Korean Pop in Europe

Been trying to write an article about the drinking culture of Korea. But it's rather a sophisticated topic and I've been overwhelmed with the amount of information out there. Trying to interview some of my collegues, etc. It'll come, soon.

Interesting article on Chosun : Korean Pop in European countries.

"공연 연장" 시위까지… K팝(한국가요) 유럽열풍 왜?

Translation of some main points below :



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On May 1st, a demonstration by Europen K-pop fans broke out in front of Paris Museum, demonstrating the incredible Korean wave sweeping throughout Europe.

This 'demonstration' by 200 or so people requested more tickets for the June 10th concert of Dong Ban Shin Gi, Super Jr., Girls generation, Shiny, f(x) and other K-pop groups' performances. Because tickets for this concert - all 6,000 of them - were sold out in 15 minutes. The main sponsor, SM, is now considering an extra performance on June 9th to solve this problem.

Korean wave doesn't end in France. It has appeared in England, Germany and other Europen nations. On Feb 25th, there was a 200-meter-long line of English teenagers trying to get into the event called "London K-pop Night." Some people came from Scotland, which is 600km away.

Internet media, like Youtube, contributed to this arrival of K-pop to Europe. France, for example, has a separate website that allows users to watch K-pop music videos and Korean Dramas with K-pop celebrities starring.

Another factor is that a good number of K-pop songs are written by European songwriters. Girls Generation's 'Tell me your wish' was written by an European songwriting team (Design Music Team). f(x)'s 'Chu' by Swedish, Dongbanshingi's 'Mirotic' by Dennish, and so on.

European media also acknowledged the growth of K-pop in Europe and has started paying much attention to K-pop. Earlier this year, TF2, a French media, broadcasted a documentary called 'Korea, a Hidden Potential' to introduce their viewers to K-pop celebrities and Korean Wave. BBC reported that "Korean wave has expanded beyond Asia to the US and Europe. Korea's national brand has gone from  'Chaebul Corporations' to 'K-pop'."