"Cool Japan" vs "Hallyu": Japanese media calls attention to Korean wave (Hallyu) in Southeast Asian countries

AKP STAFF

On November 15th, 15 countries have formed the world's largest trading bloc, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The RCEP consists of 10 Southeast Asian countries, as well as South Korea, China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Thus the new trading bloc subsequently heightened the Korean government's anticipation regarding the Korean wave (Hallyu) in these Southeast Asian countries.

Back on November 13th, the Japanese media called attention to the popularity of Korean culture in Southeast Asian countries, especially in Thailand. The most popular theory of how the table has turned, explains the loss of the competitive edge of Japanese media and culture was because they were too narrowly focused on the domestic buyers. Japan still has an enormous influence on the anime and game industry, however, Japan no longer kept its place as the most influential cultural wave.

But I personally refuse to be complacent. The sustainability of Hallyu's popularity can not be foreseen. In fact, when surveyed 4 Southeast Asian countries, 52% of respondents answered they don't expect Hallyu to last longer than 4 years. Korea should keep on developing or auditing the existing policies.

Share this article

misc.

51 24,170 Share 62% Upvoted

BTS Jimin reveals writing the bridge of “Dis-ease” in less than 5 minutes and gets rave reviews and covers as the highlight of the track

Netizens think this idol group has the best dancing skills

taeswife061313,121 pts Saturday, November 21, 2020 6

Saturday, November 21, 2020

Hallyu wave has been such a savior for me personally. I grew up in a really white community, I moved around a lot as a child, but when we finally settled down, I was the only Korean kid in my whole school until my sister and a transfer student went to my school. I grew up culturally Korean, Korean was my first language and my parents used to let me watch kdramas, Korean cartoons, and korean sit coms. I didn't grow up with teletubbies, I grew up with "High Kick" and "Pororo." Naturally kids made fun of me, from the music I liked to the food I ate. Sometimes kids would pull my hair and hide my things and I couldn't tell my teachers, half of them didn't even know what I was saying. Then the Hallyu wave happened when I went to middle school and gradually people at my school became more accepting and even started watching kdramas and listening to KPOP. People started to accept me a little more and Kpop helped me accept myself too. It's been a hard journey, but Hallyu wave helped me alot.

6 more replies

k_kid19,144 pts Saturday, November 21, 2020 5

Saturday, November 21, 2020

I don't think these people realize the Hallyu Wave has been dominating Asia since, especially, the 2nd gen Kpop and Korean dramas since the early 2000's as well. That's nearly 20 years already that Korea has been culturally more influential than Japan. Lasting only 4 years into the future is out of the question, especially since Kpop is spreading rapidly and expanding around the globe. I mean, Lisa even said in one of the English interviews that she loved Kpop and Korean dramas for as long as she remembers.

Sony used to be king in the electronics department. To the point, where even Sony phones where advertised in one of the James Bond films in the past. But they've lost their hold. Samsung, especially, has destroyed Sony in the last decade or so. From TV's to smartphones to home appliances to cars, etc. The Scion xB and the Nissan Cube was both discontinued directly because of the Kia Soul dominating the compact, boxy car lineup.

I remember people saying that Kpop, especially, when the 2nd gen groups were dominating Asia, isn't going to last that long and that it's only trend that's going to fade out soon. There were A LOT of talk about that in the past. But that was over 10 years ago and Kpop is still on top and is getting more and more recognized around the world. These "analysts" are always wrong. Kpop isn't the 7th most listened to genre in the entire world for nothing. The day I saw a ghetto looking black dude here in LA bumping Big Bang's Bae Bae, I knew Kpop was different compared to other Asian genres.