K-Wave: know more about Korean beauty and fashion
HIGHLIGHTS:
- BTS or Blackpink?
- Secret behind Korean beauty
- History behind Korean wave
You must’ve heard of BTS or Squid games or ramen and kimchi, yes? That’s because we’ve been hit by the K-Wave! There has been an immense increase in the global popularity of South Korea and its culture since the 1990s. K-Wave stands for Korean wave or “Hanryu” (한류): han meaning “Korean” and ryu meaning “flow” or “wave” commonly known as “Hallyu”. It encircles around the global awareness of different aspects of South Korea.
WHAT’S ON THE POPULAR LIST FROM SOUTH KOREA?
- K-POP has taken over the world now; BTS and Blackpink have become a symbol of pop culture. Who wouldn’t like to groove on Dynamite when you hear it playing on the radio isn’t that right?
- BTS became the first Asian artist with which McDonald’s collaborated to sell celebrity set menus around the world in its 66 years history, since 1955. The BTS meal was popularised like wildfire people were running to their nearest McDonald’s to get the meal.
- Ramen or Raymeon is now something that everyone wants to try. And social media is behind making Korean food so popular. Ramen is not the only Korean food that is so amazing,
- Jjajangmyeon- a black bean paste noodles with pork and onions is a Korean comfort food.
- Tteokbbeoki- a famous street food from Seoul is basically rice cakes and fish cakes cooked in red chilli paste called Gochujang which is a staple condiment in Korea.
- Kimbap or Gimbap- rice and seaweed sheet rolls similar to sushi.
- Mandu- just like momos –dumplings filled with either vegetables or pork,
- Kimchi- just like pickles. This is a staple in Korea, eaten with rice, ramen, meats and basically everything. This is something Koreans can’t live without.
Korean Fashion and Beauty is getting so much popularity nowadays. From comfortable and affordable street wear to upscale luxury brands—Korean fashion has gathered international attention. Korean brands like Uniqlo and 8seconds have offered a comfortable and affordable attire option. As a winner of the Netflix show Next In Fashion, Minju Kim got a chance to introduce her marvellous designs to the world and put them on the global market.
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We all wonder how Koreans are living with such beautiful skin. It’s because they tend to care a lot about how they look and present themselves. Instead of using harsh ingredients in their makeup and skin care they involve the natural or balancing skin’s natural ecosystem .i.e. cleansing, exfoliating, hydrating and protection that lets the skin thrive on its own. Korean beauty products utilise the most effective Western ingredients—and so much more. With an impressively large repertoire that includes ground-breaking ingredients such as snail slime and bee venom, their compellingly fresh formulations can deliver results you could never achieve before. You must’ve heard of the Korean snail mucin facial that was trending on TikTok a while ago. It includes live snails crawling on your face LIVE!
HISTORY BEHIND HALLYU
” I want our nation to be the most beautiful in the world. By this I do not mean the most powerful nation. Because I have felt the pain of being invaded by another nation. I do not want my nation to invade others. It is sufficient that our wealth makes our lives abundant; it is sufficient that our strength is able to prevent foreign invasions. The only thing that I desire in infinite quantity is the power of a noble culture. This is because the power of culture both makes us happy and gives happiness to others”. – Words by Kim Gu (Provisional President of Korea and independence movement leader), in his autobiography.
In 1960, South Korea’s economy began to fully recover from the war and experienced a period of rapid economic growth known as the Miracle on the Han River. Introduction of Hyundai into the western world, during this time South Korea was developing its Ministry of Culture to develop the media sector involving many media houses and investors to expand the media business.
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HALLYU 2.0
Hallyu 2.0 is the new Korean wave that came around 2007, where Korean digital technology and social media took over. Launching of new animation video games and popularisation of Korean pop music more focused on East Asia. First K-pop festival in India was announced in 2012 by the Korean Cultural Center in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Spotify became one of the major contributors of the Hallyu movement in 2019 when it entered the Indian music streaming market. Songs of BTS started breaking local streaming records within 2019-20. Given by Spotify data, BTS not only became the fifth most streamed artist but have the third most streamed album in the entire country.
HALLYU 3.0
The third generation wave; Time that actually popularised the user generated content on YouTube, spread of content like meokbang or Mukbang (a Korean eating show). This is the era that brought to us the Korean delicacies, the mesmerising videos of people slurping on long ramen noodles. The wave also opened the gates for Korean studios such as CJ group and studio dragon. In 2020, the world was given “parasite” and “crash landing on you” which took the world by surprise. Squid game was a sensation, leading to people getting Halloween costumes based on its character. It’s amazing how the K-Culture is taking over spreading love.
