Hallyu (2024)

Hallyu한류 (also known as the Korea Wave) is an aesthetic heavy centered around South Korean popular culture; especially Korean pop music (commonly referred to as "K-Pop") and Korean drama shows (commonly referred to as "K-Dramas").

It often centers around boy bands made up of Khonminam (flower boys), who are are pretty, androgynous young men whose style is influenced by shoujo and bishounen and is catered towards the female-gaze. They typically have perfectly styled/dyed hair, light makeup, small jewelry (usually a singular earring), and wear variations upon suit stylings.

Visually, it also takes influence from J-Pop (particularly artists such as Gakct), which is in itself descendant from the West’s New Romantic/Synthpop bands, most specifically Duran Duran and Japan the Band.

1 Glossary
2 Fashion
3 Dramas and Movies
4 Music
- 4.1 Spotify playlists
5 Gallery

Glossary[]

Stan (n): Refers to fans of any celebrity or media figure. The term originally came from Eminem’s song “Stan" but the original negative meaning has evolved over time.

"There are so many K-pop stans."

Stan (v): To stan something means to passionately support and enjoy it, similar to fangirling/fanboying.

"This group is so good, I should stan them."

Bias (n): Your favorite member in a group.

"All the members in 1TEAM are good, but I think Je Hyun is my bias."

Stream (v): To stream means to view it repeatedly to help increase the view count.

"Stream Lit so it reaches 15 million views!"

Koreaboo (n): A name given to non-Koreans who pretend to be Korean and worship Korean people. It is a play on the term "weeaboo", which is used to describe a non-Japanese person trying to be Japanese. This term does not refer to normal K-pop and K-drama stans - Koreaboos are looked down upon in the K-pop and K-drama community due to their fetishization of Koreans and/or East Asians in general.
"Koreaboos are creepy people."

Fashion[]

K-fashion is usually characterized by kawaii fashion, pastel themes, long skirts and dresses, many accessories and Korean beauty trends. Koreawave is more of a fashion and media aesthetic.

Idol fashion is inspired by the stage outfits that K-pop idols typically wear on stage during their performances. Since these styles are put together by stylists and each stage is styled specifically depending on the song and the concept, they take inspiration from nearly every fashion aesthetic.

Dramas and Movies[]

Korean Dramas have exploded in popularity in recent years, with international brands such as Netflix making them available to the general public outside of South Korea. Romantic dramas and Dramedies are the most popular of these shows. Movies are also a part of this aesthetic, both those originating within South Korea and the ones made by the Korean diaspora as a whole. Films such as the Oscar Winning Parasite have gained International Praise and entering the greater sphere of pop culture.

Music[]

K-pop is agenreofpopular musicoriginating inSouth Korea. While the modern form of K-pop can be traced back to the early 90s, the term itself has been popularized since the 2000s, replacing the termGayo, which also refers to domestic pop music in South Korea. Although it generally indicates "popular music" within South Korea, the term is often used in a narrower sense to describe a modern form of South Korean pop that is influenced by styles and genres from around the world, such asexperimental,rock,jazz,gospel,hip hop,R&B,reggae,electronic dance,folk,country, andclassicalon top of itstraditional Korean musicroots. K-pop often refers to the idol groups or idol soloists in Korea, though most K-music has now been categorized as K-pop.

The more modern form K-pop emerged with the formation of one of the earliest K-pop groups,Seo Taiji and Boys, in 1992. Their experimentation with different styles and genres of music and integration of foreign musical elements helped reshape and modernize South Korea's contemporary music scene.

Spotify playlists[]

Some other genres of k-music include:

K-indie
K-hiphop/Korean rap
K-RNB
Trot