WHY IS KOREAN ENTERTAINMENT GETTING MORE POPULAR AMONG YOUTH IN INDIA?

The Voice of Chandigarh:

Youngsters nowadays love binging on shows, movies, series, and listening to music. Many have a hobby of watching series, listening to music along with reading, cooking, painting, etc.

Korean entertainment is getting more popular among youth in India. With its ubiquitous presence, it is hard to not be exposed to media and culture from South Korea. From television and cinema to music, food, skincare, and lifestyle, there is a growing Korean cultural influence in various sectors.

What is K-pop and why is it popular?

K-pop is known as Korean pop music, the music generated in South Korea. Many K-pop bands and songs are popular among youth because of their different style, be it their attractive dressing sense, unique music, majestic music videos, and mainly the lyrics of songs. Psy’s viral song “Gangnam Style” was a great hit in India but not many were aware that the song came from South Korea’s artist. But now we have a great fan following of Kpop music and the most famous K-pop group in India is BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan), also known as the Bangtan Boys. The group consists of 7 members (Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook). They are popular among youths as well as elders. Their lyrics and music videos leave a great impact on everyone such as their song “Life goes on” amid pandemic and music video of “Permission to dance” in which they used sign language.

Many other artists such as EXO, Blackpink, TXT, Monsta X etc. are also very popular. However, some metropolitan cities in India play a role in the popularity of K-pop. For example: In Mumbai, they conduct K-pop contests, K-pop dance festivals, Korean festivals, and K-pop flash mobs. Delhi being the capital of India, has the Embassy of South Korea, and The Korean Cultural Centre is located in New Delhi. Many concerts have already been performed in Delhi, and many more shows are yet to come. Banglore is also one of the most populated metro urban cities in the South. Banglore used to organize several K-pop dance contests and singing contests every single year. They also used to have K-pop events as well as flash mobs. Those are the reasons that K-pop is rising in popularity in Bangalore.

What is K-drama and why is it popular?

After K-pop, another Korean wave spread over India is K-dramas. K-dramas are also known as Korean dramas, are television series in the Korean language, made in South Korea. Sometimes they’re referred to as Korean soap operas, but that description is misleading because K-dramas actually encompasses a wide range of genres, from sci-fi and romance to horror and period pieces and everything in between. Most consist of a finite number of episodes (often between 16 and 24, though some especially family-oriented and historical dramas run for 50-plus) and are usually completed in a single season. Indian viewers find K-dramas relatable, they feel emotionally connected.

The gentle romances, cute moments, their thrillers and intense cinema, their music, fashionable outfits, unique storylines, locations, and even their mouthwatering food became the reason for the popularity of k-dramas. The other important aspect is the OTT platform where you can binge-watch k-dramas. A recent Netflix study done in India tracks a 370 percent increase in the number of Indians watching K-dramas. Some famous K-dramas are “Squid Game”, “Vincenzo”, “Nevertheless”, “The King: Eternal Monarch”, “Boys Over Flowers” etc.