2021
Analysis of Global Hallyu Status
Growth trend in the number of Hallyu community members worldwide over the past 10 years
Number of community members
Number of communities
156,607,448 121,514,867 86,198,008
9,247,679
9,264,220
29,795,329
1,263
54,705,703
60,997,585
1,718
1,655
2016
2017
95,987,241
35,584,259
1,501
1,783
1,730
1,654
2018
2019
2020
1,470
989 757
2012
2013
2014
2015
2021
Changes in the number of Hallyu community members by region
Asia & Oceania
The Americas
Europe
Africa & the Middle East
289
(Unit: 100,000 people) 149
7
12
21
62
65
68
106
96
90 13
16
90
94
110 118 122
143
13
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
1,158 954 674 685 390 434
0.2 0.6
1
2
2
1
2
3
12
186
23
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
73
2021 Analysis of Global Hallyu Status
2
248
67
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
2021 Analysis of Global Hallyu Status
by World Association For Hallyu Studies
I. Overall 1. Overview of Investigation As the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2019 has continued to drag on all over the world, many in Korea feared a possible contraction of the Korean Wave, or Hallyu. However, lockdowns1) or social distancing measures prompted by waves of coronavirus actually promoted the revitalization of global video content platforms that provide social networks or over-the-top media services (hereinafter referred to as OTT services). This gave not only K-pop, a major Hallyu genre, but also various Hallyu content such as TV dramas, movies, and webtoons, which had previously been relatively limited due to language barriers, an opportunity to perform brilliantly. “Global Hallyu Status” is a survey conducted annually since 2012 by the Korea Foundation in cooperation with overseas diplomatic offices to determine the size, distribution, and trends of Hallyu around the world, and use this basic data for relevant academic research or strategy building. “2021 Global Hallyu Status” investigated the situation in each country, the performance of Hallyu, and Hallyu communities for three months beginning in November 2021, collecting data from a total of 116 countries. The items surveyed in “2021 Global Hallyu Status” are as follows:
Table 1 | Survey items covered in “2021 Global Hallyu Status” Category
Content
Method of Collection
Country name, population, area, religion, time Country Overview
difference, language, GDP per capita, trade with Korea General
CIA Factbook, IMF, official data published by Korea International Trade Association, etc.
Overall status of Hallyu in the country
Information
Broadcasting (TV dramas, entertainment, OTT Hallyu Status
services), film, K-pop, Korean food, Korean
Status by
language, K-beauty (makeup, fashion, style, etc.),
Field
sports, e-content (gaming, webtoons), other
Qualitative description based on field surveys by diplomatic missions abroad
industries Preference
Why locals love Korean culture
Factor
Hallyu Community Status
General
Overall characteristics and trend of Hallyu
Information
communities in the country Community name, online/offline classification,
By Community
characteristics, number of members, website, active status
Summary description based on field surveys by diplomatic missions abroad Quantitative description based on field surveys by diplomatic missions abroad
현황
2021 Analysis of Global Hallyu Status
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1) ) A “lockdown” refers to the closure of all businesses except for essential services.
“Global Hallyu Status” has hitherto provided data only in printed books and PDFs, but this year, the Global Hallyu Status Statistics Center was established to directly share the current status of Hallyu around the world in the form of visual and statistical data. To this end, all data accumulated over 10 years beginning in 2012 was checked. The existing survey methodology was improved according to changes in the external environment, and new criteria were applied to the current status survey and
2) In this article, the term “communities” is interchangeable with “fan clubs” and “fandom.” “Community members” is used
interchangeably with “Hallyu fans.”
counting methods in 2021. First, the objects of the survey on the current status of Hallyu communities were Hallyu-related communities that have formed and operated online as well as Hallyu-related communities that are
3) Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc.
active offline.2) Even if a given online/offline community exists, if it was not active during the year 2021, it was excluded from the count. In addition, in the case of communities selling albums or mer-
4) The standard for counting the
chandise, a community was deemed to be Hallyu-related if products meaningful only to Hallyu fans
number of members per social
were sold. On the other hand, communities selling Korean cosmetics were excluded because these
for Facebook, “Followers”
networking channel is “Likes”
products can be used not only by Hallyu fans but also by the general public. Even if an institution or
for Twitter and Instagram,
an individual independently opened a community, it was recognized as a Hallyu community if it pro-
“Members” for other channels.
vided information such as Hallyu content, celebrity trends, and Korean language learning because of the high influx of Hallyu fans and active communication and exchange within it. Second, when the same community operates across multiple social networking platforms,3) it is counted as one community. In such cases, the number of members per channel4) was compared and only the highest resulting figure among them was counted. In past surveys, when a community opened and operated multiple channels, numbers of members were double counted, but this has now been prevented to improve the accuracy of the survey. Third, as areas of Hallyu fandom interest have diversified, specific characteristics of communities have been further classified for the purposes of data collection. According to their major activities or interests, communities have been classified into music, TV drama, entertainment programs, tourism, food, Korean language, beauty, literature, e-sports, traditional culture, webtoons, Taekwondo, animation, and general Hallyu. This classification system, introduced for the first time this year, shows that interest in Korean cultural content is expanding to various areas other than K-pop, and is expected to allow for the analysis of changes according to the characteristics of each community in the future. Despite the above improvements, “Global Hallyu Status” survey data has the following limitations. First, differences may occur depending on the capabilities of the investigators in each country, and subjective judgment may be involved in classifying the characteristics of communities or describing qualitative data. Second, one person can join several communities, but there is a limit to improving the accuracy of the survey because such duplicate values cannot be accurately determined. Third, there may be countries that did not participate in the survey and communities that were omitted from the survey. Despite these limitations, “Global Hallyu Status” is valuable in that it presents data that can provide an overview of the current status of Hallyu communities around the world.
