The Korean Wave.

Welcome back team.    Welcome to another weekly muse ! I figured that as I had already started up a little section on Korean Pop, I might as well make my weekly muse an introduction, a description, and/or a general overview of what has become a cultural phenomenon generally referred to as " the Korean Wave ". 

For the longest og times now, Western Culture has had a strong fascination in things Asian.    After all, we are forever loving the cute Geisha, the crazy gadgets, and the delightful sushi of Japan; the panda bears, the kung fu, and the lion dance of China; the beaches of Thailand, the " truely Asia " in Malaysia, Indian Curry, the humble nature of the Pinay ad Pinoy in the Phillipines, and of course the lovely Singapore Girl that serves us when we fly aboard Singapore Airlines.  

Now that should almost cover it shouldn't it ? Yeh I think so.    Aaaahhhh the delights of the Orient and its neighbours.....

But hey hang on.    Oh dear.   I think we have forgotten something here, haven't we.     Hang on.   I wonder what it is... Let me see...

Ah yes.. We didnt mention anything about the good things in Korea !!

How could we overlook such a thing ??? Well..... to be perfectly honest with you.....

Quite easily.  

Its actually been only recently that Korean culture has started to gain some exposure in the world.    Reports generally show that it has only really been since the year 2000 that Korean culture has generally started to expose itself to the world.    This exposure has been given the name " The Korean Wave ".

I guess the next question to ask is ... well.... what exactly is the Korean Wave ??  Well, in a nutshell, the Korean Wave, or Korean Fever, refers to the new found interest that the rest of the world is placing on Korean Youth culture, TV, food, popular culture and generally all things Korean.    From humble expansive beginnings in the Asian countries, interest in Korea culture is now also evident in the Middle East, Russia, India, Iran, Turkey, and Israel, and is also spreading as far a field now as North,  Central and South America; the UK, Europe and Australia.  

One of the initial instigators of the rise in popularity of Korean culture was its TV content.   Korean TV shows, for the longest of times, were strongly regulated and censored by the Government, and only those shows that were of good character and good representation of Korean values were presented on TV, hence signalling the birth of the Korean Melodrama, a brand of show that is still very dominant on Korean TV screens today.  

Globalization was able to carry that what is seen on Korean TV to other parts of Asia, therefore increasing the interest in Korean TV culture from it neighbours.    Perhaps the most striking evidence of this came from a TV show named " Winter Sonata ", whose main male character is played by Korean Old Ladies heartthob Bae Yon Joon.   Hehehe I say old ladies heartthrob because, well..... old ladies love him.   Period.    Young women dont like so much.   Double Period.   So there you go.   

Korean TV content is only the start of the ball roll.   Korean Popular Music has already been given much stronger global exposure now, as many Korean acts, once only glued to the Asian pop market, are now starting to expand their horizons, particularly under the guise of making forays into the US Popular Culture Scene.  

Female singer BoA, All girl pop group The Wondergirls, and singer Jeong Ji-Hoon ( commonly known as RAIN ) have been at the forefront of this movement.   

BoA is a young Korean entertainer who has been on the Asian scene now for a long time, and she made her her first official move into the US music industry in October 2008 with the release of her single EAT YOU UP.    The song actually charted at #8 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts, and along with this, was also released online to 31 other countries including the UK, Korea, Japan and countries in Europe in Oceania.

Wondergirls were soon following in BoA's steps, releasing their single " Nobody " onto the American Market, landing a place in the Billboard top 100.    On the back of this, they also got a spot as a support act for the Jonas Brothers on one of their recent US tours. 

Popular music and TV have not been the only mediums by which Koreans have been exposing themselves to the rest of the world.  

Korean sports stars have also made positive impressions globally also.  

Perhaps the 2 most notable of these are Manchester United Soccer Star Park Ji-sung, Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward, a Korean-American, and Kim Yu-Na, who is currently the number one womens figure skater in the world.  

South Korea's exceptional performance in the 2002 Soccer World Cup resulted in a much stronger interest in Korean soccer talent than had ever been seen previous.    Scouts from around the world came over to look at Korean talent, and it was not long after that Park Ji-sung, Lee Yeong-Pyo, Seol ki-yeon and others were on the march abroad.   Park is generally seen as the most successful of the Koreans to go abroad.   

Park started his career abroad with Kyoto Purple Sanga in the Japan League.   His next move, after being seen in the 2002 World Cup, was to follow the then Korean coach Guus Hiddink to PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie.    It was his play in the Dutch League that brought him under the eye of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, and it was in the 2004-2005 English Premier League season that Park made the move to Old Trafford.    Since this time, Park has earned the respect of many judges in the EPL, and has really become a strong staple in the Manchester United Line up. 

Hines Ward has become one of the NFL's most prominent wide receivers.   Born in Seoul, South Korea in 1976, he went on to become the first Korean to ever play in a Superbowl championship team when the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Superbowl back in 2006.    He also went on to win another Superbowl with the Steelers in 2009, and amongst other things, has used his bi-racial background to become a strong advocate for social change by working with other Bi racial Korean and American Kids to cultivate political and social awareness to the various plights that many bi-racial kids do indeed face in life. 

Perhaps the athlete on everyones lips in Korea at the moment is figure skater Kim Yu-Na.   If there is one Korean athlete that presently has the weight of a nation on their shoulders, it is her.    Kim is currently the #1 Womens figure skater in the world and Korea has very high hopes for her to take home the Gold Medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.   On a less pressurable note, Kim Yu-Na has really stamped a very positive mark on Youth Culture in Korea.   She is a leading exponent of Korean Youth Fashion, recreation, and youth culture, and is generally seen as the kind of youth with an image that Korea wished to expose to the world.  

One other Korean sportsman to make it onto the world stage is the Korean K-1 fighter Choi Hong-Man.   He is the lone Korean K-1 fighter and he has done quite well on the world stage.    He is 7 ft 2 in height, and although a little slow on his feet, he is quite powerful.   He has also made his mark in singing ( he likes hip hop ) and can be seen on some quite quirky advertisements on TV.    He is pretty popular yes !!!!!

Korean products have also made favourable inroads on the world markets.   Prominent Korean brands that are leading in the world stage include Samsung, LG, car giants Hyundai and Daewoo, Kumho tires, Hankook tires, Asiana Airlines, Korean Air, Cyworld, Daum, and Naver are continuing to expose Korean prowess to the world.    Hehehe hmmm and I didnt even need to mention Kimchi and Taekwon-do here !!!!!!!!

As you can see team, Korea really does have a lot to show the world.   I know that I really hope that Korea continues to keep working on showing itself to the world, as the world has now woken up to take notice of what Korea truely has to offer.    Korea certainly looks like it wants to keep this avenue very much open, and I am sure the rest of the world would love this also.