The Rise of K-Culture: Discover the Korean Wave (Hallyu) (FutureLearn)

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.