An Aggressive Wave

Korean music stars (K-pop idols) are reaching out to audiences or consumers through their works on every possible platform. These platforms range from the purely cultural to the political. They are seen and heard on social media everywhere, and even the United Nations is not left behind. Recently, South Korea (hereafter referred to as Korea), has been in the global spotlight due to a few major events. For example, Korean author Han Kang giving her Nobel acceptance speech while Korea's streets overflowed with people marching against the president and demanding his impeachment. K-pop artists are not distant from the political picture. The popular band BTS turned down the invitation for the president's inaugural performance. On the other hand, Girls' Generation (SNSD) performed the song Into the New World on the occasion of the president's impeachment by the National Assembly. Ironically, one group turned down the performance to avoid getting politicised while the other proactively performed for a political cause.

- Rahul Robinson

POPULAR Korean music stars (K-pop idols) are reaching out to audiences or consumers through their works on every possible platform. These platforms range from the purely cultural to the political. They are seen and heard on social media everywhere, and even the United Nations is not left behind. Recently, South Korea (hereafter referred to as Korea), has been in the global spotlight due to a few major events. For example, Korean author Han Kang giving her Nobel acceptance speech while Korea's streets overflowed with people marching against the president and demanding his impeachment. K-pop artists are not distant from the political picture. The popular band BTS turned down the invitation for the president's inaugural performance. On the other hand, Girls' Generation (SNSD) performed the song Into the New World on the occasion of the president's impeachment by the National Assembly. Ironically, one group turned down the performance to avoid getting politicised while the other proactively performed for a political cause.

Korean soaps and K-dramas feature in the day-to-day conversations of the youth around the globe. With the advent of the twenty-first century, the last decade in particular, the influence and impressions of Korean culture are the talk of the town. So, how can it be perceived in the context of India? To develop a holistic understanding about it, there are a few facts that we need to grasp first. One, it is necessary to look beyond a few individual experiences and delve into the structural understanding of a phenomenon. Two, K-pop and K-drama could be the representative elements of Korean culture (K-culture), but these do not define the whole of K-culture. It also consists of Korean food, Korean clothing, Korean handicrafts, Korean movies, Korean pottery, Korean painting, Korean literature, etc. Three, fame and familiarity with K-culture, especially in India, are just in an introductory stage.