Origin of Hallyu
Origin of Hallyu
Hallyu (한류) is a Hanja character (韩流) which means “Korean Wave”. While the world post the Second World War was focusing on political and economic power, South Korea tried to build itself an image of culture and civilization. They gave more importance to ‘soft power’ where the people follow only if it appeases them when compared to the traditional ‘hard power’ of high economic and military power which forced people to come under them.
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Hallyu Wave
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South Korea has gone through many tribulations. Due to the advanced military power of Japan and her imperialistic ambition, South Korea ended up becoming a colony of Japan and the Koreans were sent off to Japan to be a part of their army during the second world war and were forced to do menial labour. Koreans had to take up Japanese names, the literature and history books of Korea were burned and there were many restrictions placed on freedom of speech and expression. After gaining independence in 1945, the leaders of South Korea were having a difficult time to bring about economic development. In their struggle to bring stability in the government, the Korean War began in 1950 and lasted till 1953. Post war they made it their priority to improve education and bring structural reforms in the country.
The image of South Korea was still of the downtrodden third world country which was struggling after being under the Japanese rule, not having sufficient resources to develop the country. While it was necessary to build up the military and the economy of the country, the leaders realised that they also have to work on changing the image. It began with urbanisation where individuals were encouraged to shift from the rural to urban area. Development in the cities were faster than that in the rural area. During 1971-1972, the then president Park Chung-hee launched the New Village (새마을운동) Movement to bring about rural development. They also focused on Education and Healthcare. However, foreign travel was restricted. Technology was improved with intensive research by Chaebol (재벌) like Samsung, Hyundai and LG and universities that resulted in making Korea on of the leading producers and consumers of cutting-edge technology.
Things were looking on the upside for a long time up until the political unrest and the Gwangju Uprising of May 1980. The then leader General Chun Doo-Hwan lost the faith of the general public. To recover that, he used popular culture as a deflection. The Asian Games of 1986 and the Summer Olympic Games of 1988 brought South Korea in the eyes of the international community as a democratic and economically developed country.
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24th Olympic Games 1988 Mascot Hodori
https://2012expo.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/a-world-festival- hosted-by-korea-the-24th-olympic-games-seoul-1988/ |
He also cut down on a lot of restrictions on what was allowed to be broadcasted. This allowed filmmakers to explore many areas that eventually brought Korean dramas and movies into the spotlight. Between 1997 and 1998, Asia was going through the famous Asian Financial crisis. This crisis resulted in a bad image for Korea as the global stakeholders believed that Korea was in a bad shape. What helped Korea sail through this though time were the Chaebols. Along with the intensive research that they conducted, they also diversified they business model to enter into every field. Although in December 1997, the Korean government took a loan of USD 97 billion from the IMF (International Monetary Fund), they used only a part of the loan and paid back the loan in a record time in 2001, three years before the due date.
The most important factor which led to Hallyu was the government’s decision to lift the ban on foreign travel for Koreans. This resulted in the Koreans exploring the Western world, pursuing their education, working in well-known companies for a while before returning to Korea. They brought with them new perspectives of doing business and new interpretations to art, cinema and music.
Hallyu made an official entrance into the public in 1999 with “Swiri” and inspiring movie about the north Korea/South Korea espionage which became very popular in the South East Asian countries. This mega-hit was sustained by succeeding series and movies like “Autumn in my Heart”, “My Sassy Girl”, “Winter Sonata”. The main themes of these movies and series and eventually even music were aspects common to the Asian population. Hence countries like Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and other South Asian countries easily related to the content. But what is impressive is that Korean content has a great number of fans in countries outside Asia too. Park Jae-Sang (PSY) brought K-Pop to global charts in 2012 with the famous song ‘Gangnam Style’. Korea now dominates in almost every field. Let’s see a few below-
1) K-Pop: There might be only very few people who don’t know about K-Pop. While the first generation of Idols focused on exposing the Koreans to hip-hop and new jack swing, eventually K-Pop has brought Korean folk and tradition out to the world. While their entry into the international world has been slow and steady, current bands like BTS, BLACKPINK, EXO, NEWJEANS, etc. are regular entries in international music charts and award nominations.
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| Famous K-pop Artists |
https://www.newshubasia.com/art/joox-gathers-k-pop-stars-
with-2021-mma-and-mama-livestreaming-and-vod-for-k-pop-lovers-in-malaysia/
2) K-dramas and movies: While they were one of the first aspects to become popular at the beginning of Hallyu, they have been slower to reach worldwide recognition. With a wide variety of storylines of various genres in varying complexities, k-dramas and movies have managed to captivate the audience’s attention for quite some time now. They finally received the fruit of their hard work when Squid Games became popular and Parasite received the Academy Award.
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| Popular K-dramas and Movies https://rollingstoneindia.com/50-must-see-korean-films-from-2000-to-2022/ https://in.pinterest.com/pin/356769601727598627/ |
3) K-Fashion: Since Korea is a cool country, layering is a common style seen especially during winters. Various combinations of light colours like lavender-sky blue, beige-white, etc. have been made popular by Koreans. Using cute accessories and wearing matching colours as a couple is also something we have learnt from them.
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| K-fashion https://www.vlr.eng.br/korean-pastel-outfit-off-68%25-ww-52839193 |
4) K-Beauty: The Koreans stand testimony to the beauty of Asians. While Asians are genetically predisposed to age slower, Koreans make it a point to take care of their skin, hair and overall health right from a very young age. From double cleansing to sheet masks to bringing back front bangs into style, everyone wishes to have the glass skin that Koreans are proud of!
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| K-beauty routine https://tonymolyonline.co.uk/blogs/blog/korean-skincare-routine-101 |
While the hallyu wave is what brought Korea to where it is today, people directly working with it are still constantly working hard to maintain the standard and eventually raise it to greater heights. The author would like to commend the tremendous efforts taken by every individual and hopes that they are eventually able to rest and savour the fruit of their hardwork.
References:
The Hallyu origin story · V&A. Victoria and Albert Museum. (n.d.). https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-hallyu-origin-story
Korean Wave (Hallyu) - rise of Korea’s Cultural Economy & Pop culture. Martin Roll. (2021, October 21). https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/asia/korean-wave-hallyu-the-rise-of-koreas-cultural-economy-pop-culture/
Korea’s economic adjustments under the IMF-supported program--presentation by Kunio Saito. IMF. (1998, January 21). https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp012198a
Lois. (2022, December 14). Hallyu - everything you need to know about the Korean Wave. 90 Day Korean. https://www.90daykorean.com/hallyu/
Seth, M. J. (2017). South Korea’s Economic Development, 1948–1996. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.271
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