The Korean Wave and Beyond

Call for Book Chapters

The Korean Wave and Beyond

The Evolution of the Korean Wave

The impact of the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, extends beyond the cultural industry, influencing various fields in Korea and globally. Over the past three decades, Korea has captivated the world with its cultural influence, and the Korean Wave has evolved significantly across three distinct stages.

Stage 1: Arts and Culture

Emerging from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, the first stage focused on arts and culture, marked by the widespread popularity of Korean television, notably in China and Japan. Studies explore the vibrant landscape of Korean cultural expressions, including K-pop, drama, film, fashion, sports, and gaming. A pivotal moment occurred in 1997 when the TV drama “What’s Love?” aired on China’s CCTV, becoming China's most imported video content at the time and solidifying the term “Korean Wave.” This influence extended to Taiwan with the “Summer Korean Wave,” showcasing the global competitiveness of Korean cultural products beyond local or regional tastes.

Stage 2: Business and Technology

In the second stage, the Korean Wave extended its influence to business sectors such as tourism, beauty, food, defense, medical services, and general management. Iconic destinations like Seoul have seen a surge in international visitors drawn by K-pop and Korean dramas. The defense industry showcases Korea's technological prowess, while medical tourism highlights high-quality healthcare services enhanced by the cultural appeal of the Korean Wave.

Stage 3: Society and Politics

The third stage explores the intersection of culture with social and political dimensions, including the K-audience, protests, and security issues. The global K-fandom exemplifies how fans transcend geographical boundaries to form cohesive and influential online communities involved in social justice campaigns and political causes. Korean protests, such as those during the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye in 2017, exemplified a well-organized and non-violent form of demonstration, highlighting the broader implications of Korea’s social culture in political activism. These dynamics enrich our understanding of the societal implications of the Korean Wave.

The Korean Wave has now emerged as a strategic industry and beyond, integrating the three stages to form a comprehensive ecosystem. This interconnected approach enhances competitiveness by fostering collaboration across traditionally distinct domains, driving continuous innovation and sustainable growth.

Features and Main Objectives of the Book

Despite the dynamic evolution of the Korean Wave from Stage 1 through Stage 3, existing studies have primarily focused on either Stage 1 (e.g., Hogarth, 2013; Huang, 2009; Parc & Moon, 2013, 2019; Parc, Messerlin, & Moon, 2016; Yang, 2012) or some of Stage 2 (Fedorenko, 2017; Kwon & Kim, 2014; Moon, 2016, 2019; Moon & Lee, 2023; Ryoo, 2009).

The first objective of this book is to fill the gap in previous studies by addressing the multifaceted impacts of Hallyu on various domains—including business, technology, society, and politics—and by exploring the dynamic relationships and influences across these domains.

Secondly, despite the increasing global popularity of the Korean Wave, there remains a lack of understanding of the true driving forces behind its global success. Contrary to arguments emphasizing the uniqueness of Korean culture, the success of the Korean Wave relies on minimizing specifically Korean elements and maximizing global appeal by adopting best practices from both Western and Eastern values or competitiveness factors (Cho, 2024; Cho and Moon, 2013, 2022, 2024; Moon, 2016, 2019; Moon & Lee, 2023; Moon & Yin, 2020, Parc and Moon, 2013, Yin et al, 2019). These insights can be applied to other countries seeking to commercialize and develop their cultural industries on a global scale.

Furthermore, in recent years, the globalization of the Korean Wave has shown a new pattern by leveraging localization strategies to better satisfy diverse consumers in various countries or regions. For example, Korea’s major entertainment firms such as HYBE, SM, and JYP aim to increase sales through these strategies, setting the stage for the debut of “localized idols.” Hence, contrary to general views that emphasize competitive relationships under the umbrella of soft power, the Korean Wave has encouraged cooperation across countries in the cultural industries and beyond. Thus, the third key objective is to analyze and explore the potential cooperative relationships among countries driven by the Korean Wave.

With the above three objectives, this book is structured into four parts as follows.

• Part 1: The Korean Wave of Arts and Culture
• Part 2: Expansion to Business and Technology
• Part 3: Integration with Society and Politics
• Part 4: Implications for Other Countries

References

Cho, D. S. 2024. Mechanism: The Fourth Management Element. Seoul: aSSIST University Press.

