Name: Vanessa Joyce V.

Gonzaga
Course: English 13 Section: SDEG
Date: November 9, 2019
Professor: Dr. M.R.G. Ancheta
Concept Paper: HALLYUWOOD: How Korean Wave became a Global Phenomenon

We, Filipinos, are among the witnesses of the rise of the Korean Culture. From loving Korean

telenovelas translated to our mother tongue, to listening to their songs, mainly K-pop, and admiring their

ways of living. I am a confessed witness to this phenomenon, as a part of the generation that grew up

watching “Jewel in the Palace” and other Filipino-translated dramas from Korea, every afternoon while

having “merienda”. Who would forget other famous k-dramas like “Jumong”, “Coffee Prince”, “Secret

Garden” and a lot more that introduced to us the Korean life? K-pop songs are also a major part of my

childhood, as Wonder Girls’ “Nobody”, 2NE1’s “Fire” and “I Don’t Care” are the songs that my

elementary school always play for our daily morning exercise. The Filipinos’ love for K-culture is also

evident in the boom of unlimited meat-grilling restaurants or “Samgyupsal” in every mall. Korean

skincare and cosmetic products are also popular now in the market. I was able to witness the rise of the

Korean Culture from being labeled as too feminine and sometimes gay because of their obsession to

beauty to being the trendy talk of the town. This topic is very personal and close to my heart as I am also

a fan of the Korean Culture ranging from dramas, music, and foods. I ease my stress from academics by

listening to my favorite K-pop groups and watching K-dramas and movies whenever I have free time.

But I sometimes wonder what makes the Korean Culture so famous not just in the Philippines but in the

whole world. What makes it so unique that it is capturing the hearts of people all over the world

regardless of gender, race or nationality?

The love for K-drama, K-pop, K-culture can be unified into the word “Hallyu”. The term Hallyu,

“Korean wave” or the “flow of Korea” was coined in the late nineties by the media industries in China to

characterize the flourishing of Korean entertainment in their country (J. Kim). Today, Korean movies,

television shows, and music are enjoyed everywhere in the world and are still being called as Hallyu. The

Korean wave started with the export of dramas to China and since then Korea started to export its cultural

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products to every part of Asia. Several years later, Hallyu started to expand into the other parts of the

world such as the Middle East, Europe, South America, Africa, and North America. This wave gave way

to the increase of tourists to South Korea. It is fascinating how this small country has transformed itself in

a span of few years from a nation known only for its presence in the World War II, with no cultural

significance, to “a new center of cultural production in Asia” (Joo 490). At present, the popularity of

South Korea is unquestionable. Korean culture has truly become a global phenomenon- with their idol

groups performing on different continents, their shows playing on international channels and their culture

booming on the market. To be able to recognize the reasons behind the spread of Korean wave, it is

important to track the beginning of its roots and how its entertainment industry – music, television, and

movies - has developed through the years.

The Hallyu phenomenon is existing and flourishing not only in the Philippines, but also

everywhere in Asia, North and Latin America, and even in some parts of Europe. This wave caught the

interest of several media and culture researchers around the globe (Pacis 13). In line with this, a number

of scholars of popular culture and mass media have investigated K-culture’s sudden and global popularity

using various perspectives from cultural studies, mass media theories, and other social science disciplines.

The dominant explanation of the global K-phenomenon is the ―hybridity of the culture (D. Shim 25-44),

tremendous support from the Korean government (M. Kim 163-182) and the aid of social networking

sites (Jin 111-130).

To be able to understand the hybridity of the South Korean culture, let us first look into the

context of K-pop. This genre of music is not Japanese or Chinese, even though it is Asian. Rather, K-pop

is globally hybridized with the culture of the West and the East (Norimitsu). Dooboo Shim, assistant

professor in the Communications and New Media Program at the National University of Singapore,

initially presented the concept of ‘hybrid culture’, in terms of the Korean wave and how South Korean

popular culture can be considered as a hybrid of the oriental and occidental world in the concept of K-

pop. In his research, he pinpointed that the South Korean music industry is adjusting the beats of K-pop to

make it more pleasing to foreign listeners. Certain idol groups like Wonder Girls and JYJ made English

