In the following text, I try to explain why my number one favorite subject of study academically – as well as what I since a couple of years, in regard to popular culture, do prefer the most from a personal perspective – the Korean wave, hallyu (한류), is such an exciting and interesting phenomenon to be engrossed in. I have listed five main reasons or factors.

1. It consists of of high-quality products
The Korean wave is now a general or umbrella term – coined in the late 1990s by Beijing journalists – which is used to describe the rising popularity of South Korean cultural products, such as films, TV drama series, pop music (K-pop) and food.

This transnational wave or flow of popular culture has not stopped, but rather accelerated in pace and magnitude over the last years and is now more or less global, particularly with regard to K-pop. Still East Asia – South Korea (of course), Japan and China in particular – is the junction for the production, distribution and consumption of products related to the Korean wave, and in many Western countries these constitute so called niche markets rather than being part of the mainstream. For instance, the K-pop group Girls’ Generation are not nearly as popular in the United States or Western Europe as they are in South Korea, China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Different regions mean different tastes, whether these more or less vast regional and national differences are due to linguistic factors and/or for some other main reason.

Regardless of that, many of the Korean wave-products constitue, as I and many other see it, ‘high-quality products’, and even though far from everything related to it appeals to each and everyone’s individual taste, one can still find a lot of interesting things to consume.

In fact, so much that one can neglect almost all other kinds of pop culture. Personally, I do particularly like TV drama series such as Winter Sonata, Dae Jang Geum and 49 Days, and music from the talent agency and entertainment company SM Entertainment, such as BoA, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, Shinee, TVXQ, f(x), and Exo-K.

Addtionally, as a consumer one might be impressed by the skills and talents of several K-pop performers, as well as their nice and humble manners, which is to some extent connected to ‘traditional’ Korean culture and family values of which some are linked to Confucianism. Compared to mainstream Western entertainers, K-pop represents – especially those who are linked to SM Entertainment – a higher level of performance in many respects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NE2GWQQ5_k

2. It is diverse and can appeal to many different tastes
As much as hallyu products may primarily be consumed by teenagers and young adults, it is still very diverse and includes a lot of different things – whether particular TV drama series, pop music, film, food, literature or some other cateogory – that can be appreciated by middle aged or even ‘old’ people.

For instance, my mother, who is 50+, loves – just like many Japanese middle aged women – Winter Sonata and even some K-pop too. Perhaps more culturally conservative people, like Iranians, seem to like series such as Dae Jang Geum.

Thus, there is something for nearly everyone, regardless of age, sex, and nationality, and there tend to be yet undiscovered phenomena waiting around the corner.

3. It has a creative dimension
Hallyu fans, particularly K-pop fans, tend to be very creative and are in many cases quite the opposite of passive consumers. Instead they create and/or re-elaborate material, such as for instance translating the Korean music lyrics and incorporate them into music videos.

For people of non-Korean origin, who do not have any ‘natural’ links to the Korean language, the most difficult task is probably to learn the language in question. Hence, I study Korean on my own initiative, although linked to institutional activities and academic endeavors. It is hard but very rewarding once one makes some progress and may also be regarded as a life-long project.

Overall, hallyu is connected to creativity in many respects. And that includes both producers, performers, distributors and consumers.

4. It makes one happy
Of course it depends on which specific material one has in mind, but overall one can find a lot of things – especially music-vise – which has a positive or even joyful vibe.

From my own perspective I do still listen to a lot of alternative music, which in some cases is quite the opposite of K-pop’s colorful and easygoing air. However, when I want to feel happy – and who doesn’t? – I listen to my favorite songs and/or watch their music videos or live shows on YouTube – and get internally (and hence externally) upbeat.

South Korea can also be looked upon us a semi-exotic dream place – even if it is a mere fantasy, or at least makes up a somewhat distorted depiction of a much more complex reality – that people, after being interested in hallyu for a while, want to visit. This is to some extent also related to the last factor discussed below.

5. It may lead to world peace
And this factor’s impact or implication should in turn not be exaggerated, but a study in for example Israel and Palestine – Nissim Otmazgin and Irina Lyan’s interesting article ‘Hallyu across the desert’ (2103) – indicates that hallyu can be a part of a peace project, or at least have a positive meaning for exposed teenagers who dream of something better than an everyday life constantly characterized by armed conflict.

