2022 Analysis of Global Hallyu Status

Analysis of Global Hallyu Status

Growth trend in the number of Hallyu community members worldwide

2022 Analysis of Global Hallyu Status

Key Findings

1. Various ways to enjoy Hallyu

• According to the “2022 Analysis of Global Hallyu Status,” the numbers of both Hallyu communities and community members worldwide increased in 2022, achieving a numerical growth of about 15% each. Specifically, the number of Hallyu communities increased by 220 (15.0%), while that of Hallyu community members grew by 22 million (14.2%). Whereas the previous trend of Hallyu fandom showed a consolidation of a decreasing number of communities alongside an increase in the number of community members, in 2022 the size of Hallyu fandom grew as the nature of communities diversified.

• There are two reasons why the shift observed in Hallyu fandom in 2022 is different from previous years. First, it is possible to interpret that as the policy of Living with COVID-19 has been implemented, offline communities have been activated as a result through eased social distancing. Unlike online communities, offline ones are subject to proximity and spatial constraints, so the number of communities increased along with the number of community members.

• Second, it is possible to interpret that the major types of Hallyu content consumed have been diversified and subdivided. Hallyu fandom tends to be formed around a specific celebrity or content type, so if various characters or cultural products become popular, the number of communities can increase. Unlike in 2021, the growth trend of 2022, in which the numbers of both community members and communities increased together, seems to be a result of these influences.

2. The driving force behind the growth of the Hallyu is still K-Pop

• As 2022 was a year in which the value of many Hallyu products such as Squid Game was highlighted, it was expected that fandom would grow mainly around actors, movies, dramas, and entertainment shows, but in reality this was not the case. The number of communities active in content areas such as dramas and movies increased from 169 in 2021 to 180 in 2022, but its proportion among all Hallyu-related communities decreased from 11.5% of the total number to 10.7%. It means that the contribution of these genres to the growth of the entire Hallyu fan base was not as great as expected. This is because works with finite storylines, such as dramas and movies, lack content that can

continue to be consumed once screening is over. Because of this, their community activities tend to be organized around one genre, such as K-dramas and Korean movies in general, rather than individual cultural products in particular.

• Meanwhile, the number of fan communities active in specifically K-pop increased from 966 in 2021 (65.94% of the total number of Hallyu communities) to 1,136 in 2022 (67.2%), which is not only an absolute increase in size, but also a greater percentage of the entire Hallyu fan base. Unlike dramas and movies, the objects of K-pop fandom continue to be active and live their everyday lives, and so consumable content continues to be produced. Rather than being tied to the genre itself, fan clubs are formed around individual celebrities or groups, and they tend to feel a bond through direct communication with celebrities. In line with the current trend of strengthening both the quantity and quality of Hallyu fandom, efforts to discover and support various stars and their activities are necessary to sustain the growth of K-pop as a driving force of Hallyu as a whole.

3. Asia as Hallyu’s back yard, Europe still to be explored

• As of 2022, the region with the largest scale of both the number of Hallyu communities and community members is the Asian continent. The number of communities here is 596, accounting for 35.4% of the global total, but the number of community members is approximately 130 million, accounting for 73.5% of the worldwide figure. Compared to 2021, there was a quantitative increase, but there was no significant growth in terms of the percentage of total Hallyu fandom. Since culture tends to be propagated first to countries with a low cultural distance, it may be that Asian countries that share a specific heritage, such as Buddhism, were more open to Hallyu content. Asia can be seen as a region where Hallyu fandom is stable, and, based on this, it is necessary to develop a strategy to expand Hallyu to the rest of the world.

• On the other hand, compared to 2021, the region that showed the greatest growth in terms of both size and share of fans around the world is Europe. Europe has 509 communities and about 13.2 million community members as of 2022, which is the result of a 37.6% increase in the number of communities and a 37.1% growth in the number of community members, respectively, over the previous year. In addition, Europeans comprise 30.2% of worldwide Hallyu communities and 7.4% of worldwide Hallyu community members, showing growth rates of 19.6% and 20.06%, respectively, compared to the previous year. As the result shows the potential for Hallyu capacity in Europe, European countries can become a bridgehead for Hallyu expansion in the future.

4. Established Facebook, Growing Instagram

• According to the survey, in 2022, it was revealed that Facebook accounted for the largest proportion of platforms on which Hallyu communities around the world were active. As of 2022, 754 communities communicate mainly on Facebook, which is a decrease of 51 (a 6.3% drop) compared to 805 in the

previous year. The share of Facebook among all community activity platforms decreased drastically from 55.0% to 44.8%. Men in their late 20s and early 30s are the main Facebook users, whereas women in their early 20s make up a small percentage of Facebook users worldwide, at 9.3%.

Considering that the main consumers of Hallyu, especially K-Pop, are mainly young women, it is expected that the role of Facebook in the spread and communication of Hallyu will gradually decrease.

• In contrast, Instagram’s media share is significantly lower than Facebook’s so far, but it is showing strong growth. As of 2022, 406 communities are active on Instagram, a 67.8% increase compared to 242 in 2021. In addition, the share of Instagram-based communities among Hallyu groups around the world increased from 16.5% to 24.1%. The majority of the global population using Instagram is young people in their early 30s or younger, with the percentage of female users in their early 20s is at 17%. This means that globally, the Instagram user population is younger than that of Facebook. In other words, the new generation tends to prefer Instagram over Facebook, because the former, focusing on photos and video clips, is more effective in appealing to trendy sensibilities than Facebook, which focuses on text. Considering that the future rise and fall of Hallyu should go beyond the MZ cohort and target Alpha, that is, the following generation, we should pay attention to Instagram as a medium in terms of Hallyu propagation.

5. Now the world is living with COVID-19

• 2021 and 2022 were both equally under the influence of COVID-19, but the policies enacted by different countries to deal with it showed clear differences. Starting in the second half of 2021, some countries around the world, such as the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Israel, eased social distancing, and at the end of 2022, even China joined in the Living with COVID-19 policy. A characteristic change caused by Living with COVID-19 is that the number of communities, including offline activities, has increased. The number of communities in which the nature of activities is mainly offline or at least includes offline activities is 726 as of 2022, an increase of 155 from 571 in the previous year. This is a 26.8% growth, which is significantly higher than the 15.0% increase in the total number of communities. As such, it can be inferred that communities that include offline activities played a significant role in the increase of the quantity of Hallyu groups.

• Also, among all types of communities, the share of those that have offline activities increased from 39.0% to 43.0%. Communities that are still only active online account for the majority, but it is interpreted that global Hallyu fandom is gradually entering the world of Living with COVID-19. A characteristic of communities that engage in offline activities is that they are relatively more limited by spatial constraints than online-oriented communities. Communities are subdivided according to the area where the members live, and it is difficult to accommodate a large number of people in one place. Therefore, in the case of future Hallyu-related projects, the spatial aspect of offline fandom should be considered.

