Korean Wave (Hallyu)

Abstract

The “Korean wave” (Hallyu), referring to the rapid growth of local cultural industries and the exports of cultural products, including television programs, films, music, and digital games, started in 1997. In its first stage, up to the mid‐2000s, Hallyu was popular mainly in Asia; however, it has gradually penetrated the global markets in the 2010s to become one of the most widespread non‐western cultural products. The Korean wave has changed significantly in its major dimension since the late 2000s as local culture, both popular culture and digital technology, began to penetrate western markets. From K‐pop to digital games and smart phones, Korean cultural products and digital technologies have appeared widely in North America, Western Europe, and Latin America. Social media and digital technologies in particular have become new drivers to form the latest Korean wave, which has become a transnational cultural phenomenon that originated in a small, once peripheral country.