The Golden Key to South Korea’s Popular Culture’s Sensation in the West

Abstract

Continuing my work from my senior thesis as an undergraduate at Princeton University this master’s thesis dives into the niche aesthetic of Hallyu. The purpose is to expose that at the most deconstructed level of the success of K-Pop is the cultural image of modern Korea. The levels of sexuality, modernity, and globalization are all intertwined to create a unique cultural experience that no other country has been able to replicate. The question is why? Why is it that Korean culture, specifically, and arguably only, that has been so successful? This paper, although brief, tries to encapsulate and explain the success, aesthetic, and “spreadability” of Korean popular culture.