surprises me.”

Many Asian countries have been part of the Hallyu Wave for over ten years now and the United States is just picking up on the phenomenon. Some may think it’s a fad and will disappear in a few years but from the looks of it, the Korean Fever is here to stay.