Hallyu: The Origin, Impacts and the Factors for the Global Rise of the Korean Wave

BINUS Korea Corner in partnership with NUNI (Nationwide University Network in Indonesia) and Korean Foundation held a special guest lecture titled “Hallyu: The Origin, Impacts and the Factors for the Global Rise of the Korean Wave” on Friday, 18 June 2021. The speaker and presenter for this event was Professor Andrew Eungi Kim, Professor at the Division of International Studies at Korea University. 

The event gathered over 600 participants, most of them are BINUSIAN students. This event was also attended by Mr. Bae Sung Won, Director of Korea Foundation, Jakarta Office as well as Mr. Park Ho Jin from Korean Cultural Center Indonesia. 

Professor Andrew shared his perspectives and ideas about Hallyu, where students were encouraged to learn about how Hallyu gained global recognition, reception, as well as to explore its culture and economic impacts. Vilianty Rizki Utami from BINUS Library & Knowledge Center served as the moderator for this event. 

At the beginning of the presentation, Professor Andrew gave a brief introduction about how the Korean Wave started in the late 1990s, from the spread of K-dramas until eventually becoming an influential global phenomenon. Next, Professor Andrew explained how the K-pop now becomes the most popular form of Hallyu today, surpassing the popularity of K-dramas.

After exploring the many kinds of Hallyu forms, Professor Andrew continued his presentation about the impact of Korean Wave, which includes an increase in exports of Korean cultural contents, an increase of tourism in Korea, a positive image of Korea, greater interest in the study of Korea, and so on. 

Professor Andrew also examined the factors of the success of Hallyu, including both hard and soft power, cultural hybridization, and other factors such as technology, export, policy, as well as fandom. Professor Andrew then concluded the presentation by mentioning predictions from scholars and experts about the future of Hallyu, also by emphasizing that we need a paradigm shift on how to view culture in order to preserve it. 

Students were also excited to ask questions during the Q&A session, including questions about how the Korean Government supports Hallyu, whether K-Pop will surpass the popularity of western culture, also whether Hallyu gives any other impacts aside from the positive side.