미국에서의 K-pop 한류

Abstract

The Korean Wave, or Hallyu, refers to the global dissemination of popular culture from Korea. The Hallyu has been diffused worldwide for last 20 years of its history. Since late 1990’s Korean TV drama and K-pop has been actively absorbed and consumed in Asian countries where Korea shares cultural bond and intimacy. While Hallyu has expanded its influence from the nearest countries like China and Japan to the East Asia including Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia etc., Korea also has made meaningful attempts to attract the U.S. public with its Hallyu contents, which has been returned as poor grade most times though. K-pop singers, who have enjoyed great popularity in Korea and Asia, have been struggling in the U.S. pop market.

Korea has recently witnessed the Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ becoming a sensation all over the world and BTS setting remarkable records in Billboard charts and getting huge support from their fandom called ‘Army.’ The extraordinary stories of PSY and BTS and their visible success in the U.S. have proved the positive possibilities of the success of K-pop contents in the wildland of Hallyu. This study has started from questions that how Korean pop culture has been recognized in the U.S. after many years of efforts to overcome the barriers; and if the recent spotlighted K-pop contents can be considered as the mainstream in the U.S.

To answer those questions, this paper seeks to explain the phenomenon of the Korean Wave in the U.S. by analyzing major Hallyu contents including K-pop, TV drama, movies and animations. The study also focuses on the aspect of K-pop contents and its consumption considering the rising status of K-pop in the U.S. with a fact that most U.S. public recognize K-pop as an axis of Hallyu. To draw the meaningful outcomes, the success factors from Psy and BTS were analyzed which can be referred as the best success cases in K-pop Hallyu history in the U.S. The analysis concludes that the success of Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ and BTS is founded on the three characteristics - unique identity as an artist, social media usages such as YouTube, and the messages from their music and performances.

To keep Hallyu influence sustainably in the U.S, contents which would be considered unique and fresh yet universal should be discovered and created. The unique, fresh and universal contents should include Korean traditional culture, ordinary lifestyle of Korea or messages from Korean artists. It is also suggested the changes of a system in the Korean entertainment industry not to train Korean pop idols but to cultivate genuine artists. As Psy and BTS were strong enough to arouse attention as killer contents, it is obvious that the foothold is now set to expand the influence of Hallyu continuously in the U.S.