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records to increase their popularity. This proves that K-pop has been evolving as years go by to adapt to

the demands of the world. He also presented the observations of a culture researcher that compared the

Korean and American versions of the single “Eat you up” by BoA, a female solo K-pop idol. In the music

video intended for the South Korean market, BoA wears casual clothes and interact with dancers on the

streets enthusiastically. However, in the American version of the video her clothes changed into a tight-

fitting leather dress, red lipstick and high-heels. She also portrays a flirtatious woman seducing an

American man. Apparently, to make her music more competitive for the western market, her style

drastically changed even if it did not suit her original image (25-44). This is an example of how K-pop

tries to cover its original backgrounds to be able to adapt to the needs of the situation (Jung 69-80).

The major entertainment industries in South Korea have unique ideas on what the Korean and

foreign public likes. One of these is SM Entertainment that has become successful by putting more

emphasis on the looks and performance rather than the idol’s singing skill. They do not produce 100%

Korean music, for their songs they use producers and choreographers from all around the world and many

of their composers and songwriters are Swedish. Also, SM Entertainment is known for buying the rights

of American pop songs that were used by American pop singers (Ho). Another is YG Entertainment that

integrates hip hop and electronic music in their artist’s style to make their music more suitable to Western

audiences. They are using American pop songs for the performance of their artists and English words are

also integrated into the Korean lyrics of their artists songs to make K-pop more familiar to foreigners.

This is a brilliant way to connect with their international fans. The Korean community has no problem

with this because English is often included in their daily lives, so there is no feeling of unfamiliarity for

them (Belinky). Entertainment companies also recruit non-Koreans in their groups to make the boy bands

and girl bands more appealing outside of South Korea. An example is the debut of idol group EXO. This

boy group has 12 members but has been divided into 2 subgroups with 6 members each, EXO-K and

EXO-M. EXO-K is marketed for Korean audiences while EXO-M is promoted to Chinese audiences

(Rumah). This is an advantageous tactic as EXO will be able to build a strong fanbase of Korean and

Chinese origins. Another is the new K-pop group, Z-star, divided into two subunits which is, Z-girls and

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Z-boys, that are made up of aspiring idols from seven different countries (AllKpop). This group is the

most diverse in terms of nationality in the history of K-pop. It is expected that the group will easily have a

fanbase in each country of the members’ origin because of this diversity.

On the other hand, ‘hybridity’ can also be observed in the influence of Hollywood to Korean

movies and dramas. According to Tuk, after the term of Former Korean President Chun, he handed over

his party leadership to his friend Roh Tae-woo, in this age, numerous protests were raised in Korea

demanding more democracy. Fearing of being contested of his position, Roh opened the Korean market to

American popular culture to gain the favor of his citizens. Hollywood movies were directly imported into

their country. However, the sudden rise of western movies threatened the movie industry in South Korea.

If they will not improve their films’ quality equal to that of the Americans, they will face extinction. This

gave way to innovations within the entertainment industry and filmmakers started to use the standards of

Hollywood in making their movies (23-48).

The remaining reason for the successful exportation of Korean dramas to other countries is its

apolitical nature and the representation of moral values held by other nations’ cultures, thus enabling

people of different nationalities to connect and relate to the shows. It is found out in the study of

Mohamed Elaskary that countries in the Middle East came to like Korean dramas because it depicts the

importance of the respect of people for authority, an important trait for them. On the other hand, in Latin

America, people are attracted to the passionate love stories of these dramas that do not portray affection in

the form of sexual pleasures only but through the use of genuine scenarios that shows the wonders of

falling in love (Dettlef). As a matter of fact, in the study of Miyose, he emphasized that Korean dramas

has a strong foundation in plots that rely on love stories, thus making it appropriate for other cultures to

consume as it is not a scandalous topic that may cause issues in different cultures (21). Of all types of

Korean popular culture, K-dramas mainly represent South Korea the most as it depicts more the life in

South Korea. This makes Korean dramas a fruit of a hybrid culture. It has a South Korean identity to it

but has an affinity with the values held by other countries and acts as a bridge that links Korea to other

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parts of the world. It is apparent that Hallyu was able to compete with other Eastern and Western cultures

because of its hybridity.

