Korean Dramas hasn’t only spread to the United States, but all over the world as well. Even Korean dramas itself have taken a global approach in its production, and it isn’t unusual to see popular Korean drama actors speaking more than one language in a drama. For example, the most common language besides Korean in Korean dramas is English; however, other languages that have also appeared in Korean dramas include German (Spring Waltz), French (My Lovely Sam-Soon & Romance in Paris), Japanese (Coffee Prince & My Girl), Chinese (My Girl), and Vietnamese (Golden Bride).Korean Dramas have also been filmed in locations all over the world, and directors and producers don’t only limit themselves to the beautiful scenery of South Korea. For example, I’m Sorry I Love You was filmed partially in Australia, the beginning of Spring Waltz takes place in Austria, All In and Hotelier were both partially filmed in Las Vegas, Attic Cat was partially filmed in Japan, Golden Bride and Hanoi Bride were both partially filmed in Vietnam, Que Sera Sera was partially filmed in Singapore, Romance in Paris was partially filmed in Paris, France, and many other Korean dramas were filmed all over the world.
Korean dramas are neither limited by language nor location, and many of the actors and actresses actually speak more than one language. For example, one of the most popular English speaking Korean actors—Daniel Henney grew up in the United States and his first language is actually English rather than Korean. In fact many Korean actors can speak several languages, for example the very popular actor Lee Jun Ki speaks Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and English.
Due to the spread of Korean dramas globally, Korean dramas are also found all over the world, and is broadcasted in many countries including countries like Zimbabwe, Hungary, and countries in the Middle East. In Hungary the popular 2003 hit korean drama—Jewel in the Palace aired in February 2008 for the first time in a European country, and according to President Zoltan Rudi of MTV Hungarian Television, he claimed this drama will help to introduce foreign culture to the
Hungarian public. In Zimbabwe, Jewel in the Palace also aired on television and although the article I read didn’t supply the viewer ratings, it discussed the Jewel in the Palace competition in Zimbabwe which was extremely successful. In Zimbabwe over 3.5 million people entered this contest from all over Zimbabwe, and there were so many contestants that ended up dividing the prize so that there were ten winners instead of only one. As a result of the successfulness of this competition, this also demonstrates the successfulness of the airing of this drama in Africa. This contest demonstrates the successfulness of this Korean drama in Africa because this wasn’t just a “lucky-number contest” or “enter your name and win”, but instead contestants were required to answer detailed questions about the content of this drama such as “what utensil was used” in a certain episode.My purpose of discussing the Hallyu Wave at a global, national, and local level was to show that Korean dramas and Korean culture wasn’t only for Korean people, but for everyone. The Hallyu Wave has no boundaries and it’s not exclusive to a certain race, class, age, or even gender in most instances (although it is far more popular amongst women than men). The Hallyu Wave continues to excite and entice people all over the world, and I know it won’t be long before many other countries take an interest in the Hallyu Wave.
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