#Hallyu How did South Korea become the new center of global Pop Culture?
From the stars of the BTS group in the front rows of the Parisian fashion show to the fan photo taken last week by President Emmanuel Macron in front of the K-Pop girl-band Blackpink: South Korean culture has become the new reference.
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And suddenly it’s a challenge for luxury houses, like Dior, Valentino, and Louis Vuitton for example, who are fighting to have an image contract with one of the 7 members of BTS. This group of all records, which drives people into a trance like in the days of the Beatles, released the best-selling album in the world in 2020, and showed unparalleled viral power. On Instagram, Twitter or TikTok, the smallest content related to BTS breaks the Internet in less than two.
When Dior announced the arrival of singer Jimin as brand ambassador, the post generated 3.5 million likes. To get an idea, it is 3 million more than the Dior suit for PSG with Kylian Mbappé at the head of the gondola
with 500,000 likes.
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South Korea stands out as a world leader in terms of Pop Culture, and not just in K Pop groups. The most popular Palme d’or in the world since “Pulp Fiction” is “Parasite” by Bong Joon-ho and the series “Squid Game” on Netflix has 1.65 billion viewing hours, ahead of “Stranger Things” and ” Wednesday” by Tim Burton. This breaking wave has the name “Hallyu”. Term adopted by the Chinese press in the late 1990s.
25 years later, no, we’re not stopping measuring its exponential power. These last 5 years
South Korea’s cultural exports have doubled again. But above all, we begin to examine the phenomenon more closely.
And what is it for?
It is already in the policy of South Korea, which has bet on this “soft power”, this cultural diplomacy to support its international economic influence. The Seoul Olympics in 1988 marked the kick-off, and the global success of Psy’s “Gangnam Style” in 2012 was the beginning of a universally recognized power.
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And if the phenomenon is close to the Japanese cultural surge – which begins at the end of the 19th century with the famous wave of Okusaï to the success of manga today –
He gradually conquered an audience that mostly came from Japanese culture. Seduced by productions that were able to anticipate their new habits and expectations.
For K-Pop, it’s groups that bet earlier on collective and rotating leadership than highlighting individual icons. But also the direct relationship with fans in the era of digital culture. For “K Dramas” these are fictions that put social issues at the heart of the plot.
Music, films, photography, sculpture, graphics, the impact on the fashion and beauty industry, all the effects of South Korea’s brilliant culture are also on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London until June. It’s here
first major European exhibition dedicated to “Hallyu”the new global culture.
