Hallyu wave

5 years ago, music in South Korea was very much contained within the borders of its country. However, thanks to the Internet and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the music of South Korea has very much extended to various continents. This spread of Korean music has allowed many people all over the world to be exposed not only to Korean music, but also Korean culture.

Although the Hallyu wave is often generally referred to as the spread of Korean culture to other countries, it has recently been defined by the explosion in popularity of Korean music. In the fall, the popular Korean girl group, Girls' Generation, came to France and performed for a packed out audience. They expressed how they were so impressed by the American audience who knew all the lyrics to their songs in the original Korean. One of the members, Sooyoung, especially expressed how proud she was because she felt like she was representing her own country. Therefore, through the Hallyu wave, other countries are not only exposed to Korean music, they are also introduced to Korean culture.

French fans wait patiently in Paris, France for a Girls' Generation concert.

A sign for the popular girl group in Korean writing can be seen on the right hand side.

From personal experience, I do find that the Internet has increased my exposure to Korean culture. Even 5 years ago, before the Internet became even more increasingly pervasive in every day life, if I wanted to find new Korean music, I could not due to limited resources. However, today, I can just go on the Internet and instantly find new Korean music. For this reason, the Hallyu wave has had an even greater global impact.

The attached clip shows a member of Girls' Generation, Tiffany, commenting on the Internet's impact on the Hallyu wave.