The Korean Wave or Hallyu is a phenomenon whose influence has steadily become more and more apparent across the globe. Korean culture is slowly becoming ubiquitous around the world, from food to fashion to music. I recently attended a talk on this topic, which in itself is a small measure of the success of Korean culture’s spread into my own country. ‘The Korean Wave’ was part of a series of talks centered around the development of Filipino culture, and focused on the growing influence of Korean media in the Philippines. 

The talk centered around the slow and steady insertion of various aspects of Korean culture into the daily life of someone living in the Philippines. Step-by-step, we have all been introduced to different elements of the modern Korean lifestyle, until things such as K-dramas, Korean Barbeque, and even Korean skincare no longer felt foreign but became common occurrences in cities around the world.

It was incredibly interesting to hear what the speaker had to say about K-Pop in particular.  More specifically, I was interested in the commodification of Korean Entertainment.  The business aspect of K-Pop and even K-dramas is something so well thought out it’s no wonder that Korean Entertainment has become so widespread across the rest of the world. 

While the commodification and commercialisation of the arts in the Korean Entertainment industry is something that I know sparks a lot of debates with regard to the constriction or perversion of artistic freedom by influencing it largely by capitalism and consumer demand, it was enlightening to hear about the thought process and rationale behind the decisions that have made the Hallyu Wave a recipe for success. The goal of having culture and performance as an export priority was almost entirely restricted to Hollywood before South Korea’s rapid rise to prominence. It was not a decision made overnight though--the Hallyu wave was sought to increase the country's "soft power" or power through their image.

Another positive note made was that across the globe, different societies don’t mindlessly consume these aspects of Korean culture, but rather engage with the culture and the country more broadly. The increasing interest in Korean studies has led to greater respect for, and interest in, the country itself. The global phenomenon of Hallyu has led to an increase in academics choosing to focus on this discipline, and learn more about this fascinating nation.

All in all, the Korean Wave is an interesting topic to me because it is unique in the sense that it is a cultural influence that I have only recently begun seeing being talked about in an academic setting.  It is extremely common to hear about Spanish, American, or to an extent, Japanese influence on my country’s society because of their historic colonial influence on us.  However, globalization has exposed our society to a number of different cultures from many other countries around the world. Korean culture is a notable one among them.