K-Pop Craze Makes Its Way to Latin America and Africa!
The K-Pop craze has increased its scope to include Central and South America (CaSA), as well as Africa. On June 11th, a representative of CaSA Korean Cultural Center stated, “We are planning on holding the “2nd KPOP Latin America Competition 2011” in Argentina.” She added, “As of June 10th, we have 171 teams participating from 14 Central and South American countries. The number of participants has doubled since the first competition. The Hallyu Wave has already gained recognition and prominence in Latin American countries like Mexico, Chile, and Peru. On the other hand, it has not spread as fast in Argentina; and we hope this competition will increase the Argentinians’ interests in Korean culture.” Fans from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, and other Latin American countries have already submitted their applications.
Social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube helped surge the popularity of Korean entertainment abroad and beyond Asia. According to YouTube, Girls’ Generation’s “Genie” was viewed all over the world including the Middle East and Africa in countries like Saudi Arabia and Algeria respectively.