6. K-Pop? K-drama? K-everything!

• Preference for Hallyu, which began with K-pop or K-dramas, positively changes the image of Korea as a country, which can spark interest in other areas of Korean culture. Growth areas may be other types of cultural content such as Korean movies, or economic products such as K-beauty or K-food. This expansion serves as a mechanism for a virtuous cycle that lowers the cultural distance and makes it easier to accept further Korean cultural content.

• The number of communities whose activities are not limited to one type of Hallyu fandom but extend into two or more areas, increased from 212 in 2021 to 256 in 2022. That rise by 44 communities equaled a growth rate of 20.8%. The proportion of all communities active in two or more areas of Hallyu increased slightly from 14.5% to 15.2%. The expansion of areas of interest according to the preference for Hallyu content is one aspect that shows the potential of Hallyu-related businesses in the future, and, in line with this, a strategy is required to ensure that Korea itself, rather than any specific cultural product, has brand power.

2022 Analysis of Global Hallyu Status

By the World Association for Hallyu Studies

I. Overall

1. Overview of Investigation

The year 2022 was a year in which Hallyu made further advances in the world. The development of transnational over-the-top media services (hereinafter referred to as OTT), including Netflix, has made it easy for people around the world to access not only their own culture but also that of a society on the other side of the globe. Following this trend, in 2022, Netflix original series Squid Game achieved the feat of winning the first Emmy Award for a non-English-language TV series. The continued popularity of BTS (Bangtan Boys) and BLACKPINK, as well as the box office and television hits Parasite and Squid Game, respectively, suggest that Hallyu content has overcome the great obstacle of the language barrier and has begun to exert a significant influence on the world.

Since 2012, the Korea Foundation (KF) has been publishing an annual “Analysis of Global Hallyu Status” to capture the present state of the Korean Wave in the world. Specifically, in cooperation with overseas diplomatic offices, it determines the size, distribution, and trends of Hallyu around the world to use it as basic data for relevant academic research or strategy building. “2022 Analysis of Global Hallyu Status” investigated the current status and activities of Hallyu communities and community members by collecting data from a total of 109 countries for three months from November 2022 (the specific survey items are shown in Table 1). Unlike other literature dealing with the status of Hallyu1, this survey has the

Category Contents

Country overview country name, population, area, religion, time difference from Korea, official language(s), GDP per capita, trade with Korea

Hallyu status General information

overall status of Hallyu in the country

Method of Collection

CIA The World Factbook, IMF, official data published by Korea International Trade Association, etc.

Table 1 | Survey items covered in “2022 Analysis of Global Hallyu Status”

1) For example, Global Hallyu Trends, published by the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), conducts content-oriented analysis, such as which Hallyu contents are mainly consumed.

Hallyu community status

Status by field broadcasting (drama, entertainment, OTT), film, K-pop, Korean food, Korean language, K-beauty (makeup, fashion, style, etc.), K-sports, E-content (gaming, webtoon), other industries

Preference factor

General information

what locals love about Korean culture

overall characteristics and trend of Hallyu communities in the country

By community community name, online/offline classification, characteristics, number of members, website, active status

qualitative description based on field survey conducted by diplomatic missions abroad

summary description based on field survey conducted by diplomatic missions abroad

quantitative description based on field survey conducted by diplomatic missions abroad

distinctive feature of being a “person-centered” research that analyzes the fandom that enjoys Korean content, not the content itself.

The “Analysis of Global Hallyu Status” has been published for more than ten years from 2012 to the present, and has accumulated a vast amount of data, but the ways in which data is provided to the public have been limited to paper books and PDFs. To overcome this, the KF in 2021 established a new KF Statistics Center and has been making efforts to deliver various visual materials and statistical data directly to researchers. The survey method and criteria of “Analysis of Global Hallyu Status,” which have been changed since 2021, are as follows.

First, as for the criterion for selecting targets to investigate the current status of Hallyu community activities, the objects of the survey were specified as online Hallyu-related communities that opened and operated web pages and Hallyu-related communities that were actually active offline. Communities that exist in name only and have no actual activities were excluded from the survey. For example, even if a community exists online or offline, if there were no actual activities during the year 2022, that group is excluded from the investigation. In addition, communities that sell products such as goods related to Hallyu were regarded as Hallyu-related communities in that they deal with products targeting Hallyu fans. On the other hand, communities that sell Korean cosmetics were not included in Hallyu-related communities in that they are not only used by Hallyu fans but also by the general public. A community started by an organization or individual was considered a Hallyu community if it dealt with Hallyu content or learning Korean, because it was expected that communication and exchange among Hallyu fans would be the main focus.

Second, if a single community operates multiple channels on social networking platforms, it is regarded as one community and only the channel with the largest number of members is set as the

object of investigation.2 Until 2020, when a single community opened and operated multiple channels, they were counted as multiple communities, but from 2021 onward, only the channels with the most users were included in the survey, in order to improve its accuracy. This is in consideration of the fact that community members are highly likely to engage in overlapping activities across multiple platforms operated by one community, and is part of an effort to prevent overestimation of the number of members. However, this method has limitations in that it excludes the sociodemographic distribution of different users for each platform.3 Nevertheless, the survey after 2021 focused on resolving the problems of overestimation rather than underestimation, which has the advantage of enabling more conservative and stable predictions in establishing Hallyu-related projects or policies in the future.

Third, by classifying the nature of communities according to major activities or interests, the reality that the area of interest of Hallyu fandom is diversifying can be reflected. Communities are classified into music, drama, entertainment shows, tourism, food, Korean language, beauty, literature, e-sports (gaming), traditional culture, webtoon, Taekwondo, animation, and general Hallyu, and this classification system, introduced in 2021, reflects the phenomenon that interest in Hallyu content extends beyond a few specific areas into various fields. As data accumulates in the future, it is expected that it will be possible to dynamically track even the characteristic changing patterns of communities.

Despite these improvements, the survey data of “Analysis of Global Hallyu Status” have the following limitations:

First, as different personnel in each diplomatic mission investigate the current status of communities, there may be different criteria for classifying characteristics or constructing qualitative data. Nevertheless, the collection of data by diplomatic missions helps to understand and interpret more accurately the different social and cultural backgrounds of each country and region, which, in turn, aids in understanding the characteristics and activities of Hallyu communities in each country. In addition, any differences due to the qualitative deviation from the mean by the person in charge of the survey in one locality can be mitigated through repeated iterations of the investigation.

