Abstract:

The Korean Wave, popularly known as Hallyu (한류) is the rapid spread of Korean popular culture in the form of Korean drama, dance, music, as well as fan clubs for Korean stars, among others. This term is the “Korean wave” written in Chinese characters, said to have been derived from the title of an album compilation of Korean popular songs that became a sudden hit in China during the 1990s. Some of the people in the Philippines claim that Hallyu is just a fad – a craze, an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, most of the time that is short-lived  just like its predecessors in the Philippines such as Mexicanovelas, Chinovelas or Jpop (Japanese pop) but as time pass by, Hallyu following increases with no hints of its decline for the next few years. This paper tries to solve and explain the cultural phenomenon that is revolutionizing the world today which became a mystery to the eyes of most Filipinos. It expounds the deeper root of Hallyu’s staying power in the Philippines as well as the challenges it possess through the concepts of cultural imperialism as explained by Joseph S. Nye’s soft power and Filipino’s sense of cultural identity.

Index Terms—Cultural identity, cultural imperialism, Hallyu, Korean wave, soft power.