ABSTRACT
The popularity of Hallyu (South Korean popular culture) in Japan sets us three puzzles. First, does it really mean that Japanese women in their 40s and over have overcome cultural and ethnic animosity towards South Koreans as a result of the mass consumption of Hallyu, including TV dramas, films, music, food, video games and animation? Second, if it does, does the Hallyu boom represent a rupture in post-war East Asian cultural history which will unite Japan, Korea and the greater China culturally (i.e. one universal East Asian popular culture)? Finally, why is the Hallyu boom occurring in the post-Cold War and post-industrial era? What is special about South Korea and its popular culture in the twenty-first century? These questions directly tackle the applicability of Victor Cha's model (and its revised version) discussed in detail by Professor Söderberg in the introductory chapter of this book.
