‘Korean Wave’ of pop culture sweeps across Asia

Koreans use the term “hallyu” to describe the phenomenon. It refers to the “Korean Wave” of entertainment that has swept across the shores of almost every single country in the region, even increasingly beyond. Some are now even referring to the trend as “hallyu-wood.”
According to Sung Tae-Ho, a senior manager in the Korean Broadcasting System’s content business office, part of the reason why the country’s culture industry is so successful abroad stems from the fact that the content is high quality and also cheap, at least compared to entertainment that could be bought from other, particularly Western, markets. The Korean Broadcasting System, or KBS, is one of the country’s four major television networks.
Culture also plays a role. Korean content, especially dramas, is as, if not more, popular than Western series because, simply put, Asians relate to it more.

“Even though the languages are different, we share an Eastern mentality. We respect the father and mother and a very hierarchical society and Confucianism,” Sung told CNN.
“So based upon that cultural background, we exchange our emotions, what we think and what we feel. There is a low cultural barrier to crossover with our content. It is kind of a syndrome. Asian people love to enjoy Korean stuff.”
In 2005, KBS exported $43 million-worth of content abroad. Last year, the network’s exports reached $65 million, going to 38 countries, Sung said.
Overall in 2009, the country exported nearly $3 billion in entertainment, more than double 2002 exports, according to an article on MK Daily, a Korean news portal. Today there are up to 400 independent studios creating content for domestic and international markets.
Korea’s success as an entertainment exporter began in the late 1990s when its TV series began to be broadcast in Japan, China and Southeast Asia. The government has also backed the expansion of the country’s culture industry abroad, seeing it as a vehicle for soft power — a tool to boost Korea’s reputation in the region.
“They start watching Korean drama on television and then after that come the pop songs from the boy bands. All of it has influence in Thailand,” said Vorasuang Duangchinda, a professor at Sripatum University in Bangkok.
“After that, they become fans of everything Korean — Korean food, Korean culture. Many of my students can even speak Korean because of .”
According to Duangchinda, Thai producers are traveling to Korea to learn how to make better TV shows while Bangkok is full of dozens of cosmetic shops offering services that promise to make young women look more Korean. The professor even has one student so obsessed with the country’s pop culture she’s renamed herself “Mee-so,” which means “smile” in Korean.

“After she finishes her degree, she will further her education in Korea, and she also has a Korean boyfriend right now,” he said. “Many young people are just crazy like this. Younger generations want everything Korean.”
Yvain Lu, a graduate student in Shanghai, wears a purple jacket from a Korean clothing brand called Thursday Island. Her favorite K-pop band is called 2AM. Secret Garden, a drama about a man and a woman who go into the mountains and mysteriously change bodies with each other, and We Got Married, a reality show, are her favorite Korean TV programs. Song Hye Kyo is her favorite Korean actress.