Why Hallyu is so popular in other countries

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 Korea is currently at its peak as a cultural powerhouse. Now, it’s time for Korea to be globalized more to form a better perception and solidify our position. As long as Hallyu remains the same, the growth potential will be limitless.

Due to the popularity of K-POP Demon Hunters, Hallyu has become verified that it’s the most influential content in the world right now. Hallyu is the global popularity of South Korean culture. People are singing along to the songs in the animation, creating new or unique goods on their own referenced by it, and even cosplaying the characters from the anime. Hallyu is a hot potato to foreigners especially. But, why is Hallyu so popular compared to other countries’ cultures?

(Is Hallyu really sweeping the world?, Yoo, 2023)

 

 There are several fields where Hallyu is expanding its influence. First, we start with music. K-POP has been covering the world recently, mostly thanks to popular groups like BTS and Blackpink. There are some features that K-POP groups have, such as having unique concepts and trying to have a lot of people working on a single music to make the quality better, but the most important factor I think is they have are the lyrics in their songs. We usually call them ’fan songs’, the music which are dedicated to the fans. Those songs mostly have heart-warming lyrics with calm melodies, which may have served as a mechanism to appease the fans. For example, a lot of US parents said that they like BTS and let their children listen to their songs because of the beautiful lyrics in their songs.

 

 The second reason is food. The popular Korean foods that most foreigners will know are kimchi, kimbap, bibimbap, japchae, etc. These foods are known to be good for your health. Kimchi is a fermented food which is effective in boosting immunity and preventing cancer. Kimbap, bibimbap, and japchae not only have carbohydrates, but also a lot of vegetables and wild greens included. People who tend to eat them can consume a variety of nutrients evenly. But Korean foods are not just healthy, they are known for good taste too. With the popularity of K-POP Demon Hunters’, foods such as kimbap are becoming the leader of the trends.

 

 The last field I’ll introduce is drama and movies. K-dramas have been popular since the end of 1990s. The 1990s was the time when the word ’Hallyu’was created. K-dramas used to be popular mostly in Asian countries, but now that dramas and movies like ’Parasite’, ’Goblin’, and ’Squid Game’, are available on Netflix, people all over the world are enjoying K-contents. One of the positive functions of this phenomenon is that non-Korean people are learning about Korean history, culture, and language. Even though they don’t know about Korean’s history and about the dynasties, foreigners are learning about those concepts to deeply understand historical dramas and movies.

 

By Staff Reporter Kim Soohyeon (2-3)