ABSTRACT
Cross-cultural appeal of the Korean culture The Korean Wave, or a growing popularity of South Korean entertainment contents in Asia and the rest of the world, has been a cultural phenomenon during the last two decades. Beginning in 1997, the first sign of the Wave began with exports of a few Korean television dramas, including What Is Love All About, to China. As soon as China’s state broadcaster CCTV aired the Korean drama series it became an instant hit across the country. In 2003 and 2004, Japan’s national broadcaster NHK aired a Korean TV drama miniseries called Winter Sonata, which became a cultural phenomenon thanks to its soaring popularity among Japanese female viewers. Another Korean drama series, Jewel in the Palace, was immensely popular in China and Taiwan, and the drama was later exported to more than 90 countries. Korean dramas’ popularity gradually reached other countries in the region, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The airing of Korean TV dramas soon triggered a widespread interest among foreign viewers not only in the TV dramas themselves but also in Korean culture, food, fashion and consumer goods (Russell 2012).
