Discover the South Korean food, music, and entertainment trends taking the world by storm to become an expert in K-Culture. On this six-week course from Hanyang University, you’ll explore the historical and cultural origins of the Korean Wave. Through a blend of case studies, weekly readings, and in-class screenings, you’ll delve into the vibrant world of K-Culture.
Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.
Ride the Korean Wave (Hallyu)
The last decade has seen an astronomical rise in the popularity of South Korean culture. Whether it’s platinum-smashing K-pop bands, Oscar-winning Korean-language movies, or viral mukbang videos, K-Culture is now a global phenomenon. We even have a word to describe that phenomenon: Hallyu, or ‘the Korean Wave’.
Take a sensory tour of K-pop, K-drama, and Korean cuisine
Over the six weeks of the course, you’ll take a sensory tour of South Korean music, entertainment, food, and technology. As you discover new trends and new cultural phenomena, you’ll learn how they have transformed South Korean society and captured the attention of the world.
From the globalisation of Korean popular culture to the cultural power wielded by K-pop fandoms, you’ll analyse key issues relating to the rise of K-Culture.
Get to grips with digital culture and new media in South Korea
Looking beyond traditional forms of cultural production, you’ll also examine the role of digital media in South Korean society.
In the second half of the course, you’ll consider the digitalisation of the Korean economy and cultural industries. You’ll explore how live streaming and new media have contributed to the spread of K-Culture.
By the end of the course, you’ll understand the cultural trends sweeping through South Korea, and their connections to wider global phenomena like neoliberalisation, globalisation, and digitalisation.
Syllabus
Week 1: Understanding K-Culture Studies
Week 2: K-pop and fandom studies
Week 3: K-drama and the globalization of Korean popular culture
Week 4: K-cartoon, webtoon, and the platformization of cultural production
Week 5: K-food culture and live streaming media (mukbang)
Week 6: K-platform economy and super apps (Naver and Kakao)
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Develop a capacity to situate shifts in South Korean popular culture within a broader social, economic, and cultural change with a sense of historical sensitivity
- Understand theoretical ideas of noeliberalisation, globalisation and digitalisation, and how they specifically manifest in the South Korean contexts
- Gain practical skills and critical thinking faculty to examine research cases in contemporary Korean society and culture
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for anyone who would like to learn more about the increasing global interest in South Korean popular culture, known as the Korean Wave, or Hallyu in Korean.
