Food as part of Hallyu (Korean Wave) 2nd Seminar of King's Asian CCI Research Society Eun-hee Kim & Sun-kyu Lee What is Hallyu? • Korean Wave (한류; 韓流; Hallyu) - "Hánliú" (韓流) literally means "flow of Korea“ - Expression referring to the increase in the popularity of South Korean culture since the late 1990s - The term was originally coined in mid-1999 by Beijing journalists who were surprised by China's growing interest in South Korean culture Hallyu & Dae Jang Geum (2005) • Dae Jang Geum is a very first Korean drama which made a huge success in China and leaded Hallyu • Story about a kitchen cook, Jang-Geum, who became the first female physician of King in Joseon Dynasty – her struggle to learn the secrets of tradi]onal Korean cooking and medicine >> Audiences could see various elements of Korean culture such as clothes and cuisine Stas]cs about Dae Jang Geum • Imported by Hunan Satellite TV • Rang debut - 8.6%, and even 10% for ci]es like Shanghai and Changsha, which ranks first of all rangs at the same slot over the country • Rangs peaked at 180 million viewers (14% viewer rang in China) – excep]onally high in terms of satellite TV rangs. • 150 million yuan (£16 million) of adver]sing revenue for the first quarter of 2005 >> Unprecedented financial returns for the staon, Hunan TV, over 35 million yuan (£3.7 million) Korean Food in Dae Jang Geum ? However… • Despite its massive success in China, the Korean food did not get enough aen]on to be a new cultural trend • Korean food in K-Drama was s]ll remained as a thing to see, not to “eat” or “cook” in China Now, My Love from the Star (2014) • South Korean television series about an alien who landed on Earth in the Joseon Dynasty and, 400 years later, falls in love with a top actress Alien in the modern era Actress • The series casted Soo- hyun Kim (an alien) and Ji-hyun Jun (a top actress) as main characters Another Huge Success in China • My Love from the Star became the most expensive Korean drama in China; US$35,000 per episode • One of the most viewed streaming shows on Chinese plaorm iQiyi, which is official importer of My Love from the Star - more than 2.5 billion views • now ABC has worked for the American remake of My Love from the Star • Xiao Lixin from China Daily – 1) great innovaons in terms of themes and narrave paerns, 2)logical and fast- paced plot with whimsy and roman]c punch lines, 3) high- speed photography and CGI for lifelike visual impact And, “Chi-Mac” (Chicken & Beer) KFC Commercial in China hlps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd3uVIjJEQg Now Chinese people eat Korean Food (Chi-Mac) And take wedding pictures on the set of My Love from the Star !! news about ‘Chi-Mac’ fever in China hlps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFvDmDEXWAs (from 1:23-2:16) Why now?! • Above all, the “ac]ve young generaon” became the central recipients of K-Drama • Thanks to the technological advance (e.g. Internet), the young Chinese recipients could watch the show and share the review on SnS faster than ever • As a result, as the interest about the show rapidly increases, more and more people try to “experience” Korean culture more directly like the Chi-Mac case Indeed, it is more than “Chi-Mac” • Instant noodle - Consump]on of Korean instant noodle also rose to a record high in China, while the drama aired; as the couple has enjoyed a bowl of noodles • Cheon Song-yi’s Fashion/Style In summary, • The boom of Chi-Mac in China implies that the influence of Hallyu is stronger than ever before • At the same ]me, it shows that now the culture has been created and consumed by “audiences” more directly and quite unpredictably • However, despite the democrac movement, it should be cau]ous that the new cultural trend is normally related with excessive “commercialism” • Plus, to create beler cultural product, both Korea and China should find a proper cultural “balance” .