Second, if one fan joins and participates in multiple Hallyu communities, that person cannot be accurately counted. This is a limitation that occurs because the unit of analysis of the survey is not an individual but a group called a Hallyu community. It is difficult to completely resolve this limitation unless the survey method is changed to a survey of individual Hallyu community members. However, it is unrealistic to try to grasp the size of Hallyu community activities through individual surveys, and there is also the problem of representing the communities as individuals. Considering this, the current survey method is meaningful in that it enables efficient estimation of the size of Hallyu fandom at a macro level.

Third, due to the nature of the research design, it is difficult to quantify the current status of Hallyu community activities when these are sporadic and intermittent or there is no online activity. Quantitative

2) The standard for counting the number of members by social networking platforms is “followers” for Twitter and Instagram, “subscribers” for YouTube, and “members” for other channels. In the case of Facebook, it was based on the larger number of among “likes” and “followers.”

3) For example, Facebook is more likely to be used by older people than Instagram.

data collection is also impossible if emergences such as disasters or wars occur during the survey period. For this reason, only a total of 109 countries, excluding 11 out of a total of 118 surveyed countries, were finally included in the analysis.

Even considering the limitations mentioned above, the “Analysis of Global Hallyu Status” provides a vast amount of information that can broadly identify and verify the size, distribution, and trends of Hallyu communities around the world, differentiating from other Hallyu-related analyses that focus on content. This research is therefore meaningful in that it facilitates future Hallyu-related academic research or strategy-building.

2. Analysis

“2022 Analysis of Global Hallyu Status” analyzed the current status of communities in 109 out of 120 countries surveyed, excluding 11 where quantitative information on Hallyu communities was not provided. By region, 23 countries in Asia, 21 in the Americas, 35 in Europe, and 30 in Africa and the Middle East were analyzed.

Table 2 is the result of a survey on the current status of Hallyu communities around the world from 2012 to 2022. Looking at the number of Hallyu communities, we can see that the number of communities increased by 220 in 2022 alone, a 15.0% growth rate, indicating that the previous decrease since 2019 had rebounded. This rebound is encouraging, considering that the size of Hallyu fandom was conservatively estimated by counting only one platform rather than all platforms that overlap as one community, due to the new survey criteria that changed from 2021. Of the 1,684 communities reported in 2022, 1,131 or 67.2% are geared toward music, and 256 or 15.2% are active throughout various Hallyu content types. It is presumed that many of them are also interested in K-pop. This means that more than half of the fan base driving the Hallyu craze are K-pop fans.

Table 2 | Overview of the annual survey results of the overseas Hallyu communities

Meanwhile, the number of community members increased by 22.2 million or 14.2% from the previous year to about 179 million people in 2022. This is a rate that is very similar to the growth rate of the number of communities, namely 15.0%. While the previous trend in Hallyu fandom showed a type of growth in which the number of communities decreased while the number of community members increased, in 2022, the number of community members naturally increased as the types of community content diversified and the number of communities by content type increased.

Although it is not possible to precisely specify the cause of such a change, the factors can be largely summarized into two types. First, it can be interpreted in terms of the activation of online communities due to COVID-19 and the activation of offline communities due to the implementation of the Living with COVID-19 policy.4 When people were forced to be socially active online due to COVID-19, most fandom activities followed suit. A characteristic of online communities is that they are independent of physical space, which allows a large number of people to form a community over long distances. The characteristics of these online communities can also be confirmed in that the aggregation of existing community members coincides with the spread of the pandemic. On the other hand, offline communities are relatively bound by the physical environment. As many people cannot be active together in physical space at the same time, unlike the case with online communities, it is not easy to bring people together from distant areas into a single community. At the point of global transition to Living with COVID-19, the revival of existing offline communities and the emergence of new ones became possible. The increase of the number of communities in direct proportion to the number of community members in 2022 seems to reflect this.

4) A step-by-step recovery policy to ease social distancing, which was intended to prevent spread of COVID-19.

Asia & Oceania America

& Middle East

Figure 1 | Number of Hallyu communities by region per year

Second, as the types of Hallyu content diversified, the nature of communities did also. In addition, the emergence of artists forming new fan bases in various genres such as K-pop, K-drama, and Korean movies seems to have driven the growth of the number of communities and members. For example, if existing K-pop fandom was centered on communities focusing on specific groups such as BTS or BLACKPINK, new communities were formed around up-and-coming singers in addition to the creation of communities devoted to each individual member of BTS, following rumors of the group’s disbanding.

Based on these two possibilities, if there is a keyword that can characterize the current status of Hallyu communities in 2022, it would be “diversification” based on internal and external expansion.

Figures 1 and 2 show at a glance the number of communities and community members by region from 2012 to 2022. The number of communities by continent increased by 139 or 37.6% in Europe, 35 or 25.0% in Africa and the Middle East, and 69 or 13.1% in Asia compared to the previous year, while the number in the Americas fell by 23, a drop of 5.4%. Yet, the number of community members by continent showed a growth trend in all regions. Europe increased by about 3.5 million members (37.1%), Africa and the Middle East by around 560,000 (24.1%), Asia by roughly 15 million (13.4%), and the Americas by approximately 2.6 million (9.0%). In other words, figure for both communities and community members grew in all regions except in the Americas, where the number of communities decreased.

The Asian region, geographically close to Korea and relatively less culturally distant from Korean culture, played a role as a bridgehead for spreading the early Hallyu craze around the world, and is also the region where the majority of Hallyu fans around the world live. However, the scale of activities of Hallyu communities in some countries is seen as decreasing, which may indicate cultural differences between

Asia & Oceania America Europe Africa & Middle East 1 1 21 12 7 248 90

2 16 390 94

2 62 434 110

1 65 674 118

2 68 685 122

3 149 954 143

12 106 1,158

289

23 96 1,312

315

29 132 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

countries. For example, in Japan, there is a culture that prefers a global fan community platform that allows direct communication with Hallyu celebrities rather than small communities where only members of the same group can communicate. Specifically, numbers of fans fell in Taiwan by 560,000 from about 2.2 million in 2021 to 1.6 million in 2022, a drop of 25.4%, and in Japan by 72,000 from about 340,000 to 270,000, a 20.8% decrease. In addition, although the number of community members decreased in Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, and China, it increased in other regions, including India (12.0%), Mongolia (41.4%), and Vietnam (223.0%), showing an overall increase across Asia.

The Americas have the largest Hallyu fan base outside Asia, and are expected to become a major consumer of Korean culture in the future. In 2022, the number of community members in the Americas increased by 9.0% from about 29 million to 31 million, while the number of communities decreased from 427 to 404. Unlike other regions, the increase in the number of community members is not proportional to the increase in the number of communities, so research on the unique characteristics of American Hallyu fandom is required.

