Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nepal

K-WAVE in Nepal

​

Shreeya Maskay

  Korean Wave or K-Wave is the rising popularity of South Korean Culture throughout the world. The phenomenal Korean sensation is also called Hallyu which is a Korean word for Korean Wave as defined by Korean Tourism Organization. Korean Wave is mainly about television dramas, movies, music, animation and comics also including mobile and computer games. It also involves latest Korean fashion, food, home appliances and cosmetics, assertively expanding to things like dance, sculpture, painting, cuisine, plastic surgery, tourism and language and many more.
  Recently, Korean Wave is becoming the new normal in Nepal. It is loved and accepted by people of all age groups. Most of the Nepalese teenagers are influenced by K-Wave in one way or another and the number of Nepalese teenagers getting involved in the K-Wave seems to be increasing by the day.
  We can see the growing obsession of Nepalese teenage girls towards K-Wave. From romantic comedies to horror thriller and from mini web series to daily dramas, you name it, Korean drama has it all.It is one of the reasons why people are getting more indulged in Korean dramas, they find it an easier way of releasing stress and runaway from the reality.
  Korean Entertainment Industry offers variety of music that is unique and can make people laugh, cry, fall in love, get over a broken heart and sway your hips to the beat of it. It also provides behind the scenes story of well known artists and their hard work which inspires and influences people to work hard to achieve their dream and same is the case with Nepalese teenagers.
  With the intensifying interest shown by Nepalese teenagers in K-Wave, they are now getting more interested towards the entertainment industry. Nowadays, we can find active participation of Nepalese teenagers in entertainment industry and one of the main reasons behind it is the K-pop World Festival. The K-POP World Festival is an annual event organized by South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support of numerous government agencies. After going through a few preliminary rounds, fans of K-pop are invited by the South Korean government to take part in the final round of the competition held every year in Changwon, South Korea. The competition is hosted in various countries, there is a regional competition within the country and only one group is chosen from each country to compete and represent their country in the final round which takes place in Korea itself.
 

  This has provided the K-pop fans an opportunity to bring out their talent as a singer or a dancer and meet their favorite K-pop star due to which many Nepalese teenagers are actively following the Korean trends and following Korean style of music and dance. STRUKPOP, Mongolian Namja, Boy Meets K-Pop, K-Hoppers, Crimson Yeoja etc are Nepalese dance groups actively involved in Korean events and uploading dance covers as well as reaction videos of K-Pop on YouTube promoting K-Wave amongst Nepalese audience.
  As more Nepalese teenagers are actively following the Korean trend we can see how it has affected their fashion, hairstyle, hair color, attitude, beauty standards and much more. The number of boys wearing ripped jeans with colored hair and number of girls with short bangs and feminine style seems to be increasing by the day. Nepalese teenagers are influenced by K-Wave in such a level that they are eager to follow the lifestyle, fashion, culture and tradition of Korea.
  Lots of Nepalese teenagers are also willing to learn Korean language, reason being to be able to understand more about their favorite K-pop artist and in anticipation of attending fan meetings with them in future. With the increasing popularity of K-Wave, the number of Nepalese teenagers (especially girls) dreaming to travel Korea and teenagers travelling to Korea for their higher studies is also increasing.
  Clothes and cosmetic products of Korean brands are visible everywhere in Kathmandu’s shopping stores and are in high demand among high school and college-going teenagers of Kathmandu. As K-Wave is also getting into youth fashion in Nepal, high school and college-going teenagers getting hairstyle and outfits similar to their favorite K-Pop stars is pretty common now.  Various hair saloons of Kathmandu has also been supporting the Korean style for a long time now.
  In Nepal, Youths don’t have anything like K-Pop and Korean songs that make them dance and smile so they seem to prefer it more. Conversations including BTS, NCT127 and similar other K-POP bandshas becomethe new normal for group of young school and college-going students, most of whom follow Korean bands fervently. Names of South Korean actors, singers and bands roll off their tongue very easily. The easy availability of K- Dramas is also one of the main reasons of K-Wave craze in K-Town, one can easily find it in youtube and in various other websites that provides k- dramas with subtitles for free. Korean Movies are also promoted through Korean Film Festivals organized by Emabassy of the Republic of Korea in Nepal.
  The main reason behind the Korean craze is the refreshing content and various variety shows, fan meetings (including digital ones), worldwide concerts and various other street events that makes the Korean as well as the Non-Korean fans feel connected with their favorite artist which results in stronger fan base.
  Certainly, there are some people who remain uninterested in K-Pop. However, a fan of K-Pop or not, with its captivating melodies, catchy lyrics, and well-made music videos and dramas, K-Wave seems likely to grow more. Even the language-barrier does not seem to prevent it from reaching even wider-audiences, Korean-speaking or not, many young fans do not seem deterred.