JaeYoon Park (editor) - The Rise of K-Dramas: Essays on Korean Television and Its Global Consumption

JaeYoon Park

Living and teaching in a small town in Arkansas, I did not expect to hear a Korean greeting, Annyeonghaseyo , during a community event. I turned around and saw a young woman who then bowed to me in a Korean style. She was not Korean; she had never visited Korea before; nonetheless, she demonstrated an excellent maneuver of the Korean language and cultural knowledge. Even though we had never met, she readily knew by my name that I was originally from Korea. Later on, I met quite a few Arkansans like her. I found out that although there are no Korean classes taught anywhere nearby, they were all self-taught through various Internet and new media resources while listening to their favorite Korean popular songs (K-pop) and watching Korean dramas (K-dramas) . They comprise just a small part of the Korean Wave (or hallyu ) fans.

I recall the time when I heard Gangnam Style on a local radio station while driving in Kansas a few years ago. I was teaching at a mid-size university and living in a college town in Kansas. The song went viral on the Internet, and it was, in fact, the first time that any piece of Korean popular culture gained recognition in mainstream U.S. media . In the late 1990s, the Korean Wave (hereafter hallyu ) began crossing national borders, primarily in East Asia first, then throughout the Asian region in general. I heard the news about hallyu reaching its influence all over the world, including Latin American countries, Europe, the Middle East, and even Africa. While living and teaching in Kansas, I occasionally met hard-core hallyu fans . Yet they were all young college students who usually became fascinated with Japanese or Asian culture first, and then somehow transferred their interest into a then-new phenomenon called hallyu . They were early adopters, somewhat isolated from one another. Even when Gangnam Style became sensationally popular throughout the globe, it was still deemed an exceptiona viral sensation, not enough to revert the larger, transnational cultural flows. South Korea remained in the periphery as a regional center, although it was an increasingly powerful and influential producer and exporter of cultural products.

Yet, it feels different. Something has shifted in recent years. The more I travel around North America, the more I can sense a change. My Koreanness is often associated with a young, new, and trendy culture. Korea is cool. Before hallyu , it was the military culture: people I met would talk about their grandfathers or fathers stories when they fought during the Korean War; or they would tell me their experiences when stationed in South Korea as American G.I.s. Now, people want to talk to me about their addiction to Korean dramas, and they also ask me where to buy Korean beauty products. I became curious.

When putting out a Call for Papers for this particular collection, I was pleasantly surprised to receive interests from authors of diverse national origins and geographical locations. The contributors of this collection are not only from the U.S. and Korea, but also from the UK, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey, and Brazil. This collection of essays thus provides various perspectives on the cultural phenomenon of passionately watching and consuming Korean dramas around the globe.

I would like to thank all the contributors in this book for collaborating so patiently and pleasantly. I am grateful to Dr. Tamara Falicov, Dr. Novotny Lawrence, and Dr. Yan Bing Zhang for their valuable advice and support. I am also appreciative of Natalie Foreman, associate editor at McFarland, for her support and belief in this book. I would also like to thank Dr. Ann-Gee Lee, my coeditor for this collection. Without her, this publication would not have been possible. Kamsahamnida .