The Korean Wave or better known as Hallyu first appeared in the mid- 1990’s when Korean TV dramas and music gained popularity in China. Later becoming popular in Japan. Hallyu includes TV dramas, movies, literature, and Kpop. A number of TV dramas have been successful overseas such as Winter Sonata, What is Love?, and Dae Jang Geum.

Dae Jang Geum became the highest TV-rated drama in South Korea before being shown overseas to over 80 countries. The success that movies have received in South Korea has resulted in worldwide popularity.

Many  Korean directors and actors have captured the attention of Western critics and have won awards such as at the Venice International Film Festival with Pietà. Literature has also caught the attention of numerous countries just like Korean movies.

A great deal of Korean novels and poetry have been translated into languages such as Japanese, French, Turkish, Bulgarian, and many other languages.

Korean literary work has caught the attention of young adults due to the global popularity of Kpop. Kpop stands for Korean pop music. It varies in genres such as hip-hop, rock, ballads, techno, R&B, and dance-pop. Lately, Kpop is taking the world by storm with their choreographed dancing and excellent singing. Groups such as Big Bang, Wonder Girls, and Girls Generation have achieved global success and popularity.

In 2009 Wonder Girls joined The Jonas Brothers for their American tour. Also, Girls Generation performed in Madison Square Garden making headlines on The New York Times in 2011. Due to an enormous amount of popularity KCON,  Korean music festival, has been held in the US since 2012 and expanded this year to countries such as Abu Dhabi and United Arab Emirates. Tv dramas, movies, literature, and Kpop have all reached global success catching the attention of numerous countries.

With the Korean Wave showing successful outcomes, I wouldn’t be surprised if you begin to hear more about it.