Specifically, Canada was the country that had the greatest influence on the increase in the number of Hallyu community members, which increased by about 3 million from roughly 2 million in 2021 to 5 million in 2022, a growth of 154.0%. This is a considerable size even when compared to the increase of about 2.6 million in the Americas as a whole, and the growth of Hallyu communities in Canada offset the decline in other countries in the Americas. In doing so, Canada has emerged as a new center of Hallyu, recording the highest rate of increase in the number of community members in the Americas for two consecutive years, and is expected to play an important role henceforth in influencing the future of Hallyu culture. On the other hand, in the United States, the number of community members decreased by 450,000 from 16.7 million to 16.2 million, a fall of 2.7%. Other countries with an increase in the number of community members are Argentina (18.6%) and Colombia (179.1%), which serve as strongholds for the spread of Hallyu in South America. In addition, fan numbers fell by about 540,000 people (37.8%) in Brazil and about 140,000 people (11.3%) in Peru, so it is necessary to keep an eye on future trends.

Meanwhile, in 2022, the region with the largest increase in the number of Hallyu fans is Europe. European Hallyu fandom grew by about 37.1%, growing by 3.5 million from about 9.6 million in 2021 to about 13.2 million in 2022. This is led by Russia, where numbers rose by 2.2 million (39.0%), and Turkey, which saw an increase of 1.3 million (129.2%). In contrast, numbers declined by 460,000 (84.1%) in Kazakhstan and about 150,000 (25.9%) in France.

Lastly, Africa and the Middle East are regions with the fewest Hallyu fans in the world, and also with the most countries where Hallyu-related research is difficult. Growth trends in both the number of communities and members were observed, recording an increase of 35 communities and about 560,000 community members, 25.0% and 24.1% respectively. However, apart from the high rate of increase, the absolute size itself did not increase significantly because the size of the existing Hallyu fandom was small. However, the steady increase in communities shows that the acceptance of Hallyu culture is increasing in Africa and the Middle East, giving a positive outlook for the spread of Hallyu in these regions.

II. Major changes in Hallyu by region

We looked at the trends of Hallyu by region, focusing on the countries that showed significant changes in its spread and the increase in the size of communities and numbers of community members.

1. Asia and Oceania

1.1. Northeast Asia

In Northeast Asia, China and Japan are not only historically and culturally close to Korea, but also economically active countries with strong trade ties to Korea.

In 2022, there were 73 Hallyu communities in China and about 84 million community members, an increase of 3 communities and a decrease of 1.1% or 1 million people from about 85 million in 2021. In the case of Japan, the fan base decreased from 50 Hallyu communities with about 340,000 members to 38 communities with about 270,000 members.

China is a country with a large Hallyu fan base, accounting for 64.2% of the total Asian/Oceanic fan base of about 130 million people, and K-dramas such as The Heirs, My Love from the Star, and Descendants of the Sun enjoyed great popularity. However, as Chinese anti-Korean sentiment triggered by the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile defense system in Korea in 2017 and the Korean Wave Ban became entrenched, adverse conditions were formed, such as the Chinese government blocking the Weibo (a Chinese social media platform) accounts of Korean celebrities. In the aftermath of these political and diplomatic conflicts, the prevailing opinion was that Hallyu fandom in China would gradually shrink. For example, in 2020, there were significant cancellation attempts5 in Chinese fandom, sparked by BTS’ remarks in support of Korea-US relations.

However, in January 2022, for the first time in about five years since 2017, the Korean fusion historical drama Saimdang, Memoir of Colors was aired on China’s Hunan Satellite TV, and the ban on Korean Wave seemed to have been lifted. Starting with this, a total of 16 Korean dramas were aired on various Chinese OTT platforms during the year, and the door that had been firmly closed to Korean popular culture was gradually opened. Besides K-dramas, exports of content intellectual properties such as K-webtoons and K-gaming are also actively resuming. The Chinese film Moon Man, adapted from Korean cartoonist Jo Seok’s “Moon You”, took second place at the Chinese box office in 2022, demonstrating the high growth potential of K-webtoons in China in the future. K-gaming is also doing well in an unfavorable environment.6 Even under the Chinese government’s strong regulation of the gaming industry, Korean

5) Actions that primarily target celebrities and attempt to cause them to lose their jobs or social status by criticizing and revoking endorsements and the favor of those who believe they have done wrong.

6) Due to the Chinese government’s strict regulations on the gaming industry, even Chinese gaming companies are seeking a way out by entering foreign markets rather than their own. In these circumstances, foreign game companies are struggling.

players are enjoying considerable popularity in for example LPL, a professional league of League of Legends gamers, which is broadcast by platforms such as Twitch. Looking at the current status of Hallyu in Japan, the number of community members has fallen by about 70,000 from about 340,000 in 2021 to about 270,000 in 2022. However, it is too early to conclude that Hallyu is weak in Japan based only on quantitative data. Since Crash Landing on You in 2020 ranked first in the overall Japanese Netflix drama category, various K-dramas have been successful, including Itaewon Class (2020) and Squid Game (2021). Starting from the time when Crash Landing on You, which recorded explosive viewership ratings, aired on Netflix, the number of Japanese Netflix subscribers rose rapidly from 3 million to 5 million as of 2020. At the beginning of 2022, there were a total of eight K-dramas in the top 10 of Netflix’s overall ranking in Japan. In addition, in various cultural areas such as K-pop and K-food, Hallyu is gaining interest from Japanese people.

Considering the facts laid out above, interpreting the decline in the number of Hallyu fans in 2022 as the actual weakening of Hallyu influence in Japan can be a hasty conclusion, and a multifaceted approach is needed to determine the cause of the numerical decrease. For example, the fall in the number of Hallyu fans may be due in part to the uniqueness of fandom culture in Japan. In Japan, fans prefer global community platforms such as Weverse, which allow direct communication with Hallyu stars, rather than Japan-based communities, where only community members can interact with each other. In fact, according to a survey by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Japan, members of a Japanese BTS fan club prefer to communicate through the boy band’s official Twitter account rather than being active on their own club site. In addition, the political and diplomatic situation between Korea and Japan may have been a factor preventing the proper reflection of Hallyu. Considering Japan’s socio-cultural characteristics, anti-Korean public sentiment may have discouraged Japanese fans from, for example, joining a Hallyu community, which is visible to the public, while still actively consuming Hallyu contents. As mentioned above, in order to properly capture and understand the Hallyu fandom phenomenon, it is necessary to understand the socio-cultural characteristics of each country and conduct analysis in that context, rather than relying on a simple quantitative review.

