So, What the Heck is Hallyu?

Because I feel like most of you reading this are either 1) my friends or family being supportive; 2) total randos who have no idea how they got here; or 3) people I went to high school with who want to see how much of a shit show I actually am, I feel like a brief lesson in Hallyu would be helpful.

Hallyu- The Korean wave (Korean: 한류; Hanja: 韓流; a neologism, literally meaning "wave/flow of Korea") is the political increase in global popularity of South Korean culture since the mid-1990s to mid-2000s. (wikipedia)

Most often you will hear it in reference to K-pop or K-dramas. There is much, much more to it, but I don't really think anyone reading this is looking for a minute breakdown of the political and economic impacts of the K-wave. Suffice it say that it can be a complicated topic and if you are interested in such things there is plenty to read up on.

My interest in all things Korean really began during the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, and I owe it all the CL. She performed The Baddest Female in the closing ceremonies and I was hooked. I couldn't find much of her music on Spotify, so mostly I listened to quite a bit of Blackpink. Then in the early part of 2021 I got even more into K-pop and decided I wanted to learn to speak Korean.Things sort of snowballed from there. I decided to try watching a K-drama to help me get a better idea of how the language was put together. As it turns out, there are some really amazing Korean shows out there. Of course, most of them make me bawl my eyes out, but that's a topic for another post.

These days I watch a ton of Korean TV and listen to K-pop pretty much daily. I have three different language apps on my phone. I'm still awful at it, but things are improving slowly. My Korean immersion has help keep my mental health afloat during this pandemic and with the personal issues I struggle with in the day to day.

Now, with bands like BTS and Blackpink everywhere these days, sometimes my love of Korean culture makes me feel about 100 years old. I'm hoping to use this blog to share something I love and hopefully make it more approachable. I also want to have something that is somewhat separated from the rabid teenagers and twenty-somethings. K-pop fans are INTENSE. This is for those of us who are past the screaming, swooning and 'writing our names in hearts' stage of life.

I feel like I'm in a little bit of a bubble. My family will tolerate my babbling about it, but there really isn't anyone else to really discuss my interest in Korean pop culture. I'm hoping to change that. Each week I'll share music, TV, food and booze, and other related subjects and I hope that some others can take joy out of it like I have.