In the fifth and final part of our series on the Korean Wave, or hallyu, The Diplomat looks at what the future might hold for the phenomenon.
As I’ve noted, overseas interest in South Korean culture has risen dramatically over the past decade. So much so, in fact, that the phenomenon was given its own name—Korean Wave or Korea fever (known locally as hallyu).
In the past week, I’ve written about this intriguing trend, looking at hallyu’s roots, its popularity in East Asia and other parts of the world and its effects—especially economically—on South Korea.
But was the Korean Wave spontaneous, or has it been manufactured? And how long will it last?
Jung Sun Park, who I consulted with for this series, has suggested that when hallyu first emerged, it was dismissed by many as simply ‘media hype without substance or a cultural fad, destined to fade away soon.’ However, the critics have obviously been proven wrong, with the Korean Wave showing even now ‘remarkable sustaining power’ over a decade later.
Localization is, simply put, when a trend or fashion is adopted into local cultures and takes on a unique form that’s suited to the tastes of a particular area. Park told me that an example of such localization may be the current Japanese version of Korea’s famous cuisine, bulgogi—marinated and barbecued beef, which in Japan is called yakiniku, and which is very popular amongst locals. The preparation and cooking style of the dish has changed in some ways, perhaps to suit Japanese palates or customs.
Of course, the relatively brief history of hallyu means it’s difficult to predict what will happen—especially with the amount of effort being put into keeping it alive by related industries and government, as I mentioned before. But one of our readers described to me earlier this week the particular dangers that might lie in such a profit-driven effort.
Not everyone is convinced that hallyu can be manufactured or duplicated. Korea culture analyst Michael Shin told me, for example, that he once spoke to a scholar who did an ‘interesting research project about the Korean Wave’ and found that when producers tried to create TV dramas or other entertainment forms that were ‘specifically designed to take advantage of the Korean Wave and be popular abroad,’ that most of these attempts failed.
This reminded me of something that Prof. Park had mentioned to me when she was talking about the attempts by various people and the government to capitalize on the power of South Korea’s pop culture.
Images: patrick gookin (top), d. FUKA (bottom).