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“Subscribers” for YouTube, and
2. Analysis “2021 Global Hallyu Status” looked at 116 countries around the world and analyzed the current status
5) Data on 116 countries was
of communities in 108 of these;5) the remaining eight countries were found not to have Hallyu com-
submitted by Republic of Korea
munities. By region, 23 of the countries analyzed were in Asia, 22 in the Americas, 34 in Europe, and
of those 116, data from 108
missions and embassies, and, countries providing quantitative
29 in Africa and the Middle East.
information was used in the survey tally.
Table 2 | Overview of the annual survey results of overseas Hallyu communities Division Number of communities Number of community members Number of community members per community
Unit: 1 community, 1 person
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
757
989
1,263
1,501
1,718
1,655
1,783
1,730
1,654
1,470
9,264,220
9,247,679
29,795,329
35,584,259
54,705,703
60,997,585
86,198,008
95,987,241
121,514,867
156,607,448
12,238
9350
23,591
23,707
31,843
36,879
48,344
55,213
73,467
106,608
to 2021.6) It shows that the number of Hallyu community members increased by 35 million, going from about 121 million (2020) to about 156 million (2021). Although most K-pop performances, which had led the spread of Hallyu, were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, the overall number of Hallyu community members increased by 29% compared to the previous year, about 17 times higher than when the survey was first conducted in 2012. On the other hand, the number of communities decreased by 184 from 1,654 last year to 1,470 this year. Despite this, the number of members per community has shown an overall steady increase from 2013 to 2021. This suggests that an influx of new Hallyu fans into existing Hallyu communities or integration between communities is taking place. As the level of online-based community activities increases, communities are consolidating around those that are competitive. Figure 1 | Annual number of Hallyu communities by region Asia & Oceania
802
36
2012
779
423
234
267
214
218
78
67
2013
2014
Europe
654
463 350
Unit : 1 community
The Americas
711
142
Hallyu Status Statistics Center (www.kf.or.kr/ koreanstudies/
Table 2 summarizes the results of the survey on the status of overseas Hallyu communities from 2012
229
6) Based on data from the Global
318
478
403
405
74
113
118
2015
2016
2017
307
Africa & the Middle East
708
580 548
557 482
459
464
437
121
138
178
2018
2019
2020
495
2021 Analysis of Global Hallyu Status
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529 428 372 141
2021
hallyu.do)
Figure 2 | Annual number of Hallyu community members by region Asia & Oceania
The Americas
Unit : 100,000 people Europe
Africa & the Middle East 23 96 12 106 3
0.2 6 13 72
0.6 11 13 67
2012
2013
1 21 90
2 16 90
186
248
2014
2015
2 62 94
1 65 110
390
434
2016
2017
2 68 118
289
143
149 122 954
674
685
2018
2019
2020
1,158
2021
Figures 1 and 2 show at a glance the changes in the number of communities and community mem-
7) This refers to various
bers from 2012 to 2021 by region. In general, the number of community members in the Americas and
regulations and large-scale
Africa & the Middle East has approximately doubled compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the
culture in China that effectively
number of community members in Asia & Oceania exceeded 100 million. The number of communities, on the other hand, decreased in all regions except Asia & Oceania. This can be seen as a result of the phenomenon of consolidation centered on competitive communities, as described above. On the other hand, in Europe, both the number of communities and the number of community members decreased. Asia and Oceania, which responded most enthusiastically to the early Hallyu craze and served as an important outpost for the growth of Hallyu, was followed by Japan’s anti-Korean Wave and China’s extended Korean Wave Ban.7) To make matters worse, a contraction of Hallyu community activities due to COVID-19 was predicted. However, according to the results of this year’s survey, the number of communities and the number of community members in Asia both increased by 21% from the previous year, dispelling concerns about such shrinkage. In raw numbers, the number of communities in the Asia and Oceania region increased by 92, from 437 in 2020 to 529 in 2021, while the number of community members increased by 20.3 million, from 95.44 million in 2020 to 115.75 million in 2021. Although the number of community members decreased in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, overall figures on the Asian continent increased thanks to the growing number of community members in Australia, China, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The number of community members in the Americas, which showed the highest rate of increase among all continents, rose by 14.59 million compared to the previous year to reach 28.88 million. On the other hand, the number of communities decreased by 129 (23.2%) from the previous year, going from 557 in 2020 to 428 in 2021. Countries where the number of community members increased include Argentina, the beachhead for the spread of Hallyu in South America; Canada, which showed the highest growth rate in the Americas compared to the previous year; the United States, which accounts for 57.8% of the total number of fans in the Americas); Paraguay; and Peru. On the other
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measures against Hallyu prohibit the transmission of content produced in Korea or advertisements featuring Korean entertainers.
