K-wave is the increase in global popularity of South Korean culture since 1990's. First driven by the spread of *K-dramas* and *K-pop* across East, Southeast and South Asia during its initial stages, the Korean Wave have since evolved from a regional development in Asia into a global phenomenon, carried by the Internet and social media and the proliferation of K-pop music videos on YouTube.The term was adopted by Chinese media to refer to the success of South Korean popular culture in China. Since the turn of the 21st century, South Korea has emerged as a major exporter of popular culture and tourism, aspects which have become a significant part of its rapidly developed economy. The growing popularity of Korean pop culture in the world was at least partly driven and funded by the South Korean government supporting its creative industries since the end of the 1990s through subsidies and funding for start-ups, as a form of accruing soft power with the goal of becoming a leading global exporter of culture, a niche that the United States has dominated for nearly a century. In 2014, the South Korean government allocated 1% of its annual budget to cultural industries and raised a $1 billion fund to nurture popular culture.
The success of the Korean wave is also due to the development of social networking services and online video sharing platforms, which have allowed the Korean entertainment industry to reach a sizable overseas audience since the 2000s. Korean dramas have enjoyed widespread availability via streaming services which often offer subtitles in multiple languages. Many K-dramas have been adapted throughout the world, achieving notable popularity in some countries. K-dramas have attracted attention for their fashion, style and culture all over the world.
The Korean wave has become an influential global phenomenon since the start of the 21st century, heavily impacting the contemporary cultures, music industry, film industry, television industry, and behavioral aspects of various people throughout the world. Interest in the Korean wave is led by the popularity of K-pop, with stand-out acts such as BTS and Blackpink, followed by K-dramas.
As the popularity of K-pop songs such as " *Gangnam Style*", " *Dynamite*", and " *Butter* ", and K-dramas such as Descendants of the *Sun, Vincenzo, Squid Game and Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha* accomplished international success, South Korea has become recognized as a hub of both economic and soft power. The South Korean mass media and entertainment industries are considered to have high production values with cutting edge technology and talent.
However, the Korean wave has also been criticized for its racism and sexism as well as the exploitation and treatment of artists and musicians within the Korean entertainment industry. Such pressures have led to high-profile suicides such as *Song Yoo-jung, Choi Jin-sil, Kim Jong-hyun, Goo Hara, Cha In-ha, Sulli, and Oh In-hye*, among others.
Finally, everyone is in love with K-pop and K-drama.
Written by saniya ansari
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