Although very different from the Israel-Palestine conflict, the positive influence or confluence from hallyu seems also to be the case with regard to international relations in the East Asian ambit, such as Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan, even though pop stars sometimes can be caught up in nationalistic quarrels [1] rather than ‘resolve’ them. K-pop in particular has a transnational character, and a lot of artists are of other than Korean origin, which makes it into a – mostly – constructive ‘joint venture’.

Regardless of the extent over time and space of which hallyu can lead to positive outcomes, it is overall a positive phenomenon and does also constitute a ‘third option’ between over-vulgarized American decadence and religious fundamentalism, like the Islamic State, which is nowadays scattered around the globe, although with places like Saudi Arabia as its financial main source. This is partly also why I support its diffusion and proliferation beyond mere personal preferences.

[1] Chua, Beng Huat. (2012), Structure, audience and soft power in East Asian popular culture, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

---

I detta inlägg förklarar jag – genom att lista fem huvudskäl – varför den koreanska vågen av populärkultur, hallyu, överlag är att betrakta som ett positivt och konstruktivt fenomen att ta del av.

1. Det består av högkvalitativt material
Sydkoreansk populärkultur, särskilt k-pop och tv-dramaserier, består av en stor mängd högkvalitativt och välproducerat material. Särskilt imponerande är ett flertal av de kända grupperna och artisternas synkroniserade dansformationer, men även musikvideorna och liveframträdandena som helhet. Personligen föredrar jag tv-serier som Winter Sonata, Dae Jang Geum och 49 Days, och musik från entertainmentbolaget SM Entertainment, som Boa, Girls’ Generation, Shinee, Super Junior, TVXQ, f(x), och Exo.

2. Det är mångsidigt och kan appellera till många olika smaker
Det finns en stor variation och mångfald inom den koreanska vågen, och ständigt nya saker att upptäcka. Till exempel kan medelålders kvinnor uppskatta serier som Winter Sonata, medan ungdomar föredrar k-pop och mer ungdomliga tv-serier. Men det finns även musik som tilltalar breda skikt.

Noterbart är att inom mer konservativt sinnade länder och regioner har tv-serier som Dae Jang Geum vunnit stor popularitet. Men även inom den sistnämnda kategorin finns en stor spännvidd, och även yngre kan fascineras av de mer historiskt relaterade produktionerna.

3. Det har en kreativ dimension
Fans av hallyu, särskilt k-pop-fans, är inte sällan väldigt kreativa och brukar exempelvis översätta låttexter från koreanska till engelska och inkorporera dessa i musikvideor eller liveklipp som sedan görs tillgängliga via YouTube. På så sätt blir konsumenterna en aktiv del av utvecklingen och innehållet av materialet.

Nästa steg är att lära sig koreanska, en utmanande process som jag själv är fullt sysselsatt med.

4. Det gör en lycklig
Jag lyssnar på en stor mängd och andel alternativ musk, som i en del fall är närmast den diametrala motsatsen till färgsprakande k-pop, men om jag vill känna mig glad – och vem vill oftast inte det? – brukar det passa alldeles utmärkt med något av det sistnämnda. Faktum är att jag brukar inleda nästan varje dag till tonerna av Super Juniors “Mr. Simple”, och då är det nästan svårt att få en dålig dag.

5. Det kan leda till världsfred
Denna aspekt ska absolut inte överdrivas, och i bästa fall är hallyu en pusselbit i en större process där olika faktorer samverkar. Det finns i alla fall studier i Israel/Palestina som visar att intresset för koreansk kultur har en potentiellt fredsbringande effekt, och i Östasien kan de komplicerade relationerna mellan länder som Kina, Japan och Sydkorea förbättras av framför allt k-popens transnationella och intraregionala karaktär. Med det menas inte minst att ett flertal gruppmedlemmar har kinesiskt ursprung, och att flera artister och grupper är synnerligen populära i Japan. Det leder till ömsesidig respekt och konstruktiva utbyten, både ekonomiska och kulturella sådana.

Jag tror även att det faktum att Sydkorea, på global nivå, representerar ett slags “neutral part” eller alternativ till amerikansk och västerländsk dominans, kan leda till att människor från många olika länder och regioner intresserar sig för detta och förenas i sitt gemensamma intresse. Det är en del studier som visar på det, men man ska givetvis inte spekulera alltför mycket eller överdrivas dessas betydelse. Men sammantaget och sett till helheten utgör hallyu i varje fall ett positivt och konstruktivt fenomen.