Hanryu Wave (Jee In Chung)

Since when did Hanryu phenomenon occur in Japan? I must say, it started off  with the Korean drama, Winter Sonata in which Yon-sama was featured in. Ever since Winter Sonata was broadcasted in Japan, Japanese people become deeply interested and absorbed into Korean popular culture. In the beginning,   Drama/Soap Opera played a big role but today the trend has moved on to Korean songs. The statistics prove that the export earnings on Korean drama far surpasses when compared to other aspects of Korean Pop-culture. Today, you hear songs by Girls' Generation, Kara and 2NE1 all over Shibuya and Shinjuku. As Korean singers become more famous in Japan, they even publish  Japanese versions of the songs in Japanese lyrics with separate music videos.
      This brings up an interesting question between the relationship between Japan and Korea in regard to its history. Because Korea was colonized by the Japanese only 6 decades ago, to me, at least it doesn't seem so long ago. People are still recovering from the scars of  the loss of the loved ones from the war and others are living in the memories of the war in Korea. But as the Japanese people show more love and interest in Korean culture, regardless of its government's interests, it's interesting to see how Koreans feel about the Hanryu wave. At first, the media reported as just a one-time event but now, the attitudes have changed. Korean media seems to be much more supportive of the singers that go abroad to Japan to promote Korean culture, Korean language and Korean food. Koreans, themselves are also becoming much more open to accepting Japanese's love for Korean culture. Hopefully, this Hanryu wave will help to improve the status of the Zainichis in Japan as well.

      As a Korean student in Tokyo, it is a lie for me to say that I was nonchalant towards the Japanese in the beginning. It was rather negative and ambiguous. But as time passes, my attitudes towards Japanese people have been changing to something more productive and positive. Even today, I see increased number of Japanese tourists in Korea and many of my Japanese friends chose Korean to study as their second language. I am proud to see how much progress Korean celebrities have made in Japan and to see how well-known and popular they are in Japan. Hopefully, the Hanryu wave will create bigger waves in Japan which will result in improved relations of both countries.
      There is a place called Shinokubo which has turned into a large Korean town. The streets are full of Korean restaurants, Korean Celebrity photos and Korean grocery markets. This town used to be more of unknown, small town but it has been growing in size ever since 2 years ago. Some students told me that Shinokubo has a great potential to turn into the next Harajuku!