Korean Pop Culture

Abstract

Since mid 1990s, the Korean government has embarked on a concerted effort to promote Korean media industry and pop culture as an export industry. To assess the impact of this flow of Korean pop culture into Southeast Asia, this paper maps out the contextual elements that frame the phenomenon. There are three media products in pop culture; namely, cinema, TV dramas and pop music. Each of these has its own audience reach and demands. Thus, this paper considers the spread and influence of Korean pop culture in the context of the specificity and comparisons among the mediums and products.