hand, the number of community members decreased in Brazil, a major Hallyu hub in South America; Colombia; and Mexico. The number of Hallyu community members in Europe decreased from 10.56 million in 2020 to 9.63 million in 2021, a fall of about 930,000 members. The total number of communities in Europe decreased by 110, from 482 in 2020 to 372 in 2021. An increase in community members was seen in Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Ukraine. However, the number of community members decreased in Hungary (140,000), Russia (down by 1 million), Spain (190,000), and Turkey (110,000). This year, the Kyrgyz Republic was newly included in the survey. It is necessary to examine in detail why Hallyu is spreading in certain countries in Europe while its growth is stagnant or declining in others. In Africa and the Middle East, the number of communities decreased by 37 from the previous year to 141, while the number of community members increased by 1.12 million compared to the previous year, reaching 2.33 million in 2021. Countries such as Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia saw a significant increase in the number of members, while members decreased in Algeria, Israel, Morocco, and Tunisia. Cameroon, Ghana, and Palestine were newly included in the survey. Compared to other regions of the world, in Africa and the Middle East, both the number of Hallyu communities and community members remain much less significant. It can be difficult for countries located in this region to consume pop culture content from other cultures due to low internet access or high cultural and religious barriers to entry. Considering this social and cultural background, the steady growth seen in this region raises expectations for Hallyu in the future.
II. Major Changes in Hallyu by Region Let us now look at Hallyu trends by region, focusing on countries that play an important role in the spread of Hallyu or show meaningful changes in the number of community members.
1 Asia and Oceania 1.1. Northeast Asia China, which accounts for 75% of the total number of community members in Asia and Oceania, has a total of 86.32 million fans. With the continuation of the country’s Korean Wave Ban, triggered by the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile defense system in Korea in 2017, existing Hallyu fans in China are becoming more and more sensitive to the political relationship between the two countries. In October 2020, large courier companies in China refused to deliver BTS merchandise, using as a pretext remarks by BTS members emphasizing Korea-US relations, and many community members even declared their withdrawal from Hallyu communities. It was predicted that the number of community members would decrease given that the Chinese government frequently sanctions or closes the
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Weibo (Chinese social media service) fan club accounts of Hallyu celebrities. For example, Korean
8) Some Chinese Hallyu fans
TV dramas before the implementation of the Korean Wave Ban became so popular that Chinese
are accessing the latest Hallyu
subtitles were translated and shared in real time as soon as new video content was broadcast. How-
Squid Game, through a bypass
ever, since the broadcast of Hallyu content on Chinese public television was suspended and even
content, such as Parasite and connection via a virtual private network (VPN).
outright banned in the case of the use of YouTube or overseas social networking platforms, general Chinese consumption of Hallyu content in 2021 remained at pre-2017 levels. To the general Chinese public, even Squid Game and Parasite, which were globally successful, are relatively unfamiliar.
8)
Due to the nature of fan clubs in that they operate based on voluntary participation, it was thought that most Hallyu community activities in China would shrink under such strong sanctions. Surprisingly, however, the status of Hallyu communities in China in 2021 defied predictions, and the number of communities increased by 6 while the number of community members increased by 13.64 million compared to the previous year. In the midst of this came the good news that the Korean movie Oh! My Gran was officially released in China in December 2021, the first Korean release in about five years. In addition to this, the TV drama Saimdang, Light’s Diary (2017), starring Lee Young-ae, was also broadcast in the country. Recently, the rights to air the drama Now, We Are Breaking Up (20212022), starring Song Hye-kyo, were also sold in China. As the political influence on Hallyu content is very strong in China, at a time when Hallyu is barely gaining any entry, special efforts are needed to prevent the spread of negative sentiments between the two countries. Even in Japan, despite the anti-Korean Wave, the number of community members increased, with around 340,000 members being active in 51 communities. As time spent watching OTT services such as Netflix increased due to the COVID-19 situation, nine Korean TV dramas rose in the top 10 Japanese Netflix daily general rankings, released on November 27, 2021. Dramas such as Crash Landing on You, Itaewon Class, and Squid Game attracted many viewers, and various Japanese entertainment programs are reproducing games shown in Squid Game. K-pop is still popular, and in addition to Twice, BLACKPINK, and BTS, various new idol groups such as Tomorrow X Together, NCT 127, ENHYPEN, and Seventeen are attracting attention. In particular, in the case of BTS, their most successful album released in Japan in June 2021 sold more than 1 million copies and received a Million Certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan.9) There is also music being recorded in Japan but produced by Koreans, for example the music of the girl group NiziU. This a new trend that is attracting attention for its localization of K-pop by employing locals. Japan is one of the biggest markets for Hallyu, and Hallyu is already well established and has entered the stage of becoming a part of daily life. Also, it is noteworthy that as the type of people enjoying Hallyu has expandedfrom middle-aged women in previous years to men and younger generations in the present, the place where young people gather moved from Harajuku to Shin-Okubo (Korea Town). In this way, Hallyu continues to expand its public presence in Japan by going mainstream despite political conflicts.
