Why Sociologists Should Care about Hallyu (the Korean Wave)

This essay provides an overview of the origins of Hallyu, or the Korean Wave as Korean cultural products spread worldwide, thus elevating the status of South Korea as a whole. We explore the origins of the term and the growth in popularity of the primary components of the Korean Wave: K-pop with groups such as BTS and BLACKPINK, K-dramas such as Squid Games and Crash Landing on You, K-movies such as Parasite and KPop Demon Hunters, and K-beauty products, and how Hallyu has evolved from Hallyu 1.0, or locally-produced in Korea to Hallyu 3.0, or products produced outside of Korea for localized markets. The visibility of these cultural products outside of Korea has far surpassed the success of any other Asian and arguably any country outside of the US. We argue for its importance not only for South Korea’s soft power but also for increasing the visibility of Asians along with the East Asian diaspora. Hence, sociologists ought to incorporate the implications of these changes in their studies of Korea and the East Asian diaspora.