Two of the world’s most renowned press organizations, CNN and France 2 TV, recently gave in-depth coverage of Korea and the Hallyu, or Korean Wave, phenomenon.

On December 31, CNN reported that Korea has become the “Hollywood of the East” over the past decade, with several million Hallyu fans living all across Asia and around the world.

In the article "'Korean Wave’ of pop culture sweeps across Asia,” CNN cites last year’s performance by the 13-member pop group Super Junior at the Shanghai World Expo. Nearly one million local fans gathered to see their favorite boy group, wtih some lining up for days to get tickets.

Super Junior performs at the Expo Culture Center in Shanghai, China, on May 30, 2010. (Photo: Yonhap News)

According to CNN, Korean pop music, television dramas, movies and video games have become "wildly popular: among Asian youth. They quoted Korea Broadcasting System staff, saying that Korea’s success as a cultural exporter became possible because of its high quality cultural products, but also thanks to a lower cultural barrier for Asians to relate to its content.

Meanwhile, France’s state-run France 2 TV aired a New Year’s special documentary on January 3, entitled “An Eye on The Planet: South Korea.”

This 110-minute documentary called Korea a “hidden power,” noting its significant economic growth over the last three decades, along with its successful chairmanship of the G20 Seoul Summit in 2010. It covered issues including Hallyu, conflict with North Korea, Korean religions and global brands like Samsung.

One of the segments focused on Korea’s cultural exports, including K-pop, television dramas and movies, which have gained significant popularity across Asia. The program viewed Hallyu as the newest engine for growing the country’s cultural exports.

The documentary in full can be viewed on France 2TV’s official website at: http://oeil-sur-la-planete.france2.fr/?page=emissions&id_rubrique=50 (French)

By Hwang Dana
Korea.net Staff Writer

[Source : Korea.net]