Alongwith Pandemic, Another wave has taken the world by storm and influenced the people all over the world. The Hallyu Wave today is well-known, well-recognized, and well-accepted by almost everyone, regardless of whether they are a part of it or not.
The Hallyu wave is referred to as “K-Culture”. South Korea has been gaining popularity all over the world and is definitely in the top 10 list, this soft diplomacy has been proven quite successful and advantageous for the country in numerous ways. K-Food, K-Pop, K-Drama, K-Lifestyle and Korean Language are pretty much popular. Netizens have been showing their immense interest to adapt to Korean Culture and are all head over heels for it.
Back before Gangnam Style by Psy, many were not aware about Korean Culture. Over the years, the country has evolved itself diplomatically to increase the relations between South Korea and its counter countries. Back then the Hallyu wave was somehow confined to East Asian and Southeast Asian Countries.
In this pandemic, specifically in India, The korean wave has risen and reached greater heights, K-Drama, K-Pop have played the role of an escape from the lethargic quarantined cum lockdown life, as it gives a sense of joy and pleasure to the people and helps one escaping the stressing reality. The popularity has given a rise and an opportunity to enter the Indian Markets and expand their respective businesses. India has become a promising marketplace, many people have started their own small online ventures for K-Pop Albums, Makeup, Lifestyle and even K-Food as well. It is a well known fact that India’s love for food is immaculate and the diversity in its cuisines cannot be left behind, now the Korean cuisine is starting to gain popularity and people are willing to try the food, many Korean restaurants have seen an increase in their profitability.
Although Kdramas and Kpop entered the country way back the pandemic however, the probability of finding a hallyu culture followers was less. The evolution of the Korean Entertainment Industry is a revolutionary one. Look how the time has changed and today almost every other person is a fan of the hallyu wave.
Big Bang, Girls Generation, 2Pm, Super Junior, Infinite, Shinee, Exo, Btob, Bts, Got7, Twice, Red Velvet, Mamamoo, Neo Culture Technology (NCT), G-idle, Astro, Blackpink, Monsta X, Seventeen, Ateez, The Boyz, Stray Kids, Tomorrow X Together (TXT), Day6 , Kard, Mont, The Rose, Aespa, Loona , Dreamcatcher are some of the famous Korean bands worldwide.
Back in 2009, India and South Korea signed a Free Trade Agreement, CEPA. Both countries had numerous advantages over one another. Relaxed Visa restrictions for the working professionals, specialized scholarships for Indian as well as Korean students were introduced. Since then, the trade between South Korea and India has grown consistently, and both countries enjoy good relations with each other.
However, the hallyu wave is not only confined to India, the Indian Hallyu is also becoming pretty much popular and recognised in Korea these days. Many artists themselves have expressed their love for coming to India and holding a concert here, Got7, Bts, Txt , Monsta X, Ateez have had frequent interviews lately with the Indian Media Companies. Even back in 2015, Exciting India was aired by K.B.S, A Korean Broadcasting Company, under this program, many kpop artists visited India to understand the approach of Korean Hallyu in India, 5 Kpop Artists that visited here were Super Junior’s Kyuhyun, Shinee’s Minho, Infinite’s Sunggyu , CNBLUE’s Jonghyun and EXO’s Suho. The main objective was to get to know about the country and what power this genre holds in the country in the near future.
Over the span of 6 years, The Kpop/Kdrama as a genre has evolved in themselves and has gained a lot more popularity in India. The Social Media surge began in 2014 which led to a huge populace using the internet. The availability of Korean channels and dramas in India on TV, Zee Cafe, Korean Drama Active on Dish Tv and Arirang TV are some of the examples. Korean Culture Center India is an important contributor to improving relations between the two countries.
Today the genre is loved worldwide and attending a kpop concert has become a part of the wishlists of many, this not only includes the general citizens but also influential celebrities like Armaan Malik, Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani and much more. Recently, Armaan Malik collaborated with a Korean solo artist, Eric Nam, for a song “ECHO” and he was invited to participate in an online Simply KPop Concert for Indian audiences. Having been introduced through an agreement back then, it can be said that hallyu music has flourished in the country and it will continue to flourish over time diplomatically as well as in many other ways.