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9) In 2021, BTS was the only artist to receive a Million Certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
1.2. Southeast Asia/South Asia In Southeast Asia, Hallyu growth in Thailand was unparalleled. Compared to the previous year, the number of communities increased by 84 and the number of members increased by 9.33 million, bringing the total number of communities to 105 and the number of fans to approximately 14.8 million. Since 2000, Hallyu, which started with K-dramas and K-pop, has gradually expanded to other areas, and preferences for Hallyu have also diversified. In addition to cultural content such as music, games, and webtoons, the consumption of Korean cosmetics, food, clothing, and electronic products has also increased. Now, 20 years have passed since Hallyu first landed in Thailand. It is taking root not merely as a cultural phenomenon limited to a specific genre, but as a major social phenomenon. Due to Hallyu’s influence, Thai people’s interest in learning Korean has grown and Thailand now has the largest number of middle and high school students learning Korean as a foreign language in the world. Korean restaurants, which in the past were concentrated in specific areas for Koreans, have steadily expanded, and now franchise stores such as Korean fried chicken shops and tteokbokki snack shops can be easily found in large department stores and shopping malls. Thai people are also very interested in Korean TV dramas. As methods of consumption have expanded from TV and the internet to YouTube and OTT platforms, the ripple effect is spreading further. As of December 2021, four K-dramas were included in the top 10 in Thailand’s content popularity rankings on Netflix: The King’s Affection, Hellbound, Extreme Job, and Crash Landing on You. Squid Game, which was a hit all over the world, was controversial for its violence in Thailand, but was still very popular and produced phenomena such as copying the Red Light, Green Light game and wearing Squid Game fashion. In Thailand, groups such as 2PM (which has a Thai member), CLC, NCT, (G) I-DLE, BLACKPINK, and GOT7 are especially popular. K-pop in Thailand is now reinventing itself and evolving beyond simple consumption. Vietnam was the first country in Southeast Asia where Korean dramas were introduced and became popular. K-pop is also a big hit there. Popular K-pop singers in Vietnam include BTS, EXO, BLACKPINK, WINNER, IZ*ONE, ITZY, TVXQ, Super Junior, Big Bang, and Girls’ Generation. Not only are certain singers popular now, but a diverse and wide fanbase has formed consuming media from the Korean music industry, from mainstream to non-mainstream. In addition to K-pop, K-dramas such as Squid Game, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, and season 2 of Hospital Playlist also attracted many viewers through OTT platforms. Vietnamese Hallyu fans generally have positive feelings about Korean cultural content as a whole. However, in 2021, the total number of community members in Vietnam decreased by 180,000 to 4.12 million. According to “2021 Global Hallyu Trends,” among Southeast Asian nations, Vietnam exhibits the most responsiveness towards negative perceptions of Hallyu.10) While the cause of the decrease in the Vietnamese fandom may not be unrelated to this responsiveness, it is necessary to actively analyze and deal with this issue. Hallyu is also heating up in India. This can be seen from the fact that the number of community members increased by 380,000 to a total of 1.35 million. The year 2021 showed the greatest growth
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10) Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (2021, p.61)
since K-drama was first introduced to India. In addition, interest in K-pop is growing along with the global popularity of BTS and BLACKPINK. The TV series Squid Game and Beyond Evil each ranked number one in the number of viewers, a first for Korean content in Indian Netflix history. As Squid Game became a success, Korean childhood games shown in the drama also drew attention. In addition, K-dramas of diverse genres and themes, such as The Silent Sea, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, Vincenzo, and Start-Up, are being imported in large numbers. Hallyu, a confluence of K-pop and K-drama, is currently expanding into secondary and tertiary cultural content in India, such as Korean language, Korean food, fashion, and beauty.
1.3. Oceania In Australia, characterized by its cultural diversity, Hallyu was once a subculture enjoyed by a small number of fans. However, interest in K-pop has since grown. Around 20,000 K-pop fans gathered for the K-Pop Music Festival concert in Sydney in November 2011. After that, K-pop performances centered on male groups such as Big Bang, BTS, and GOT7 were frequently held in Australia, and the number of Hallyu fans gradually increased. In 2021, the K-drama Squid Game drew a lot of attention as it climbed to the top of Netflix’s popular world rankings. Thanks to its fame, an extra-large Younghee doll, featured in the drama, was installed during a Halloween event at a popular tourist attraction in Sydney, attracting about 10,000 people. As K-dramas such as Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and Hellbound gain popularity through Netflix, the Hallyu fanbase is expanding. Thanks to K-pop and K-drama activities, the number of members increased by 270,000 compared to the previous year, reaching 930,000.
2 The Americas 2.1. North America Even in the United States, which has the largest cultural content market in the world, Hallyu has made history based on its strong fandom. In 2021, the number of Hallyu communities in the United States decreased by six compared to the previous year, but the number of community members increased by about 10.58 million to reach a total of 16.69 million. The K-pop craze in the US is getting stronger. K-pop related video production, such as parodies, reaction videos, and lip synch videos, is booming. In addition, many K-pop audition videos showing off singing and dancing skills are uploaded to YouTube and other social networking sites, and people around the world share and spread them further. The most talked-about artist in the United States in 2021 was BTS, who won four Billboard Music Awards. On November 28, 2021, an offline K-pop concert held in LA, the first in two years, was so hot that one ticket even resold for over 20 million won. During the four-day concert, all 320,000 seats were sold out, and more than half of the seats on planes entering LA were occupied by BTS fans, collectively known as ARMY.11) At this LA concert, BTS became the first non-English-language artist to break 30 million dollars in ticket sales.
