Feast from the East- why Britain is surfing the Korean culture wave

Feast from the east – why Britain is surfing the Korean culture wave
The Guardian

Vivek Chaudhary

Sun 21 Apr 2019 02.01 EDT

From food to football, fashion to pop music, South Korea’s creative exports are making their mark

Son may be the latest face of the Korean wave but he is certainly not the first. For almost a decade it has been chefs and musicians that have led the way. K-pop, or Korean pop, with its catchy melodies and elaborately choreographed dance routines, has baffled music executives with its worldwide success. The phenomenon began in the UK with a major hit for Korean rapper Psy in 2012. The video for his song, Gangnam Style, has now had 3 billion views on YouTube.

Now boy band BTS have established themselves as a global force. Their first appearance in Britain last October won full houses and hysterical fans. Launched in 2013, they are also the first K-pop band to top the US album charts and have more than 12 million subscribers on YouTube.

Their female counterparts, Blackpink, became the first Korean act to perform at the Coachella music and arts festival in California, earlier this month, with their performance streamed live in Times Square. They also recently became the first ever K-pop girl group to make it to the Billboard charts with both their album and single of the same name, Kill this Love.

Food has been a critical feature of the rise in popularity of Korean culture, and while London has an established restaurant scene, complete with celebrity chefs such as Judy Joo, the cuisine is also spreading beyond the capital, with venues flourishing in Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh.