From Hallyu to Amnyu: How Korea Quietly Reshaped Chinese Pop Culture
Excerpt from my essay “How Korea Quietly Reshaped Chinese Pop Culture,” Sixth Tone, July 19, 2023. Read on Sixth Tone
In Brief
Even in the face of geopolitical tensions, the Korean culture wave shows no signs of receding.
“What I call an ‘amnyu,’ or an undercurrent of Korean cultural presence.”
Read this passage on Sixth Tone ↗An Undercurrent
In a departure from previous Chinese national frenzies over K-dramas or K-pop, the popularity of Chinese remakes of Korean television programs represents a new, quieter but no less important expression of hallyu — what I call an “amnyu,” or an undercurrent of Korean cultural presence.
Hallyu is so ubiquitous, and has so reshaped the contours of Chinese screen culture, that its Korean origins go unnoticed or unremarked upon, allowing them to continue to exert influence, albeit under a different name.
Related concept: Amnyu · This essay draws on Riding the Korean Wave in China (under contract with University of Michigan Press).
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