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11) Army stands for Adorable Representative MC for Youth.
In 2020, director Bong Joon-ho caused a sensation in the film industry, and in 2021, Korean-American director Lee Isaac Chung did it again with Minari. Chung’s movie won more than 30 awards, including a Best Supporting Actress Award for Yoon Yeo-jeong, at the 93rd American Academy Awards (Oscars), and also won Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Golden Globe Awards. Netflix and DramaFever provide popular Korean movies and dramas such as Crash Landing on You and Kingdom in near-real time via their video streaming services. Broadcast music channels often introduce Korean singers or K-pop groups. American fans also have an appreciation for animated characters including Pororo the Little Penguin and Larva, and the video game series PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). In addition, Korean food, beauty and fashion products, animation, and webtoons are becoming popular. Hallyu is now slowly gaining recognition as a part of American culture after passing through a stage as a temporary fad. In Canada, Hallyu communities are also emerging, centered on K-pop and K-drama. In 2021, the number of communities was 28 and the number of community members was 1.96 million. Today, if a K-pop artist gives a performance somewhere in North America, a fan group forms to travel to that location, and Korean singers are actively requested to perform in Canada. Recently, with the popularity of BTS at the forefront, various Hallyu content such as Parasite and Squid Game have spread. Korean films are screened at the largest theater in Canada, Korean food and cosmetics presented in Korean dramas and movies are gaining popularity, and interest in Hallyu, which started with K-pop and K-drama has expanded to include Korean language and traditional culture, leading to the formation of a positive image of Korea as a whole.
2.2. Latin America In Latin America, Argentina and Chile, along with Brazil and Mexico, have played a leading role in the spread of Hallyu. However, antipathy also arose as incidents such as excessive commercialization of Hallyu damaged goodwill toward Korea. For this reason, the number of community members in Chile, Brazil, and Mexico decreased slightly compared to the previous year. Argentina, with about 2.9 million community members, is one of the countries in Latin America where Korean culture has grown very rapidly. Local media actively report on Hallyu in various fields, from K-pop, K-dramas, and Korean movies to Korean food, video games, and the Korean cosmetics craze called “K-beauty.” Alongside K-pop, Korean film is one of the major Hallyu fields in Argentina. Since the mid-2000s, as artistic Korean film directors made their name known at international film festivals, a fandom coalesced among Argentine filmmakers and movie fans. And as the number of OTT service subscribers surged due to COVID-19, the number of Korean drama viewers showed tangible growth, more than doubling from 2019. In Argentina, K-pop goes beyond fan clubs and is gradually permeating the daily lives of ordinary people. As proof of the popularity of Hallyu, on October 6, 2021, an Argentine Kimchi Day bill passed unanimously in a Federal Senate plenary session, demonstrating the possibility of holding a Kimchi Day for the first time in a foreign country.
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Although the number of community members decreased slightly in Chile, there are still 1.12 million Hallyu fans in the country. Among Chilean youths, interest in Korea, centering on K-pop, is diversifying to incorporate Korean food, dramas and movies, and the Korean language. As a result, the number of students seeking an opportunity to visit Korea through government-invited scholarships, etc. is increasing. Squid Game, which aired in September 2021, has further increased the popularity of Korean dramas. At the time of its airing, it was the most-watched Netflix program in Chile and indeed still ranks near the top in number of views. On the back of Squid Game’s success, Netflix Chile decided to provide more than 50 Korean drama series. Popular Hallyu K-pop acts in Chile include Twice, BLACKPINK, Red Velvet, BTS, and CN Blue.
3 Europe Russia still has the largest number of Hallyu fans in Europe, although the number of community members decreased by 1.05 million in 2021, falling to 5.69 million. Hallyu started in Russia with TV dramas in the mid-1990s, expanded to K-pop after 2000, and recently grew to include Korean language, movies, food, beauty, and tourism. Now, with the advent of OTT services such as Netflix, Korean cultural content including K-dramas, movies, and TV entertainment is being introduced in a more formal way. Kingdom, Crash Landing on You, Itaewon Class, and Sweet Home established themselves at the top of the viewing charts, and Squid Game, which caused a global sensation in 2021, topped the Netflix Russian Top 10 content list. In Russia, a meme culture emerged of actually playing the games depicted in Squid Game and posting them to social media. Alongside TV dramas and movies, K-pop is a major form of Hallyu content in the country. Russians are mainly exposed to K-pop through the internet, via YouTube and other social networking platforms, with BTS, BLACKPINK, ITZY, and Aespa gaining popularity, among others. Local fans independently form communities online to share information and be active in the fandom. In particular, Russian participation in K-pop cover dance contests and festivals held in Korea is successful enough to earn Russia the title of K-pop cover dance powerhouse. In Turkey, where people already have a high affinity for Korea, Hallyu communities are centered on K-pop and TV dramas. In 2021, the number of Hallyu fans in Turkey decreased by 100,000 compared to the previous year, falling to 980,000. But Korean dramas are especially well received here. They began to gain popularity in the mid-2000s when Korean historical series were aired on major Turkish TV stations. After this, the demand for Korean dramas, which seemed like a one-time fad, expanded to Turkish viewers in their 30s and 40s, and grew further over time. In the end, about 40 Korean TV dramas were remade by major Turkish broadcasting channels, and the Hallyu craze continued. This suggests that the competitiveness of Korean cultural content has risen rapidly over the past decade, and that Korean movies and dramas are being recognized as global content. Popular Hallyu stars in Turkey include PSY, Lee Min-ho, Kim Soo-hyun, Song Joong-ki, Park Shin-hye, EXO, and Girls’ Generation.