Another factor in the development of the K-culture is the strong support of the South Korean

government. According to M. Kim, the Asian financial crisis of the 20th century had a crucial role in the

changes in the policies of the South Korean government. Due to this, their government became a key

player in shaping the movie and broadcasting industries. Going back to the history of Korea during the

late 1990’s, former President Kim Dae Jung’s administration made the cultural sector as one of their

major targets for growth in order to resuscitate their country’s dying economy (163-179). They saw the

potential of Korean dramas, movies, and music as a source of income for their country. In the timeline

made by Danbyeol Shim of the government’s intervention to the promotion of the Korean wave, it is

stated that in 1998, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism came with a 5-year plan called the “Broadcast

Video Promotion Plan”. This move marketed their culture to neighboring and western countries and

helped their entertainment industry became known in other parts of the world. The South

Korean Ministry of Culture also requested an extensive budget increase, which gave way to the

construction of over 300 cultural departments in colleges and universities nationwide that facilitated the

improvement and innovation of their culture. Colleges were funded for programs that aimed to educate

talents of the new entertainment. The Korean Film Council was also strengthened by the government as

this organization aims to fund Korean movies and promote the exports of it. The Korean Culture and

Content Agency for funding new talent was also started by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Through

their brilliant initiatives, classic and popular movie sets are used as touristic destinations. Tourists can

find the filming locations of Korean dramas on Korean government websites to have them feel the

atmosphere of being in the set of a K-drama (25-44). Another government institution, the Korean

Broadcasting Commission, even traveled to countries such as India, Thailand and Indonesia to promote

Hallyu and ask major broadcasting companies to air their popular dramas and movies. These trips had a

major effect on the increase of exports of Korean dramas (M. Kim 182). The Korean government takes

the promotion of their culture seriously, they have the guts to fund institutions that will go to other

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countries’ entertainment industry to promote their products. Like in supermarkets, what the Korean

government did was they technically gave a free taste of their product and have the consumers realize that

their product is worth buying and have them ask for more. Their efforts did not go to waste as their films,

dramas and music became famous and appreciated in these parts of Asia.

Sustaining Hallyu has also become a primary concern of the South Korean government’s cultural

sectors. According to Cho, in the early months of 2012, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports

created a committee tasked with the promotion of traditional Korean culture and its sustainability. In the

same year, the K- 25 culture Promotion Taskforce was initiated with the same goal. The government has

made a budget of 230 million dollars available for these plans for 2014 and 2015. The Ministry of Foreign

Affairs and Trade were also able to promote Hallyu effectively together with the Korean Broadcasting

Commission in the western parts of the globe. Like their strategy with the Asian countries, they visited

South American, Middle East and African countries to promote their culture. As a result, Paraguay, Peru,

Iran and Swaziland started broadcasting Korean dramas in their T.V. stations. Furthermore, the

government sector is also active in the promotion of Korean movies in international film festivals (240-

254). Former United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon has said that Hallyu has brought respect to

Korea, during his time as minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Korea. Hallyu generated a positive

image of South Korea in the world. The world’s acceptance has been something that was lacking since

Korea reached its status as the eleventh biggest economy in the world (Joo 489-504). The government

sees the Korean wave, the same as how Middle East countries see their oil mining industry. They

promoted their country, South Korea as a brand and utilized the Korean popular culture to change

people’s opinions about Korea. Watching K-dramas made people have a perception of South Korea as a

technologically advanced and affluent nation (Hanaki et. al,). For the government, Hallyu is a tool to

generate more money that can be utilized to continuously improve the Korean economy. Their point of

view is very similar to that of commercial businessmen.

Last but not the least, Dal Yong Jin, in his book, explained how the triumph of the Korean Wave

owes a great deal to the development of social networking services like Facebook, Twitter,

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Weibo especially online video sharing platforms like YouTube. He stated that these social media sites

paved the way for the Korean entertainment industry to reach billions of overseas audiences. He stressed

that social media has a big role in enabling the market promotion, spreading, distribution and

consumption of Korean dramas, films, music and culture. This kind of technological advancements

significantly contributed to the growth and popularity of Korean culture since the mid-2000s (111-130).

