Hallyu

Etymology

Hallyu refers to the international diffusion of South Korean culture since the 1990s, following the end of military rule and the liberalization of the popular culture industry. The term primarily refers to the spread of Korean television, pop music, film, and fashion, but can also include animation, video games, technology, literature, cosmetics, and food. While the first generation of hallyu in the late 1990s to early 2000s remained confined to Asia and referred to the popularity of Korean dramas and film on the continent, the second generation, or hallyu 2.0, was driven primarily by the popularity of K-pop distributed on online platforms like YouTube. Both "hallyu" and "Korean Wave" were added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2021.