The Korean Wave (Hallyu) Refers To The Global Popularity Of South Korea’s Cultural: Marketing Strategy Report, TCD, Ireland

The Korean Wave (Hallyu) refers to the global popularity of South Korea’s cultural economy exporting pop culture, entertainment, music, TV dramas, and movies.

Hallyu is a Chinese term which, when translated, literally means “Korean Wave”. It is a collective term used to refer to the phenomenal growth of Korean culture and popular culture encompassing everything from music, movies, drama to online games and Korean cuisine just to name a few. During former President Barack Obama’s state visit to Korea in March 2012, he made reference to the Korean Wave, which was made the country’s top priority by the government.

South Korea is one of the only countries in the world, if not the only one, that has a dedicated goal to become the world’s leading exporter of popular culture. It is a way for Korea to develop its “soft power”. Soft power is a popular term coined in 1990 by Harvard political scientist Joseph Nye. It refers to the intangible power a country wields through its image, rather than through hard force. Hard force refers to military power or economic power. An example of soft power in play is how the US enticed the world to buy its Levi’s jeans, Apple iPhones, Marlboro cigarettes, Coca-Cola soft drinks, and Hollywood movies, by leveraging on a desirable image. A unique image of cool.

Hallyu first spread to China and Japan, later to Southeast Asia and several countries worldwide where it continues to have a strong impact. In 2000, a 50-year ban on the exchange of popular culture between Korea and Japan was partly lifted, which improved the surge of Korean popular culture among the Japanese.  South Korea’s broadcast authorities have been sending delegates to promote their TV programs and cultural content in several countries.

Hallyu has been a blessing for Korea, its businesses, culture, and country image. Since early 1999, Hallyu has become one of the biggest cultural phenomena across Asia. The Hallyu effect has been tremendous, contributing to 0.2% of Korea’s GDP in 2004, amounting to approximately USD 1.87 billion. More recently in 2019, Hallyu had an estimated USD 12.3 billion boosts on the Korean economy.

Over the last two decades, South Korea has become very rich and very futuristic. In 1965, Korea’s GDP per capita was less than that of Ghana. Today, South Korea is the world’s 12th largest economy.

Origins of Hallyu

The popular media in the region has attributed the origins of Hallyu to a couple of movies and TV dramas that were released in 1999. “Swirl”, an inspiring movie about the North Korea/South Korea espionage released in 1999, gave Hallyu the public face as it became hugely successful across South East Asian countries. It was followed by a drama called “Autumn in my heart” in 2000 that sustained the excitement created by Swirl. These were followed by “My Sassy Girl” in 2001 and “Winter Sonata” in 2004. All of these became very popular not only in Korea but also in Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, and Vietnam. The success of these entertainment products created a tremendous buzz about the exploding popularity of Korean culture. Regional media sources were quick enough to pick up the cues and collectively announce the birth of Hallyu.

Although this was the public face of Hallyu, the actual origins go back further in time. Five main factors contributed tremendously to the evolution of the Korean wave:

Lifting the ban on foreign travel for local Koreans: Probably the most important factor which eventually made way for Hallyu, was the Korean Government’s decision in the early 1990s to lift the ban on foreign travel for Koreans. This made way for a number of Koreans to explore the western world, mainly the US and Europe. Many pursued their education in these countries and others started their careers in esteemed companies in Europe and the US before returning to Korea during the late 1990s. These western-educated Koreans brought with them new perspectives of doing business, new subtleties and interpretations to art, cinema, and music, and innovative forms of expression. This gave birth to an immense pool of fresh, young, and highly qualified talent waiting to explore opportunities within Korea.

Restructuring of Korean chaebols: During the same time as the ban was lifted, Asia (and Korea) was going through the severe Asian financial crisis of 1997-98. The Asian financial crisis was a perfect storm of bad debt, panic among lenders, and regional economic challenges. In December 1997, the Korean government took out a loan of USD 97 billion from IMF (International Monetary Fund). They ended up using only USD 19.5 billion, and the loan was paid back in 2001 three years prior to schedule. Korea had been a poor country just a few years prior to the Asian financial crisis, and defeating poverty was something that the country had learned the hard way. Therefore, all measures were used to pay back the loan and get back on track in record time.