Hallyu has exploded in the late 20th century with today’s Internet-driven society.
Hallyu, better-known as the Korean Wave, is the term referencing the movement of Korean culture to other parts of Asia and more recently Western cultures.
East Asian Languages and Cultures Department Professor Michael Robinson presented the history and causation of Hallyu in modern culture over a webinar called “Pop Culture, Song, Cinema, and the Korean Wave” on Tuesday.
Robinson began the lecture by saying the Korean Wave’s beginnings are found as early as the 1950s.
During this time, Korean bands would play cover versions of western pop songs at clubs surrounding U.S. military bases, which created the generation of bands and singers in modern music.
He said the censorship that once ruled colonial-period Korea was virtually nonexistent by the late 1980s.
As the country’s economy grew more stable and further out of Japanese control, Korea was able to produce its own media.
Robinson said the productions in cinema and TV drama are what really brought attention to Korea as its own nation after previously being under Japanese control.
He said in the colonial period of Korea, more than 100 films were created, which is to say Korean culture is not a new idea.
The digital movement in recent years is what really brought Korean culture to the surface around the world.
Pop culture sensations like Psi’s “Gangnam Style” from South Korea have gone viral in countries all over the world with the sharing abilities of YouTube.
Robinson said the Internet has created a wave of Korean culture that is no longer about Korean culture itself, but the idea that Korea is using Hallyu to create its “national brand.”
Anthony Ross, M.A. student of the East Asian Languages and Cultures Department, said often times the colonial period of Korea is viewed as a dark and eventless time.
“It’s surprising to hear that there were so many films produced during this time that are just now being recognized,” Ross said.
With the highest attendance of 24 students in the nationwide webinar series, associate director of the East Asian Studies Center Hye-Seung Kang said she is very happy and thankful for promotion of Korean culture that is accomplished through the webinar series.
The EASC will host its next lecture “Suffering Sobriety: Alcoholism and Masculinity in Japan” with assistant professor at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Paul Christianson at noon Friday Feb. 13 in Ballantine Hall, Room 004.