1.2. Southeast Asia/South Asia

In Southeast Asia, Thailand accounts for the largest share of Hallyu fandom. In 2022, the number of fans in Vietnam increased rapidly, forming a huge fan base similar to that of Thailand. First, in Thailand, the number of community members increased by about 2 million from 15 million members in 105 communities in 2021 to 17 million members in 112 communities in 2022, a growth of 13.8%. During the same period, Vietnam saw a growth of 9.2 million community members, up 223.0% from about 4.1 million members in 11 communities to about 13 million members in 20 communities.

As a country where Hallyu is in the limelight, Thailand has the most fans in Southeast Asia. As such, a very positive attitude toward Hallyu as well as community activities were found to have a positive impact

on the general Thai people’s perception of Korea. In fact, according to a survey conducted by a research team at Thailand’s Mahidol University in 2022, the country with the greatest soft power influence in Thailand was Korea, which ranked first in the categories culture, fashion/life, and drama/film.7 In addition, as the popularity of Hallyu is high, they show similar enthusiasm for learning Korean. As of 2022, Thailand is among the countries with the largest number of students learning Korean. Even in 2022, consumption of Hallyu content showed growth, and the number of Thai tourists visiting Korea is steadily increasing as the COVID-19 quarantine guidelines have been eased and entry restrictions lifted.

Vietnam is the country with the highest growth rate in terms of community members. This number doubled in 2022, and the main preferred content is K-pop and entertainment. Since early 2020, mainly on OTT platforms such as Netflix, Itaewon Class, Crash Landing on You, and It’s Okay to Not Be Okay have been popular with Vietnamese Hallyu fans. As of November 2022, K-dramas Under the Queen’s Umbrella and Reply 1988 were included in the top 5 Vietnamese Netflix dramas. In the case of light entertainment shows, Running Man, The Return of Superman, and K-Pop Star continued to gain viewers. Vietnam exhibits an applied form of Hallyu by purchasing the rights to Korean-style formats, localizing them, and airing them, going beyond simply screening Korean entertainment shows. In June 2022, the Vietnamese version of 2 Days 1 Night 8 , introduced through its YouTube channel, attracted considerable attention, with the number of channel subscribers exceeding 370,000. In the case of movies, starting with Train to Busan, which received rave reviews from the Vietnamese media and netizens in 2016, Parasite was a big hit in 2019, as was Peninsula in 2020, and Yuksao (6/45) in 2022. The film industry also goes beyond merely importing and releasing Korean films, screening local remakes to suit the tastes of locals, gaining steady popularity with audiences. Vietnamese remake films include Sunny, Scandal Makers, and Extreme Job

1.3. Oceania

Among the few countries in Oceania, the country where Hallyu fandom is the strongest in both size and growth rate is Australia. In 2021, there were 34 communities with about 930,000 members, and in 2022, there were 46 communities with about 2.4 million members, a rapid growth during the year. Australia is a country where various cultures coexist, and in the past, there was a strong impression that Hallyu was a subculture only enjoyed by a few, but after PSY’s “Gangnam Style” became a worldwide hit in 2021, the perception of Korean culture gradually began to change. The increase in demand for Hallyu content was thanks to Squid Game, which was explosively popular around the world in 2021. In particular, as the popularity of K-pop increased, a number of K-pop dance studios opened, and in major cities such as Sydney, many locals are known to enjoy Korean food. In the Australian media, news reports about not only K-pop but also Korean food are multiplying noticeably. In the early days, the

7) Aisylu Akhmetzianova (September 13, 2022) “Thais say Korea has ‘biggest cultural impact’ on their culture”. Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS). https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=220928

8) Produced in the format of Korea’s 1 Night 2 Days.

main consumers of Hallyu content were young Asians, but recently it is expanding to include more varied demographic groups.

2. Americas

2.1. North America

In North America, countries notable for their Hallyu fandom are the United States, which boasts a huge fan base, and Canada, which has a high growth rate. The size of the fan base in the United States has shrunk by 2.7%, down 500,000 from about 16.7 million members in 46 communities in 2021 to about 16.2 million members in 69 communities in 2022, but it still has the largest number of Hallyu community members in North and South America. During the same period, the number of communities in Canada decreased by half from 28 to 14, but the number of members increased by 3 million from 2 to 5 million, a rise of 154.0%.

The United States is considered one of the countries with the strongest soft power in the world. Even in the United States, the influence of Hallyu content has recently drawn attention. Dr. Sam Richards, a professor of sociology at Pennsylvania State University in the US, said, “The charm of K-content is the clarity of storytelling, issues, and themes,” and predicted the rise of the Korean Wave four years ago.

As mentioned earlier, there are about 16 million Hallyu fans in the United States, which is more than half of the total number of Hallyu fans in the Americas. Considering that the spread of culture usually starts from a place with low cultural barriers, it is impressive that Western societies located on the other side of the globe enjoy Korean content as much as they do. One of the main barriers to the expansion of Hallyu is language, and Hallyu fans are actively working to create an environment where English-speaking viewers can consume Hallyu contents without feeling uncomfortable, such as by voluntarily translating lyrics and scripts into English and producing subtitles, participating in and contributing to the spread of the Korean Wave.

Interest in K-pop in the United States, which began in 2012 when singer PSY’s “Gangnam Style” became a huge hit, has now reached the level of being called a “craze.” In particular, pop groups led by BTS and BLACKPINK are gaining popularity through global platforms such as YouTube. Along with BTS’ achievement of 4 Billboard Music Awards in 2021, Hallyu fans go beyond enjoying K-pop music itself and look for K-pop stars’ interview videos and daily vlogs, which has a great influence on their lifestyle such as fashion and makeup. As the number of passionate K-pop fans grows, the YouTube clips of American fans addressing them are also becoming more diverse every day. They are gaining popularity by creating various K-pop-related derived content such as video parodies, reactions, and lip syncing after watching videos of K-pop singers.

Korean food, Korean movies, and K-drama have also been the focus of attention lately, which can be said to be the result of the 2020 film Parasite directed by Bong Joon-ho. Parasite won four awards, including Best Picture, at the 93rd Academy Awards, gaining a positive response from Americans across

cultures and popularity with its uniquely gritty portrayal of class divisions. Following that, the 2021 film Minari became popular, and actress Yoon Yeo-jeong also won the Best Actress Award at the Academy Awards, continuing the trend of Korean film box office success. Minari has won 91 awards both inside and outside the United States, including the 78th Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, as well as the Sundance Film Festival Jury Prize and Audience Award. The great popularity of the series Squid Game, which aired on Netflix in 2021, contributed greatly to the expansion of interest in Hallyu beyond K-pop to K-dramas. It is analyzed that the reason why these cultural products were able to overcome cultural barriers and become popular in American society is that these contents realistically captured the class divide and conflict that are also prevalent in American society.

