Hanryu: Korean Popular Culture in Japan

Abstract

On July 23, 2011, Japanese actor Sosuke Takaoka made public his anger with the dominance of Korean dramas on Japanese television, specifically the Fuji Television Network, by tweeting to his fans. Takaoka’s action was widely reported and caused both positive and negative reactions in Japan where Korean popular culture had become part of the daily cultural environment for a majority of people. It has been over a decade since Korean popular culture was introduced to Japan. Starting as a subcultural interest among the fans of Hong Kong idols, Korean popular culture called Hanryu (or Kanryu)¹ in Japan made its presence known to the Japanese when a television drama Winter Sonata became a surprise hit among middle-aged women in 2003.² The introduction of K-pop, Korean popular music, in the late 2000s, extended the appeal of Hanryu to teenagers. When actor Jang Geun-suk made a television commercial for makgeolli, Korean fermented alcoholic drink, in 2011, the Hanryu boom seemed to have achieved its peak, which has continued to till this day.