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Italy, which ranks after Turkey with 750,000 Hallyu community members, is so proud of its own culture that it is called the cradle of Western civilization. Accordingly, the country is conservative in accepting cultural imports. Based on national pride, Italian consumers can be more curious about less familiar new cultures, such as Asian cultures, than those of European countries with whom they share many similarities. Korean films, which illuminate life from a different perspective from existing Western films, and K-pop, with its dynamic and powerful choreography, are accepted as fresh culture by the younger generations in Italy and are evoking a positive response. Hallyu in France, which started with movies in the 2000s, has a total of 570,000 community members in 2021, an increase of 370,000 compared to the previous year. Parasite, the winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, attracted about 1.6 million French viewers since its release and was the most commercially successful Palme d’Or winner in France of the past 15 years. This opened up an opportunity to publicize the value of Korean films to the general public in France. Hallyu fandom in France was spontaneously created by local fans and spread through the activities of peer groups. Currently, BTS and BLACKPINK are very popular. Despite the impact of COVID-19, BTS recorded a total of three “golden albums” (albums that sold more than 50,000 copies in France) as of September 2021. Most French K-pop fans are young women in their teens and 20s, and they are particularly interested in K-pop dance choreography. In other fields, Naver Webtoon entered France in 2019, and in March 2020, the French version of Naver Webtoon ranked first in downloads in the French Google Play Comics category. Now, two years after its launch, it is estimated that the number of readers of the French version of Naver Webtoon exceeds 1 million. Some famous webtoons enjoy great popularity, like True Beauty, which has been read more than 200 million times in France. The explosive popularity of the Netflix series Squid Game, which ranked first in viewership in 90 countries around the world, including France, and the webtoon Solo Leveling, which sold more than 200,000 copies in France this year, is a typical example in which the power of Hallyu content is visualized through non-face-to-face platforms.
4 Africa and the Middle East Jordan, which has the largest number of Hallyu communities in the Middle East with 980,000 members, has great interest in Korean cultural content. As such, the Netflix original drama Squid Game ranked first in Jordan for more than two weeks in October 2021. Unlike many years ago, where barely any access to Korean programs was available and was limited to satellite channels such as KBS WORLD and Arirang TV, consumers today can easily access Korean culture such as K-pop and K-dramas, as well as the latest news of Hallyu stars, through various internet media and social networking sites, such as Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. There is a lot of interest in Korean dramas and entertainment programs, and in K-pop, as represented by BTS. This content is particularly popular among local women in their teens to 30s.
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Saudi Arabia, where the state religion is Islam, has around 300,000 Hallyu community members, mainly young women. K-pop and K-dramas are made known through media such as social networking sites, YouTube, and Netflix, and attract a lot of attention. Interest in Korean dramas is proportional to the number of subscribers to global OTT services such as Netflix, which increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, in the case of Netflix in Saudi Arabia, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay ranked 7th among all dramas airing as of September 2020. Other Korean dramas also entered the Saudi Arabian Netflix rankings; Squid Game, which became a worldwide topic in 2021, maintained the top spot for several weeks in a row. It is estimated that there are 550,000 Hallyu community members in Egypt. After Autumn in My Heart aired on state-run broadcasting in 2004, the spread of Hallyu, which led from TV dramas to K-pop, gradually expanded to include Korean language education, Korean food, K-beauty, and other Korean content. Egypt’s K-pop community members regularly gather at cafes to exchange items and information related to Korea, and even hold their own K-pop concerts. Many Hallyu fans watch Korean dramas in real time through internet media or satellite TV channels such as KBS WORLD and Arirang TV. Recently, through OTT services such as Netflix, the number of general viewers of mainstream Korean dramas such as Squid Game has increased significantly. Male idol singers such as BTS are popular in Egypt.
Ⅲ. Global Cultural Communities Linked by Hallyu As Korean content enjoyed great popularity around the world, it became so influential that the Oxford English Dictionary even listed “hallyu” as a new word. The term “Korean Wave” first appeared in “After the Han Wind Passed,” an article in the People’s Daily, China’s state-owned newspaper. This article, which was about Korean popular culture, was published when Korean dramas gained popularity in China in the late 1990s. Expressed within as “韓流” (literally, “Korean Wave”), which is a homophone for “寒流” (literally, “other cultures are penetrating fiercely”), the term, pronounced “Hallyu,” caught hold. Today, both the “Korean Wave” and “Hallyu” are widely used. Hallyu as a wave of cultural content thus began in Northeast Asia in countries such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan, and then spread to Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Now, Hallyu has spread all over the world, including to Central Asia, Southwest Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, thanks largely to social networking.
