2023 AUTUMN (Vol. 70)

The Korean Wave is a phenomenon in which Korean popular culture started increasing in popularity around the world. Where did the Korean Wave come from? Over the past 30 years, many people became curious and came up with different interpretations. The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History's Special Exhibition: Korean Wave and Popular Culture <The [ ] We Loved, and the Korean Wave> added one more interpretation.

This special exhibition, which was held from July 19 to September 3, placed Korean popular culture in modern history as it attempted to show the culture that developed into the Korean Wave. Such wave is now intertwined with the world as Korean popular culture is side by side with international popular culture.

Façade at the entrance to the special exhibition hall ⓒ National Museum of Korean Contemporary History

Korean Wave Connected to World Popular Culture

Part 1 is ‘America’s Role in Korean Popular Culture’. The exhibition featured the exchange of popular culture with the West, including the United States, from the 1950s to the 1970s. Since the 1950s following the Korean War, the US forces have served as a hub for popular culture. Both American and Korean singers performed for the US forces. The stage costumes of singers ‘Hyeonmi’ and ‘Lee Geum-hee,’ the debut album and the autographed album of ‘Kim Sisters,’ the first girl group to enter the United States, and foreign albums that were played in the music listening room, ‘C’est Si Bon,’ were on display.

Part 2 showed how Korea accepted other Asian cultures, especially those of Hong Kong and Japan, from the 1970s to the 2000s. Among Hong Kong films, action movies and Jiangshi movies starring Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan gained popularity in Korea in the 1970s. They received even more love through other media, such as VCRs and video tapes, that can be viewed at home. Japanese popular culture has been legally imported into Korea since around the 1990s. In addition to the large number of pirated comic books, magazines contained the first legally imported Japanese comics, indicating that interest in Japanese culture was high at the time.

‘Korean Wave in East Asia’ in Part 3: the Development of the Korean Wave ⓒ National Museum of Korean Contemporary History

The Korean Wave corner in Part 3, located at the center of the exhibition hall, introduced the background, brief history, and fan culture of the Korean Wave. The main exhibits featured K-pop, drama, movie CDs, and other cultural products that were consumed and enjoyed overseas. The light stick, which showed the diverse and changing cheering culture, was also worth noting.

The world is now demonstrating plenty of love toward Korean pop culture just as there was a time when Korea passionately adored foreign pop culture. Korean content has a solid foundation because its history was largely influenced by different popular cultures around the world before coming up with its own.

Since the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America in 1953, the two countries have maintained their alliance. Many events occurred over time, and the two countries have become close enough for it to be called a blood alliance, going back and forth over the past 70 years. This exhibition was intended to tell various stories from the time the two countries worked together.

Provisional Signing Ceremony of the 「 Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America 」

Discovering America at a Historical Inflection Point

This special exhibition, which will be held from September 22nd to December 31st, consists of three parts. The exhibition focuses on the signing of the 「 Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America 」 on October 1, 1953, and provides a historical overview of the background and the process of the signing and the impact of the treaty.

What does America mean to Korea? There were times when the United States intervened in Korea's fate, such as the Taft-Katsura agreement. Furthermore, the American Denny, who was Gojong's diplomatic advisor, criticized the Qing Dynasty's intervention in Joseon, and the 28th U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's principle of national self-determination provided the ideological background for the March First Independence Movement in 1919.

The Evolving Alliance between the Two Countries

Part 1 highlights the historical background of the conclusion of the 「 Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America 」. This treaty was signed to guarantee our security after the ceasefire of the Korean War. Through the creation of the United Nations, the process of signing the 「Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan」, many materials related to the Korean War, and the United Nations flag, visitors can feel that our history has been created at a much more international level than expected.

In Part 2, visitors can see the process of signing the 「 Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America 」. Amid a turbulent international situation, Korea and the United States signed the 「 Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America 」 in 1953, in a move to end conflict and facilitate reconciliation. The treaty went into effect after formal ratification in 1954.

A poster depicting economic aid from the United States

Part 3 looks back on Korea-US relations since the signing of the treaty. Since the signing of the 「 Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America 」, the two countries have strengthened their close relationship in many fields. Soon after the signing of the treaty, Korea appeared to receive help from the United States. As time went by, however, the two countries helped each other and developed relations beyond political alliances in different fields, including politics, economy, society, and culture.