In an article, Sun Lee, the head of music partnerships for Korea at YouTube said that it might

have been impossible for K-pop to have worldwide popularity without YouTube's global platform. He

elucidated that starting from 2012, the views of the top 200 K-pop artists on YouTube increased to 300%

proving that more and more individuals are being interested in the Korean culture. YouTube is an

essential contributor to the growth of Hallyu, as it allows entertainment industries to deliver music videos

and other K-pop related content to audiences abroad without going through television or other traditional

media outlets (Ahn). Tracing the beginning of the mutualism between these two parties, K-pop's

relationship with YouTube mainly flourished in 2009. It is the year when the "big three" record labels

(SM, YG, and JYP Entertainment) sealed a partnership with the user-generated content site, after failing

several times to break-in into the American market in the period between 2006 and 2008. These stated

partnerships became effective in 2011. It is even calculated by the YouTube metrics that the internet’s

users from the United States have the heaviest concentration of streaming of K-pop views outside of Asia

(W. Kim et al. 163-183). With the assistance of YouTube, fans were able to connect with K-pop through

their own content. They subscribe to channels involves K-pop such as dance covers, idol make-up

tutorial, idol vlogs and reaction videos (Oh). Examples of these channels include JREKML, a YouTube

account that has reached over 1 million subscribers which primarily focuses on K-pop reactions, skits,

and vlogs. Moreover, it is also the creation of remakes and parodies that helped "Gangnam Style" by Psy

rise to world popularity. It set the record as the first Korean music video to reach 100 million views and

the first music video to reach an astounding number of views that reached 2 billion. As a K-pop fanatic, I

proudly say that I am one of those that clicked the reply button multiple times to help Psy reach that

milestone. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms were instrumental as it allowed

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remakes and parodies of the music video to be created that adapt to a more local context. I remember

watching these parodies of Latino young men and zombies dancing to Gangnam Style and even

Computer-Generated Images (CGI) of babies skating and dancing to the song and a lot more. This worked

effectively because it allowed the consumer, which is the audience, from different parts of the world to

also be the producer by creating their own versions of the song, unlike before where adaptations to the

local or regional culture would cost the original producer money and formal gatherings (Lee and

Kuwahara 101-116). The Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) calls K-pop the music of

fusion. To listen to K-Pop is to know the song, the dance and the members of the groups (47). A lot of

fans cover dances from K-pop artists, make reaction videos about the music videos, copy the trendy look

of the idols and then upload them on these kinds of social media sites which makes Korean music more

popular. Social media, without a doubt, has given an important contribution in the proliferation of Korean

cultural contents. With the help of YouTube, the way people experience K-music has changed.

South Korea is setting a new milestone in the history of popular culture with the attention that

their music, dramas, movies and culture are getting from different parts of the world. There are a number

of K-pop fans on different continents and Korean movies and shows on channels of televisions. The

creation of the hybrid of cultures from the East and the West is what makes Korean culture more popular

and accessible for other nation that are culturally distant to Korea. K-dramas can be successfully exported

to other countries, because it is apolitical and shows relatable moral values. Their government is also one

of the main proponents behind the success of the Korean wave. For them Hallyu is a way to generate

more wealth and create a strong positive image for South Korea. The advancement of technology also

contributed to the promotion of the Korean wave. Social media sites greatly sped up the proliferation of

the Korean culture in various countries. It is no wonder that the Korean wave has swept the hearts of

millions of people and caught the attention of the world. Now, the question is how will they be able to

maintain their position and popularity?

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“I value intellectual integrity and the highest standards of academic conduct. I am committed to an ethical learning environment that promotes
a high standard of honor in scholastic work. Academic dishonesty undermines institutional integrity and threatens the academic fabric of the
University of the Philippines. And because I believe that dishonesty is not an acceptable avenue to success, I affix my signature to this work
to affirm that it is original and free of cheating and plagiarism, and does not knowingly furnish false information.”

______________________________________________
VANESSA JOYCE V. GONZAGA

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