A Brief History of the Korean Wave
By Son Hyun-jee, Tribune Reporter
Hallyu, also known as the Korean wave has spread like a fever across the world beyond Asian countries. Though the word, ‘Hallyu’ was originally used to refer to the popularity of Korean TV dramas and pop music in the mid 90’s in Taiwan and China, now for the first time many people all around the world can enjoy Korean popular culture such as TV dramas, movies and pop music. Let’s look at the brief history of Hallyu focusing on several major works.
1. Sarangi Mwogillae (What Is Love, 1997)
This is a weekend hit soap opera from MBC that has recorded a 64.9 percent viewing rate which was last recorded on May 24th, 1992 at its’ peak. At the time when it aired on CCTV China in 1997, there were 150 million people watching this program.
2. Gyeoul Yeonga (Winter Sonata, 2003) and Actor Bae Yong-joon
This drama was well known for triggering Hallyu in Japan starting in 2004. Actor Bae Yong-joon gained the nickname, ‘Yonsama’ from Japanese fans and achieved immense popularity.
3. Dong Bang Shin Ki (TVXQ, 2008)
This group was the first foreign group to have eleven Oricon Chart toppers in Oricon History. They also earned a Guinness World Record in 2008 for the size of its fan club, boasting 1.5 million fans in Asia and 5.5 million worldwide.
4. Jang Geun-suk (2010)
Jang Geun-suk also named ‘Geunjjang’ in Japan, is an actor who became a Hallyu star after the soap opera, titled ‘You are a Handsome Man.’ His first single album ‘Let Me Cry’ debuted at number 1 on Japan’s Oricon single charts and it made him the Best New Artist in the 26th Japan Gold Disc Awards held last January.
5. Omma ruel Putakhe (Please Look After Mom, 2011)
This novel by Shin Kyung-sook sold a million copies within 10 months of its release in 2009 and was critically acclaimed internationally. It won the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize and it was the first time that a woman has received this award. Moreover, following its release in the United States, the English version ranked 21th in the best selling list compiled by the New York Times on April 17th after selling for just five days.
6. Gangnam Stlye (2012)
Psy’s music video, Gangnam Style has been viewed over 280 million times as of September 25th, 2012, making it YouTube’s most watched K-pop video in history. On August 21st, 2012, Gangnam Style officially charted number 1 on the iTunes Music Video charts, which is a first for any Korean artist.
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