Lastly, in the epilogue, the early days of the Korea-US Cultural Alliance are presented through the materials and videos of "Masterpieces of Korean Art," which toured throughout the United States for two years, starting in 1957.

Korea and the United States went through a turbulent history, and their involvement evolved from a political alliance to a cultural alliance. There are many expectations on the new story that will develop between the two countries in the future.

Similarities and Differences between Korean and British cultures

While watching the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History's Special Exhibition: Korean Wave and Popular Culture <The [ ] We Loved, and the Korean Wave>, it was surprising that 30 years have already passed since the beginning of the Korean Wave, which we are now familiar with. In the exhibition, the ‘British Invasion’ period, when British pop culture was once very popular in the United States, overlapped with the current trend of K-pop culture in the United Kingdom. Many Korean singers and dramas have become major topics of ‘tea time conversations’ not only in the UK, but around the world.

Foreigners viewing a special exhibition ©Yonhap News Agency

Although Korean and British cultures share more differences than similarities, it is not easy to explain why Korean content is so popular in the UK. Let's list a few hypotheses: First, unlike British celebrities who are somewhat rough and rugged with a 'Charles-style’ personality who seem to live next door, Korean celebrities have an unrealistically flawless image of 'the perfect heroine, like Prince Charming'. Additionally, the positive and optimistic message of K-content itself is very tempting. Korean music videos feature flashy yet smooth dance moves, and Korean movies and dramas often show brightly-colored backgrounds and sophisticated, well-decorated sets. In comparison, British media mainly depicts cold, dark, and realistic settings.

While there are differences between Korean and British cultures, it’s not that they don't have anything in common. First, while both countries have been influenced by American popular culture, they have appropriately blended the special circumstances of each culture. Hollywood movies and dramas usually have happy endings where the main character becomes a hero, punishes evil, and saves humanity. In Korea and in the UK, the tendency to avoid dark and sad endings is significantly lower than in the US. Moreover, the UK has been influenced by Europe geographically and culturally for a long time, so there is little resistance to watching movies or dramas with subtitles. Likewise, in the case of music, songs that are easy to sing have become mainstream in both Korea and the UK, so K-pop is already a familiar genre to the British public.

Our Korean Wave Exists as a Part of Life

Random play dance experience prepared for the special exhibition, <The [ ] We Loved, and the Korean Wave> ©National Museum of Korean Contemporary History

How should we view the future of the Korean Wave? Will the Korean Wave simply remain as a temporary fad in human memory, or will it remain in the mainstream through the great current of global culture and art? The fate of the Korean Wave will probably be somewhere between those two possibilities.

There is no way to predict the future, but for foreigners who have experienced living in Korea, the Korean Wave exists not only as a trend, but as a part of life. After a few years, they will return to their home country with memories of the Korean Wave, and the Korean Wave will likely be a part of their new lives there.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History ran a Young Curator Academy on July 19 (Wed) and 20 (Thu) during the summer vacation. At the 7th Summer Young Curator Academy, a total of 29 youths learned about the opening story of Kwon Ki-jun, curator of the Exhibition Management Department, who planned the special exhibition, <The [ ] We Loved, and the Korean Wave>. Likewise, they saw the collection of oral materials and exhibition utilization at the Museum of Modern History (Chief Curator Ha Jeong-ok) and the senior education program, <Story of You and My Twenty> (Lee Kyung-soon, Curator).

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History offered different special youth programs for World Scout Jamboree participants who visited Korea. An English exhibition tour was conducted for the special exhibition, <We Go Together>, to mark the 70th anniversary of the ROK-US alliance, and the Special Exhibition: Korean Wave and Popular Culture <The [ ] We Loved, and the Korean Wave>. Moreover, a mug-making program called <Korean Flower> by drawing the World Scout Jamboree members’ flag and national flower, and a board game based on Gwanghwamun called <Gwanghwamun at a glance> were conducted with simultaneous English interpretation.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History welcomed over 2,000 World Scout Jamboree participants from all over the world, including the United States, France, and Denmark, to promote Korea's growth and culture, and to help participants create good memories in Korea.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History invites leading modern historians every six months to conduct the <Modern History Course for Citizens>. Five lectures will be held for the general public on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), where traces of the Korean War remain. This lecture is expected to be a good opportunity to learn about the region's cultural heritage while introducing the latest research on the DMZ space. <Modern History Course for Citizens> will be held through on-site lectures and will be broadcast live on YouTube.