Korean wave

If a poll among the young urban Nepalese population is conducted to choose the trendiest and cool Asians it ought to be Koreans. It has already been quite some time since South Korean movies and television series hit the Nepali market. And if the number of people queuing up to buy pirated Korean movies and television series are anything to go by, young urban Nepalese have definitely been hit by the Korean wave which is gaining momentum world over. This increasing popularity of South Korean culture around the world is referred as.
Few years back when I had the opportunity to visit South Korea there wasn’t much fanfare in my friends and family. It was after all just one of those developed but lesser talked about Asian countries. But just a few months back when an announcement regarding a program in Korea was announced in our college, hundreds of them thronged to submit their applications. The buzz that the announcement created lasted for quite some time.
There was a time when there was just a single Korean channel available through our cable operators. Furthermore, Korean movies and television series hardly made it to our local CD shops. But now that piracy is thriving more than ever and the internet in readily accessible, getting a tab on the latest news of Korean entertainment has become a cake walk. Not only do some Korean enthusiasts around me keep a tab on their favorite Korean artists but they also seem to be so well versed with the lyrics of popular Korean songs. Initially I didn’t quite believe it. But when I saw a bunch of young school girls thronging internet cafes to download contemporary Korean songs and their lyrics I had to believe it. It just didn’t end there, they even sang along to those tunes blaring through the speakers.
Korea is cashing in a lot on its thriving pop culture and so it doesn’t come as a surprise when I frequently see commercials of Korean tourism being endorsed by their local talents on international channels. And those same popular Korean faces seem to have made their way into our local gift shops and stationary shops too. Gone are the days when all we saw was rugged Bollywood heroes adorning the walls of our local gift shops. We now have terribly cute Korean guys on huge posters in almost every stationary shops.
Many entrepreneurs in Nepal too are cashing in on Korea’s thriving pop culture. The increasing number of Korean restaurants, clothing stores and department stores that promise to have authentic Korean goods are testimony of how the Korean pop culture has gained momentum among urban Nepalese.
Like many people I too wouldn’t have been as enticed by kimbap (a Korean delicacy) or karaoke as I am now, had it not been for the Korean movies and television series. Korea’s entertainment industry has been pivotal in bringing Korea and its culture in the limelight. And this has resulted in everyone taking notice of Korea and its steady growth.