1. The Power of the Hallyu Fandom The tendency in the early 2000s to view the Hallyu fandom as a temporary cultural phenomenon enjoyed by young people for a short time out of curiosity has disappeared. The competitiveness of Hallyu content has since led to an investment of 550 billion won by Netflix. The successful launch of
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Weverse,12) a fandom-specialized global platform, and the promotion of the metaverse also show
12) As a fan community platform
the power of Hallyu content. There, communication between international fans, the consumption
created by HYBE Corporation,
of merchandise, and online performances are all found in one place. Both of the above cases show
Weverse subscribers exceeds 15
BTS’s agency, the number of
that the Hallyu fandom has a strong foundation and influence. Hallyu content has the power to shape
million. Weverse logs an average
this fandom, an influential global cultural community that can operate a global network. And as the
its sales have surged from KRW
fandom is based on shared feelings and communication, it shows characteristics of strong cohesion
of 1.4 million visits per day, and 14.4 billion in 2018 to KRW 78.2 billion in 2019 and KRW 219.1 billion in 2020. As of the first
and mutual solidarity across various fields.
quarter of 2021, the number of
Hallyu communities formed online are mainly composed of K-pop fans. The characteristics of the K-pop fandom are strong cohesiveness and solidarity, expressed through enthusiastic singalongs and group cheers at performance spaces. These fans are not just one-sided receivers of
monthly visitors averaged about 4.9 million.
13) ZEPETO, launched by
cultural content; they also play the role of producers who create new cultures through voluntary
Naver Jet in August 2018, is a
participation. In addition, Hallyu fandom is expressed as economic capital, affecting each field. For
million cumulative subscribers,
example, in China, an airplane was completely covered with BTS images and then chartered in cele-
metaverse platform with 260 especially among Millennials and Generation Z (sometimes
bration of a BTS member’s birthday. In Thailand, in order to continuously promote Hallyu celebrities,
collectively referred to as the
advertisements for stars are periodically posted on tuk-tuk, the country’s ubiquitous, three-wheeled
in 2021 increased by 318%
taxis. In addition, fans also donate to causes supported by Hallyu celebrities, and when stars wear sponsorship-related items, these products sell out immediately, making the good deeds of Hallyu celebrities known and expanding their influence. There are linguistic and social barriers to the expansion of Hallyu, and fans are lowering these barriers by voluntarily translating lyrics or scripts, creating subtitles, and producing videos offering reviews and interpretations of Hallyu content. In addition, fans not only actively defend against negative expressions or opinions about Hallyu stars online, but also systematically defend these stars from attacks. The nature of social networking is that, regardless of the authenticity of a story, once it begins to spread, rumors produce rumors and become accepted as fact. Hallyu fans actively protect their favorite stars from malicious comments to prevent this from happening, and voluntarily play a role in blocking the formation of negative public opinion that can cause malicious comments in the first place.
2. The Metaverse Connected by Hallyu The surge of use of global platforms such as Netflix in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic reminds us of the power of fandom as described by Henry Jenkins. Jenkins explained that fandom already exists as a virtual community, and if it is ported to the digital space, a formidable expansion will occur. This in part explains why Hallyu has continued to achieve great global growth despite the prolonged coronavirus outbreak. Due to COVID-19, production and consumption have been rapidly reconstructed digitally, accelerating the era of the new normal. In September 2020, BLACKPINK’s virtual fan sign event held on ZEPETO,13) a Korean metaverse platform operated by Naver Jet, attracted 50 million fans and was a
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“MZ generation”). ZEPETO sales compared to the previous year, solidifying its position as Asia’s top metaverse service.
great success. A video for the song Ice Cream in which avatar versions of the BLACKPINK members
14) A “cultural headquarters”
danced during the ZEPETO signing event has surpassed 100 million views on YouTube. It was thanks
online encyclopedia for
to Generation Z Hallyu fans that this performance was a success. American teenagers, members of
where they can record and edit
Generation Z who form the main fanbase of Hallyu, spend much more time communicating as ava-
international ARMY members knowledge and experiences related to BTS.
tars on the metaverse than they do on social media such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. This means that Generation Z is familiar with the metaverse environment and prefers activities within that
15) Nu’est, SEVENTEEN, GFRIEND, ENHYPEN, CL, Sunmi,
virtual world.
Henry, Tomorrow X Together, and
In response to these changes in the external environment, entertainment company SM un-
many other artists are involved.
veiled Aespa, a new type of girl group in which four real-world members and four virtual members coexist and communicate with one another. Likewise, video game company NCSOFT launched
16) This refers to the activities
Universe, a K-pop entertainment platform that combines entertainment and the metaverse. Universe
of enjoying and consuming
became a hot topic, with millions of people making pre-orders just before its launch, and is an all-
lives of people around the
in-one platform where users can enjoy various online and offline fandom activities on their mobile devices. HYBE Corporation, the entertainment company with which BTS is affiliated, has also been quick to catch onto and utilize these changes. With the metaverse concert “BTS MAP OF THE SOUL ON:E,” BTS reconstructed humans, space, and time to give fans a transcendent experience. In addition, BTS communicates with fans around the world on the metaverse platform Weverse. ARMY members who are users of BTS’ Armypedia 14) are also participating in this rapid change and are moving to Weverse to support their favorite stars. Weverse includes a space where users can talk together about the future, as well as messages left by BTS, a merchandise shop, and metaverse performances for users to view. Weverse plans to grow into a global media platform that connects users around the world.15) With the news that the famous artists who rank 1st to 4th in YouTube subscriber rankings among global artists have decided to join Weverse, there is interest in the role Hallyu will play in the transnational digital society that will be created on this metaverse platform.