North of the United States, Canada also has active Hallyu community activities centered on K-pop and K-drama. BTS and BLACKPINK are gaining popularity in Canada as in the United States, and the popularity of Korean content such as Parasite and Squid Game continues to spread. As a result, interest in various Hallyu content, such as Korean food and the Korean language, is increasing, and a wide range of effects is expected, such as the formation of a positive image of Korea in general. Reflecting this, the number of Hallyu fans in Canada has more than doubled from about 2 million in 2021 to about 5 million in 2022.

2.2. Latin America

In Central and South America, Hallyu fandom is strongest in Argentina and Chile. Thanks to the success of Hallyu content worldwide, the number of fans in Argentina increased by 18.6% or 800,000 people from about 4.3 million in 2021 to about 5.1 million. On the other hand, in Chile, there was a slight decrease of about 1%, or 13,000, from the previous 1.1 million.

Argentina, which is estimated to have about 5 million fans, is one of the countries where Hallyu fandom has grown most rapidly among Central and South American countries. Various types of cultural content such as K-pop, K-drama, Korean movies, and K-food are being discussed in the media, and, in addition, there is considerable interest in gaming and cosmetics. With K-pop at the forefront, Korean films are driving fandom growth.

Looking at K-Pop, since the end of the 2000s, thanks to the influence of social networking platforms such as YouTube and Facebook, the popularity of Hallyu stars such as Super Junior, TVXQ, Wonder Girls, and SHINee has gradually increased. In addition, Arirang TV, the first Asian channel introduced to Argentina in mid-2008, became a platform through which locals could directly experience Korea. Since then, PSY’s “Gangnam Style” has driven the development of K-pop in earnest, and as of 2022, the heyday of K-pop continues, led by BTS. In the case of Korean films, since the mid-2000s, Korean directors have made their names known at international film festivals, providing an opportunity for a fan base to form. After that, the spread of COVID-19 and the development of OTT platforms became the conditions for creating box office success for K-drama along with Korean films.

In the case of Chile, the number of Hallyu fans has decreased slightly, but the drop is insignificant,

and as of 2022, the number of Hallyu fans is estimated to be around 1 million. Beginning with BTS’ solo concert in 2017, through Music Bank’s world tour concert in 2018 and an SM Town concert in 2019, performances by K-pop idol groups such as Super Junior, CNBLUE, and SHINee have been held every year. In particular, at the end of 2022, a number of popular groups such as (G)I-DLE and NCT visited Chile for the Music Bank World Tour Concert held as part of the “Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Korea and Chile,” drawing an explosive response from the locals. Based on this, Chile has been reborn as the center of Central and South American K-Pop Hallyu, and, through this, interest in Korean culture as a whole is spreading to K-food, K-drama, Korean movies, Korean language, etc.

3. Europe

The countries with the strongest Hallyu fandom in Europe are Russia, Turkey, and Italy. Russia has seen growth in numbers of both communities (57.1%) and community members (39.0%), which are up from 84 and about 5.7 million, respectively, in 2021 to 132 and about 7.92 million members, respectively, in 2022. During the same period, Hallyu fandom in Turkey achieved a large quantitative expansion in figures for both communities (194.7%) and community members (129.2%), up from 19 and about 1 million, respectively, to 56 and about 2.3 million, respectively. Italy has seen growth from 11 communities and about 750,000 members to 13 communities and about 870,000 members, showing a 14.8% increase of members.

Among European countries, Russia is one that became familiar with Hallyu at a fairly early stage. Russia’s relatively good internet infrastructure compared to other Eastern European countries served as a springboard for the growth of K-drama and K-pop in that nation. Hallyu fans contributed to the quantitative spread and qualitative maturation of Hallyu in Russia by quickly sharing news related to K-pop and K-drama or sharing subtitles in Russian using social networking platforms. Russian Hallyu fans enjoyed Kingdom, Crash Landing on You, Itaewon Class, and Sweet Home, while Squid Game ranked top in Netflix Russia ratings. In addition, Korean films are gaining audience recognition in Russia, with Decision to Leave receiving a special screening at the 2022 Moscow International Film Festival. Popular K-pop singers include BTS and BLACKPINK. Russian Hallyu fans actively participate in K-pop cover dance contests held in Korea and Hallyu festivals in their home country. In particular, as the COVID-19 quarantine measures were lifted in the second half of 2022, many young generations, including students, are also participating in K-pop cover dance events held at cafes and schools.

Turkey is famous for being a country that has a strong affinity for Korea, and it boasts one of the largest Hallyu fan bases in Europe. What is noteworthy is that the number of communities has increased more rapidly than that of community members, and they are mainly active in K-drama and K-pop. Turkish people first encountered K-drama in 2005 when the Korean drama Emperor of the Sea was aired on TRT, the Turkish state-run television station. Since then, not only historical dramas but also ones set in

modern Korea have been popular. In the case of K-Pop, fan clubs of Korean celebrities have increased, especially among young people in their teens and 20s, and Hallyu fans in family units, including female homemakers, have also increased due to the influence of dramas aired on TV. The Korean Cultural Center in Turkey, which opened in Ankara in 2011, also played a significant role, holding a variety of Korean cultural events and activities for locals. Through this, interest was formed in various fields such as K-pop, K-drama, Korean movies, traditional music and dance, Korean language, calligraphy, and Korean food, and the number of Hallyu fans increased gradually. This trend is gaining momentum as many Korearelated cultural events were held in 2017 for the 60th anniversary of Korea-Turkey diplomatic ties, in 2021 for the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Korean Cultural Center, and in 2022 for the 65th anniversary of Korea-Turkey diplomatic ties.

Unusually, in the case of Italy, the general public became interested in and learned about Korea through the World Cup rather than Hallyu contents. As Italians’ favorite sport is soccer, the news of Korea beating Italy in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup was a great shock and an opportunity to deeply imprint Korea at the same time. Among Hallyu content genres, Korean films were the first to be introduced. As examples with outstanding artistry were introduced at the Venice International Film Festival and the Florence Korean Film Festival, interest among locals grew. Recently, director Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden and Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite were screened locally and attracted audiences. In addition, Squid Game, All of Us Are Dead, and Suriname are being aired on Italian Netflix, leading the popularity of K-drama. This rising tide of the Korean Wave can also be seen in the increasing number of YouTube subscribers to the Korean Cultural Center in Italy. The figure, which was only about 200 at the beginning of 2020, has increased significantly to about 22,000 by the end of 2022.

