CNN Writes About the Ongoing "Korean Wave"

Super Junior has been covered in CNN again!  The news network wrote a story about hallyu, or the “Korean Wave”, and how it has taken over other Asian countries.  Where does Super Junior fit in?  Apparently the boys were scheduled to perform at the Shanghai World Expo last spring, and the stampede of fans who lined up for the free tickets — 10,000 people, mostly women — resulted in a scene that not even the police could control.

The article discusses the reasons for the popularity of Korean entertainment.  One manager at KBS thinks that other Asian audiences can relate to Korean dramas more than Western shows because Asian audiences have a more common background and culture that makes certain themes more identifiable.  Others pointed to Korea’s willingness, early on, to allow their products to be marketed abroad in order to promote their reputation worldwide.

Also discussed is the acute fandom many Asians display.  One Thai professor said that many of his students learned to speak Korean after watching Korean dramas, and that there are cosmetics shops which promise to make women look more Korean.  However, an obsession with Korea strikes many as unpatriotic, so one Chinese woman admitted that she has to hide her infatuation with all things Korean. 

We think there’s a lot of good stuff to be found in Korean entertainment, and we promote/live a lifestyle of healthy obsession!  Whether you like dramas or music or celebrities a lot or a little, there’s a way for some of it to touch your lives in some way.

Read the whole article here.

Source: CNN.com