DiscoveringKorea’sallure,
asacountryofinfiniteopportunityanddynamicpassion
TheimageofKorea,asperceivedbypeoplearoundtheworld,isamarvelinitself.ForeignersareoftenamazedbythecivicconsciousnessofKoreans,exemplifiedbytheirreluctancetotakewalletsleftunattendedincafes.ForKoreans,enjoyinga‘publictransportationsystemthatincorporatesITtechnology’and‘easilyaccessiblefreeWi-Fi’everywhereisapartofdailylife,buttoforeigners,thesearenothingshortofwonders.
ThisbookthoroughlycapturestheuniqueallureofKorea,acharmunmatchedanywhereelseintheworld.ItshowcasesK-contentandK-culture,includingKoreandramasandmusic,aswellasK-sportsandK-companies.ItalsoproudlyhighlightsKorea’sresilienceandstrengthduringthepandemicthatsweptacrosstheglobe.
TheKoreanWaveThatHasBecomeaReferencefortheWorld!
HALLYUcomprisesfivedistinctparts.Thefirsttopicis‘Koreanlifeasseenthroughtheeyesofforeigners.’Part1exploresK-foodandtheuniquedeliveryculture,oftenfeaturedinglobalsocialmedia’s‘reactionvideos,’alongwiththeworld’smostadvanced,fast,andcomfortablewirelessInternetenvironment,highlyaccessibleKoreanmedicalservices,andpublictransportationintegratedwithITtechnology.
Part2focusesonKoreansmakingtheirmarkontheglobalstage.ThissectionhighlightstheachievementsofnotableKoreans,includingBTSandmanyothers,whoexcelinvariousfields.ItfeaturessportsstarslikeSonHeung-minandKimYuna;‘timetraveler’pianistLimYun-chan;danceteamJustJerk;LeeSeung-hoon,knownforhisprowessinpaperairplaneflyingcompetitions;andformerVietnamnationalsoccerteamcoachParkHang-seo.Additionally,itintroduces‘smallgiants’suchasLeeJong-wook,WHOTuberculosisEradicationDirector;PhilipKim,ascientistcontenderfortheNobelPrize;andFieldsMedal-winningmathematicianProfessorHuhJune.
Part3delvesintoK-contentproductscaptivatingtheworld,includingKoreandramas,music,andwebtoons.Italsoexploresthecreativecontentformat‘Webtoon,’originatingandgainingpopularityinKorea;Taekwondo,amartialartlovedglobally;andthepowerfulKpassport,whichallowsvisa-freeentryto192countries.
Part4illustratesKorea’sevolutionfromarecipienttoasupporterofscienceandtechnology.Finally,Part5showcasesKoreancompaniesexcellingindefense,automobile,battery,construction,andsemiconductorindustriesaroundtheworld.ThissectionhighlightssmallyetmightyKoreancompanies,notwidelyknowntothepublic,thatleadtheglobalmarketwithuniquetechnologiesdevelopedinchallengingenvironments.
TheKoreanConsciencethatSurprisesForeigners
LongknownasalandofetiquetteintheEast,Koreaisacountrywherebelongingsleftunattendedoftenremainuntouched.ThisaspectoftheKoreanmoralcompassisseenasreliablehumancapital,earningglobaltrust.Part1ofthebookrecountsananecdotefromtheTVentertainmentprogram“HankookSaram”involvingahiddencameraexperiment.Intheexperiment,awalletleftonanemptytableforaboutfourhourswaslargelyignoredbycustomers,eventhosesittingrightnexttoit.Eventually,amalecustomerpickedupthewallet,butonlytohanditinatthecounter.Non-Koreanguestsontheshowweresurprisedbythelocals’disinterestintheunclaimedwallet.WhilethisbehaviormightberoutineforKoreans,theepisode’sdemonstrationof‘KoreanConscience’leftadeepimpressiononforeigners.
ThePowerofK-contentRecognizedWorldwide
Arangeofcontentproducts,utilizingtheintellectualproperty(IP)ofKoreanmusic,movies,dramas,webtoons,andgames,arecreatingaglobalbuzz.Dramasandmoviesbasedonwebtoonsarebecomingboxofficehits,indicatingthatKoreanwebtoonsareemergingasanewpillaroftheKoreanWave,followingK-pop.WiththeriseofglobalOTT(onlinevideostreamingservices)platformslikeNetflix,whichhavetranscendedborders,variousKoreancontentincludingdramas,movies,entertainmentshows,andanimation,arecaptivatingaudiencesworldwide.Part3ofthebookdelvesintothepowerofK-content,highlightedbyNetflix’s$2.5billioninvestmentpromise.
TheReason‘K’isIncludedintheNameofVietnamScienceandTechnologyResearchInstitute
Part4introducesthestorybehindtheestablishmentoftheVietnameseversionofKIST(KoreaInstituteofScienceandTechnology).Establishedin1968asKorea’sfirstcomprehensivescienceandtechnologyresearchinstitutewith$10millionreceivedfromtheU.S.governmentinexchangeforsendingKoreantroopstotheVietnamWar,KISTissynonymouswiththehistoryofKoreanscientificandtechnologicaldevelopment.Ithasplayedapivotalroleinachievingimmediatecommercializationinappliedscience.Vietnam,whichhasgrownincreasinglyinterestedinKorea,particularlythroughtheachievementsofcoachParkHang-seo,planstoestablisharesearchinstitutecomparabletoKIST,acknowledgingitssignificantinfluenceonKorea’sdevelopment.Thissymbolizesareversalofroles,withKorea,onceanaidrecipient,nowaidinganothercountry.TheinstitutewasnamedV-KISTattherequestoftheVietnamesegovernment,markingtheonlyinstancewhereacountry’scomprehensiveresearchinstituteincludesaletterfromanothercountry’sname.ThismakesV-KISTespeciallymeaningfultoKorea.
Ifrequentlyhavetheopportunitytotravelabroadonbusiness.There’sacommonthemethatemergesfrommyinteractionswithforeignscholars:thewonderofKorea.
“Koreaboastsincrediblystrongconsumerbrands.ThepopularityofK-popisalsoimmenseamongyoungpeople.Koreaisfirmlyestablishingitselfasadynamic,innovative,andhighlyintriguingcountry.”
MyferventhopeisthattheRepublicofKoreawillcontinuetoberecognizedasa‘miraclecountry’andbeasourceofpride,bothtoourselvesandtopeoplearoundtheworld.
_ExcerptsfromPreface
TheKoreanWaveismakingasplashontheglobalstage.VirtuallyeverythingfromKoreaisbeingintroducedtotheworldwiththeprefix‘K’,andcountlessforeignersarebecomingfansofKoreancontent.Doyouthinkthereactionfrompeoplearoundtheworldisexaggeratedormerelyafleetingtrend?Theanswerisno.TheinfluenceofKoreaisnotonlyspecialbutalsoenduring.Ihopethatthroughthisbook,HALLYU,therewillbenumerousopportunitiestoaccuratelyshowcasethe‘poweroftheRepublicofKorea’totheworld.
