It’s very likely that you’ve never heard or seen the word “Hallyu” before, but it’s even more likely that you’ve encountered what it is one way or another in your daily life. So what exactly is Hallyu and what does it mean?
To put it simply, Hallyu is a word used to describe the growing global popularity of South Korean culture since the mid to late 1990s. The common usage of the term itself is attributed to Chinese media when Korean television dramas first became popular on Chinese television. The word Hallyu literally translates to “Korean Wave” which perfectly describes how South Korean culture has taken the globe by storm in recent decades.
So why am I writing about this Korean Wave, you ask? Because it’s been a huge part of my life that I felt was lacking growing up. I’m a second generation Asian-American and being partially Korean, I have felt disconnected from my culture for a lot of my life. The rate at which Hallyu has been washing over the world, and North America specifically, within the last 10 years has helped me connect with a part of my heritage that I was never able to truly immerse myself in. Imagine growing up and not seeing people that look like you in the media or being made fun of for eating “foreign foods” that look and smell weird to the other kids. Because of Hallyu, South Korean culture, part of my culture, is being brought into the spotlight. Our music is gaining popularity, our foods are becoming staples in homes across the United States, our films are infiltrating the mainstream market, and our people are being represented in American media far more than we’ve ever been before.
The coverage of Hallyu in media brings me joy. The United States of America is a melting pot of races, cultures and traditions. To see my own culture being represented so prominently and in a positively trending light has helped me connect with a part of my heritage that I had always felt forcefully disconnected from. The media’s coverage of South Korean culture, whether it be news outlets like The New York Times reporting on Korean film directors and their success in the US, or websites like Reddit where the smaller communities focused on South Korean culture (like popular music in Korea, Korean food and language) within are gaining hundreds, if not thousands of subscribers, is exciting to see! Of course with all good comes bad though. I see a lot of negativity regarding Hallyu on Twitter, where discourse commonly happens between people who are fans of the South Korean culture trends. Despite the bad, I still think along the lines on the saying “all PR is good PR” when it comes to the Korean Wave. Getting coverage on media of all kinds exposes more people daily to the cultural trends and further integrates a culture I once felt was lost to myself, into something that I can share with so many people now.
