The K wave or Korean wave refers to the increase in global popularity of the South Korean culture since the year 1990. This spread of Korean culture started with the spread of Korean dramas and Korean pop culture across Southeast, South, and East Asia during the initial stages. Eventually, the Korean wave encompassed the United States as well. Since the starting of the 21st century, the country of South Korea has emerged as one of the major exporters of tourism and popular culture, two aspects which are becoming very significant in the latest economy. The government of South Korea has also driven the increasing popularity of Korean pop culture by providing support to their creative industries through the provision of subsidiaries and funding for small startups.
The OST Korean drama album is available on video-sharing platforms, which have allowed the entertainment industry of Korea to reach all over the world since 2000. Due to the demand for Korean dramas, they enjoy widespread availability in almost all streaming services that offer the presence of subtitles in many languages. A lot of K dramas have also been adopted throughout the world, achieving a lot of popularity in some countries. Korean dramas have also influenced style, culture, and fashion all over the world.
Korean music has been encompassing a lot of popularity in many countries all over the world. Psy, the performer of Gangnam Style, received tremendous success but not as much as boy bands like BTS and Stray Kids have received in the last few years. The stray kids albums have appeared on US billboard Music Awards as well as in foreign events. The recent increase in K-pop has increased the mixing of Korean and non-Korean cultures due to collaboration amongst different artists. An increase in foreign collaborations shows a huge influence of Korean culture, as has never been observed before.
As measured in February of 2021, the number of BTS listeners in major Asian countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, and India have already outnumbered that present in South Korea. One of the primary platforms that helped K-pop reach global levels is YouTube. With a global steady progress, the South Korean entertainment industry has understood the billion-dollar opportunity. India is also one of the quickest-growing fan bases for the K-pop genre. The South Korean government has started its investment in India to enhance its market size and K-pop popularity.
With an increase in the global recognition level and billions of dollars in the investment process, the competition amongst the different entertainment industries in South Korea has increased. After big hit entertainment, which is the founder of BTS, more and more entertainment agencies are aiming to become the next big hit by launching K-pop groups. There is also cross-Asian collaboration going on between K-pop artists and other Asian artists.
SM entertainment, along with YouTube, is trying to release a remastered version of the older K-pop music videos as a part of their collaborative effort. K-pop to here to stay for a long time
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