3. New Hallyu:16) Global Cultural Community As a cultural product unique to Korea, Hallyu has now been established as part of global culture rather than a means of enhancing the brand value of Korea. In the past, the public and private sectors pushed to develop overseas markets for the spread of Hallyu. They struggled to inform people around the world about Hallyu content and to compete among numerous alternative cultural products. However, Hallyu is now being favored by people all over the world as a global culture. Hallyu content is proving its excellent competitiveness on the world stage as the number of people who enjoy this content has increased since the coronavirus crisis. As the status of Hallyu has changed, we must shift our focus from trying to spread Hallyu content to finding ways to maintain and strengthen Hallyu as a global culture. When we recognize the changed status of Hallyu as a global culture and our own paradigm for dealing with Hallyu changes in turn, 100 million Hallyu fans will gather in Korea instead of Korea
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Hallyu content in the daily world, breaking away from unidirectional “occupation” and “entering” of the global market by Korean content.
going abroad to promote Hallyu content, dreaming of an ambitious plan to allow fans to experience
17) It is said that in 2024, the
“a real virtual city for the worldwide Hallyu fandom.”17) Hallyu fans perceive Hallyu not as a cultural
first arena and concert hall in
product of Korea, but as a global culture made by Koreans and enjoyed by people around the world.
to K-pop will open in Ilsan. At
When our attitude toward Hallyu changes, we can move on more quickly to the next stage: New Hallyu.
Korea specifically dedicated the groundbreaking ceremony, leaders of the city announced their ambition to write the history of New Hallyu by having Hallyu fans from all over the world
IV. Conclusion
travel to Korea, and declared that they would take the lead in the paradigm shift of the Korean pop culture industry. These visions
When the Hallyu status survey was first conducted in 2012, a total of 85 countries were surveyed, including 19 in Asia and Oceania, 21 in the Americas, 27 in Europe, and 18 in Africa and the Middle East. Ten years later, in 2021, the number of countries surveyed has increased by 31, bringing the total to 116. Compared to 2012, six countries in Asia and Oceania, one in the Americas, seven in Europe, and 17 in Africa and the Middle East have been newly included in the survey. The fact that the number of countries surveyed has increased shows that Hallyu is constantly expanding geographically. Meanwhile, comparing the number of Hallyu community members in 2012 and 2021 shows that the number of fans around the world has increased by about 17 times, going from to 9.26 million people in 2012 to 156.6 million today. By region, Africa and the Middle East recorded the highest rate of increase, with a factor of about 130, followed by the Americas with a 22-fold increase. In addition, Asia and Oceania showed 15-fold growth and Europe showed a 13-fold increase. The number of Hallyu communities around the world also increased evenly by continent, showing that the already large Hallyu fan base is getting denser and stronger. The geographical spread of Hallyu, the expansion of the Hallyu fan base on each continent, and the impact of the aforementioned Hallyu fandom on society and the economy – these all support the fact that Hallyu has already become a global cultural phenomenon. If we want the status of Hallyu as a global culture to be maintained in the coming digital age, it is necessary to analyze the potential risk factors that can disrupt the Hallyu fandom (which is already showing considerable influence online and offline) three-dimensionally, in terms of social, cultural, historical, political, and diplomatic aspects, and a strategic response plan must then be established. In addition, efforts to learn the characteristics of Generation Z, who will become the mainstay of Hallyu fandom in the future, should continue. One thing to be aware of is that although the size of the Hallyu fandom in China, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam is quite large, the negative perception of Hallyu is also growing stronger. It will be difficult for Hallyu to satisfy the tastes of people all over the world, but it is necessary to find a solution to common unfavorable factors such as “excessive commercialism” and “cultural imperialism,” and that solution must suit the particularities of each country. Above all, we must keep in mind that we must treat Hallyu fans with the humility and empathy that form the basis of communication, while appreciating them as the driving force behind the cycle of communication in global society and the lubricant of the global cultural community.
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and goals can only be premised on the idea that Hallyu content is a global culture.
Research on Hallyu fandom is important for the spread and continuation of Hallyu. The data collected by diplomatic missions abroad over the past 10 years on the cultural and social background of each country and the current status of Hallyu is finally available through the Global Hallyu Status Statistics Center. For Hallyu researchers, this is valuable data that can confirm the trends of Hallyu fans around the world over the past 10 years. Based on this data, it is hoped that various interdisciplinary studies will be actively carried out to present timely and effective policy proposals.
The World Association for Hallyu Studies is the only organization in the world specializing in Hallyu recognized by the Union of International Associations. The annual Korean Wave International Conference is recognized as the premier event in which Hallyu experts from all over the world participate. The 9th Hallyu International Conference will be held in Seoul from October 20 to 21, 2022.
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