4. Africa and Middle East

Africa and the Middle East have the smallest numbers of Hallyu fans among all regions of the world, and are also the regions where the impact of Hallyu content is weakest. In the Middle East, the countries with the strongest Hallyu fan bases are Jordan and Egypt. In Jordan, the number of Hallyu community members increased by 47.9% from about 1 million in 2021 to about 1.4 million in 2022. In Egypt, the number of community members decreased by 12.3% from about 560,000 to 490,000.

In Jordan, until a few years ago, limited access to Korean programs was available through satellite broadcasters KBS WORLD and Arirang TV. Recently, however, it has become easy to access K-pop, K-drama, and Korean movies through Netflix, YouTube, and various social media. Starting with the Netflix drama Squid Game in 2021, a number of popular series such as Hellbound, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and Suriname in 2022 aroused interest in Hallyu content in Jordan and became popular. In addition, there is a lot of interest in K-pop, such as BTS, centered on young women from their teens to their 30s, and they continue their fandom activities based on Hallyu communities such as Jordan K-pop Lovers. Egypt, which is estimated to have the largest Hallyu fan base after Jordan, started with the Korean drama Autumn in My Heart in 2004, followed by K-drama, Korean movies, K-pop, and recently Korean

education, Korean food, and cosmetics. Hallyu is spreading throughout the region. According to a 2021 survey on perceptions of Korea conducted by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Egypt among 1,000 Egyptians, it was revealed that more than 90% of Egyptians had a positive view of Korea. However, the number of responses saying that they do not know much about Korea is still significant, indicating the need for active support for the spread of the Korean Wave.

III. Hallyu in the world, the world in Hallyu

Hallyu is no longer a strange or new phenomenon. Korea’s cultural content consumption craze that started in Northeast Asian countries such as China, Japan, and Taiwan has spread to Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, and has spread to Europe, the Americas, and other parts of the world thanks to advanced technologies such as social networking and OTT platforms. The popular influence of Korean cultural contents has grown to such an extent that the word “Hallyu” is listed as a word in the Oxford English Dictionary. The study of Hallyu is not the exclusive property of Korean scholars, but has become a serious research subject, gaining attention from scholars around the world. There was once an argument over the sustainability of Hallyu, and some commented that it was just a temporary fad, but the Korean Wave is still on the rise. Therefore, the simple factual report that “Hallyu is spreading” is no longer a new discovery, and exploring the impact and aftermath of its spread has become a truly important subject of discussion.

1. Industrialization of Hallyu and Economic Hallyu

As is already well known, Korea’s cultural content is enjoying an unprecedented time in the sun, which can be confirmed from the sensational popularity of Squid Game. Although the Hallyu craze is often regarded as a phenomenon of the spread of preference for Korean cultural products such as music, dramas, and movies, a lot of discussions have continued about whether cultural content consumption will lead to a liking for Korean culture itself and to a preference for Korea’s economic products. In recent years, the Hallyu phenomenon has been divided into cultural Hallyu, a preference for K-pop or K-drama on the one hand, and economic Hallyu, a liking for Korean products such as cosmetics and fashion on the other. It is believed that the spread of Hallyu content could lead to a preference for Korean products.

According to 2022 Global Hallyu Trends, from 2014 to 2021, the preference for Hallyu contents showed a steady increase in all the various fields of drama, movies, entertainment, food, beauty, fashion, gaming, publications, animation, and music. What this overall upward trend suggests is that preference for cultural content can lead to preference for products related to it. Hallyu cultural content is promoting cooperation and convergence in various cultural industries, mainly with K-fashion, K-beauty, and K-food. As the clothes and cosmetics worn by K-pop stars become popular, the fashion and beauty industries

are positively influenced by fans who try to imitate them. In the same context, people seek Korean food out of curiosity, from exposure to it in K-dramas or the recently popular “Meokbang (online broadcasts that focus on usually one person eating a large quantity of food while describing it).” In the case of K-food restaurants, there is a trend toward convergence, such as introducing special menus for K-pop fans.

As a practical example, the cosmetic brand Sulwhasoo discarded its “no models” strategy that it had adhered to for over 20 years and entered the global market by selecting actress Song Hye-kyo as its advertising model in 2018. Consumers who became fans of her through her role in Descendants of the Sun showed an explosive interest in “how to do makeup like Song Hye-kyo” and “the cosmetics Song Hye-kyo uses.” Hallyu fandom, which originated from K-drama, leads to consumption of actual cosmetics. As another example, McDonald’s sold BTS sets in fifty countries around the world, and in the case of Indonesia, there was a sales uproar to the point that ten stores were closed due to overwhelming crowds. This convergence creates new industrial fields and plays a major role in supporting Korea’s cultural industry. This is why complex attempts to develop and promote economic products as added value along with qualitative improvement of cultural content are required when producing Hallyu content in the future.

2. Hallyu as a “glocal” culture

British sociologist Roland Robertson coined the term “glocalization,” a combination of globalization and localization. Originally, it was a term referring to the localization of multinational companies to achieve both globalization and localization at the same time, but this is also observed in the process of spreading Hallyu. Korean popular culture has undergone localization in order to adapt to and be grafted into the local culture and context of other regions, countries, and citizens in the process of spreading throughout the world. This process not only changes the content and style of Hallyu products to better suit the preferences and tastes of locals, but also allows them to appeal to local consumers in a friendlier way by incorporating local elements into Hallyu content.

As an example of the glocalization of Hallyu, the K-pop industry is targeting specific countries and regions with their music and performances. K-pop groups often release versions of songs in local languages to cater to their fans. Elements of localization, such as traditional costumes and dance styles, can also be included in music videos and performances. For example, EXO released a Chinese version of their hit song Growl targeting their Chinese fan base; this version became a hit in China. BTS’ Dynamite is also a good example of glocalization. The lyrics written only in English allow English-speaking listeners to approach the song without language barriers, and the visual background of the music video, such as palm trees reminiscent of the southern United States, and the frequently shown image of a donut shop give them a familiar atmosphere. However, its essence is still composed of BTS’ uniquely hopeful and encouraging content, which is said to be the secret of BTS’ popularity.

Another example of glocalization is providing subtitles and dubbing for each country on various

platforms so that foreign viewers can watch Korean dramas with more immersion. Not only that, but actors from other countries can be cast to create a story that fits the sentiment of that country. For example, Itaewon Class was planned and aired as a Netflix series with subtitles and dubbing in many languages, including English, with potential viewers all over the world in mind. In addition, unlike the contents of the original webtoon of the same name, this drama features an African-Korean character named Toni Kim to add a storyline about social issues that can be sympathetically received in the international community, including issues such as racial discrimination. Through these adaptations, Korean original content can more easily reach and appeal to local audiences. Lastly, the localization of Korean food is another example of Hallyu adapting to the local situation. Korean food has become popular in many countries, and local restaurants have adapted traditional Korean food to suit local tastes and preferences. For example, Korean fried chicken, which heroine Cheon Song-i (played by Jeon Jihyeon) enjoyed eating in the drama My Love from the Star, has become a popular dish in many countries, and local restaurants have developed unique sauces and flavors to suit the tastes of local consumers.

