Hallyu Beyond the Age of American Cultural Imperialism: Counter Cultural Flows and Cultural Diplomacy

The Korean Wave (Hallyu) or cultural industries of South Korea continue to make ripples in the media, crossing regional boundaries and heading West. The nature and reception, as well as its history, have been documented meticulously by scholars and fans alike, making the phenomenon a much-researched subject in the fields of communication, social sciences, and area studies. Critics had often foretold the short-lived nature of the wave, and the industries had undergone ups and downs since its inception and popularity from the late 1990’s. However, the current scenario provides an upward trend in the reception of these cultural products, with an ever-increasing audience from different parts of the world. This leads to two drastically opposing views- positive and negative. The optimistic outlook paints this popularity as the propagator in the creation of an Asian identity, the Asianisation of cultural production, distribution and consumption leading to greater interaction among neighbouring countries. The other outlook comes from several countries who are the main recipients of the cultural products from South Korea, depicting it as a form of cultural imperialism and media domination. This paper addresses the latter, determining the nature of the Korean Wave and see if it is a form of cultural imperialism. The main aim of this paper is to determine if there is truth to the accusations against the Korean wave, i.e. whether it is imperialistic in nature. However, since the term cultural imperialism is of western origin, stemming from a critical assessment of American domination of worldwide communications, especially at the end of the second world war, a follow-up question has been formulated, taking this background into consideration. This line of questioning will try to determine what is the role of the Korean cultural Industry in the current international arena that continues to be dominated by American media.