Globalization of Korean Popular Culture in Asia
Globalization of Korean Popular Culture in Asia
1. Introduction
Since 1990s, Korean Popular Culture has had a strong influence in Asian countries, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore. This new popular cultural phenomenon in Asia is called the “Korean Wave”, also known as hallyu in Korean pronunciation, which refers to the surge of popularity of Korean popular culture abroad, particularly in Asia(Kin 284). The “Korean Wave” is first coined in mid-1999 by journalists in Beijing who are surprised by the fast growing popularity of Korean entertainment and popular Culture in China(Fiaola 1).
Korean Wave certainly brings a big hit to Asian countries, but at the same time, some anti-Korean feelings are aroused as they considered the Korean Wave as a threat that may affect their lives. In China, one of the places where that were first hit by the Korean Wave, Korean TV dramas and pop songs are popular among people. This aroused anti-Korean feeling from the Chinese directors that they believe the Korean Wave is destroying the Chinese entertaining industries. Hong Kong is also affected by the Korean popular culture since the release of loads of Korean films and TV dramas, together with the associated artists and theme songs, while one of the Korean TV dramas even broke the rating record of Hong Kong TV dramas. These proved the popularity of Korean popular culture in Hong Kong. Same as China and Hong Kong, Taiwan is also hit by the Korean Wave. After the dubbing of Korean TV dramas, Taiwanese start to follow the TV dramas. Because there is increasing amount of Taiwanese people started watching Korean dramas, more and more Korean dramas are dubbed into Chinese. Some producers of Taiwan TV stations even stopped making new local dramas but purchase Korean TV dramas instead. Japan also bought imports TV dramas from Korea, which helps Korean artists and singers to successfully gain popularity in Japan. No matter positive or negative attitudes towards the
1. Introduction
Since 1990s, Korean Popular Culture has had a strong influence in Asian countries, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore. This new popular cultural phenomenon in Asia is called the “Korean Wave”, also known as hallyu in Korean pronunciation, which refers to the surge of popularity of Korean popular culture abroad, particularly in Asia(Kin 284). The “Korean Wave” is first coined in mid-1999 by journalists in Beijing who are surprised by the fast growing popularity of Korean entertainment and popular Culture in China(Fiaola 1).
Korean Wave certainly brings a big hit to Asian countries, but at the same time, some anti-Korean feelings are aroused as they considered the Korean Wave as a threat that may affect their lives. In China, one of the places where that were first hit by the Korean Wave, Korean TV dramas and pop songs are popular among people. This aroused anti-Korean feeling from the Chinese directors that they believe the Korean Wave is destroying the Chinese entertaining industries. Hong Kong is also affected by the Korean popular culture since the release of loads of Korean films and TV dramas, together with the associated artists and theme songs, while one of the Korean TV dramas even broke the rating record of Hong Kong TV dramas. These proved the popularity of Korean popular culture in Hong Kong. Same as China and Hong Kong, Taiwan is also hit by the Korean Wave. After the dubbing of Korean TV dramas, Taiwanese start to follow the TV dramas. Because there is increasing amount of Taiwanese people started watching Korean dramas, more and more Korean dramas are dubbed into Chinese. Some producers of Taiwan TV stations even stopped making new local dramas but purchase Korean TV dramas instead. Japan also bought imports TV dramas from Korea, which helps Korean artists and singers to successfully gain popularity in Japan. No matter positive or negative attitudes towards the
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