Content that does not consider the cultural context of the audience cannot overcome linguistic and cultural barriers and can only become popular with difficulty. Conversely, if Hallyu content does not capture the cultural background of Korea, it will not be able to appeal with its unique charm, which will also make it difficult to succeed. Even if it succeeds in the box office, it is difficult for content without a Korean context to lead to a favorable impression of Korean culture itself. What differentiates glocalization from both localization and globalization is that the attempt is focused on adapting to a different locality while spreading Korean culture at the same time. If we remove the unique characteristics of Korean culture in order to make it easy for those who are not familiar with it, this cannot be a desirable direction for the development of the cultural industry in the long term.

From this point of view, a localization strategy that uses only local backgrounds and actors can be a profitable strategy in the short term, but it is not a desirable one for the long-term cultural industrialization of Hallyu. In fact, some Korean dramas have become popular in many countries, and local production companies have taken advantage of this trend to adapt Korean dramas to local audiences. For example, the popular Korean drama She Was Pretty was remade by local actors and content creators in several countries including China, Japan, and Vietnam. In addition, entertainment programs such as 1 Night 2 Days are remade and popular in Vietnam and elsewhere. However, even though this popularity can generate immediate profits, it has less of an effect that leads to a preference for Korean culture itself, and it is difficult to expect a synergistic effect from cultural to economic Hallyu. Similarly, in Korea, the Korean version of Boys Over Flowers, based on the Japanese drama Boys Over Flowers, was very popular, but it did not lead to Korean interest in Japan. In the Korean version of the remake, there was no content related to Japan, so the positive awareness of other cultures of Japan and the publicity effect of the musical soundtrack and product placement appearing in the Japanese version were relatively insignificant.

Furthermore, when considering the future of Hallyu, there are many things to carefully consider in product placement and investment distribution for Korean dramas and movies. In reality, it is difficult to

resist the fact that content is produced with investment from other countries due to financial reasons, and that the work is produced in a tone favorable to the country in terms of content. However, we should always pay attention to that level and be vigilant not to overdo it. This not only hinders viewers’ immersion, but can also bring confusion to Korea’s image in the international community. Therefore, for the continued longevity of Hallyu, when producing cultural content, it is necessary to pursue harmony that seeks ways to be accepted in other cultures while not losing the Korean color.

A typical example of such efforts is BTS. While BTS released English songs for English-speaking fans, the song IDOL included traditional Korean chu-im-sae (rejoinder interjections) such as “eolsu johda, jihwaja, johda,” moving foreign fans to write down the lyrics in Korean and sing along. Also, the Korean word “love” that appears in their music video aroused curiosity about Hangeul letters among overseas fans and had the effect of encouraging them to study the Korean language and Hangeul. This glocalization of Hallyu suggests a wide possibility that Hallyu fandom will develop into love for Korea itself, not just economic gain. This is also the reason why it is necessary to find a way to harmoniously reflect the Korean context and the world environment when producing Hallyu content.

IV. Conclusion

In 2012, when the survey on the current status of Hallyu communities was conducted for the first time, a total of 85 countries were surveyed: 19 in Asia and Oceania, 21 in the Americas, 27 in Europe, and 18 in Africa and the Middle East. In 2022, 11 years later, the number of countries surveyed increased by 24 to a total of 109. Absent in 2012, 4 countries in Asia and the Oceania, 8 countries in Europe, and 12 countries in Africa and the Middle East were newly included in the survey. The fact that the number of countries surveyed has increased means that the administrative basis to capture the activities of Hallyu communities has grown, and at the same time, Hallyu is constantly expanding geographically and culturally. Also, comparing the amounts of community members between 2012 and 2022, the number of Hallyu fans around the world increased by about 19 times from 9.26 million in 2012 to 178 million. The number of communities around the world also increased. Compared to 2021, the previous year, the number of communities and community members increased at a similar rate by 15% and 14.2%, respectively, suggesting that Hallyu fandom is expanding and strengthening at the same time.

Unlike the past, when there were many doubts about the phenomenon itself, Hallyu is no longer something that needs to be proven. What will be important in the future will be a consideration of what can sustain Hallyu from a practical point of view and what direction Hallyu should move in the future. In order to continue to produce positive cultural and economic effects in various areas of Hallyu without losing Korea’s unique color, analysis of potential risk factors that can hinder the maintenance and solidarity of Hallyu fans online and offline and a strategic response plan should be established. In addition, it is

necessary to capture the characteristics of the Alpha generation and prepare for the generational change of Hallyu fandom in the future.

Kim Gu, penname Baekbeom, wrote in his autobiography that he hoped that Korea would become a country with soft and invisible power that attracts other countries in terms of culture and art, rather than becoming a wealthy and powerful country equipped with military or economic power. The everintensifying Hallyu and the soft power derived from it suggest that the current Republic of Korea has already succeeded in realizing that wish to some extent. In order to maintain stronger soft power, appropriate civic consciousness and successful public diplomacy are required. Specifically, education for effective public diplomacy or the expansion of manpower and infrastructure are needed. For countries with a high affinity for Hallyu, we can avoid the unilateral top-down propagation of Hallyu, which was one of the existing problems, and create two-way exchanges through institutional measures, such as preparing an educational program to introduce the culture of those countries to Koreans.

On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, in order for Hallyu to be loved as an expression of Korean culture, efforts are needed not to lose its unique color. Only when these efforts are backed up can this most Korean thing become a global thing. It is indispensable to study Hallyu fandom from the perspective of spreading it and maintaining its continuity. Recently, the KF Statistics Center has begun to provide materials created by the diplomatic missions of each country by collecting local cultural and social backgrounds and the current status of the Korean Wave over the last ten years. This is a valuable resource that allows Hallyu researchers to capture trends in Hallyu fandom around the world over a long period of time, and, based on this, it is hoped that collaboration and research between various academic fields will be activated and effective practical suggestions will be presented.

The World Association for Hallyu Studies is the only organization in the world specializing in Hallyu and recognized by the Union of International Associations.

The annual Korean Wave International Conference is recognized as the premier event in which Hallyu experts from all over the world participate, and the 10th Hallyu International Conference will be held in Paris, France, from October 26 to 27, 2023.