Cho, D. S. and Moon, H. C. 2013. From Adam Smith to Michael Porter: Evolution of Competitive Theory. Extended ed. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing.

Cho, D. S. and Moon, H. C. 2022. Strategic Management in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Seoul: Seoul Economics and Business Publishing. (in Korean)

Cho, D. S. and Moon, H. C. 2024. The Competitiveness of Nations 3: Emerging Technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing.

Fedorenko, O. 2017. Korean-Wave Celebrities between Global Capital and Regional Nationalisms. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 18(4): 498-517.

Hogarth, H. K. 2013. The Korean Wave: An Asian Reaction to Western-Dominated Globalization. Perspective on Global Development and Technology, 12(2013): 135-151.

Huang, X. 2009. ‘Korean Wave’ — The Popular Culture, Comes as Both Cultural and Economic Imperialism in the East Asia. Asian Social Science, 5(8): 123-130.

Kwon, S. H. and Kim, J. 2014. The Cultural Industry Policies of the Korean Government and the Korean Wave. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 20(4): 422-439.

Moon, H. C. 2016. The Strategy for Korea’s Economic Success. New York: Oxford University Press.

Moon, H. C. 2019. Increasing Opportunity and Value in Cultural Industries: A Comparative Analysis of the Successful Clusters and Implications for Hallyu. Kritika Kultura, 32: 308-333.

Moon, H. C. and Lee, Y. W. 2023. An Integrated Approach to the Global Strategy of Entertainment Firm: Motivation, Process and Management. European Journal of International Management, 19(3): 388-412. https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2023.128811.

Moon, H. C. and Yin, W. 2020. Industry Drivers of MNCs’ Externalization Choice: A Conceptual Framework and Application to Korea-China Film Co-productions. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 35(11): 1633-1644.

Parc, J., Messerlin, P., and Moon, H. C. 2016. The Secret to the Success of K-pop: The Benefits of Well-Balanced Copyrights”, in Bryan Christiansen and Fatmanur Kasarci, Corporate Espionage, Geopolitics, and Diplomacy Issues in International Business, Hershey, PA: IGI Global: 130-148.

Parc, J. and Moon, H. C. 2013. Korean Dramas and Films: Key Success Factors for their International Competitiveness. Asian Journal of Social Science, 41: 126-149.

Parc, J. and Moon, H. C. 2019. Accumulated and Accumulable Cultures: The Case of Public and Private Initiatives toward K-Pop. Kritika Kultura, 32: 429-452.

Ryoo, W. 2009. Globalization, or the logic of cultural hybridization: the case of the Korean wave. Asian Journal of Communication, 19(2): 137-151.

Yang, J. 2012. The Korean Wave (Hallyu) in East Asia: A Comparison of Chinese, Japanese, and Taiwanese Audiences Who Watch Korean TV Dramas. Development and Society, 41(1): 103-147.

Yin, W., Moon, H. C., and Lee, Y. W. 2019. The Success Factors of Korean Global Start‑Ups in the Digital Sectors Through Internationalization. International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, (14): 42-53.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

We welcome studies using a variety of methodologies at any level of analysis for firms, industries, regions, or countries

• Qualitative (e.g., conceptual development, case studies)
• Quantitative (e.g., experimental study, statistical analysis)

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL SHOULD INCLUDE:

• Chapter Title/Subtitle, Author(s), Affiliation(s), 5-8 Keywords
• Proposal, 300-500 words
• Chapter manuscript, 6,000-10,000 words (When the proposal is accepted)

IMPORTANT DATES

• Proposal Submission Deadline: April 30, 2025
• Notification of Acceptance: May 31, 2025
• Full Chapter Submission Deadline: July 15, 2025
• Review Results Returned: August 15, 2025
• Revised Chapter Submission Deadline: September 30, 2025
• Submission of Final Book to the Publisher: October 31, 2025
• Expected Publication Date: June 30, 2026

TITLE OF THE BOOK

The Korean Wave and Beyond

EDITORS

Dong-Sung Cho is the Chairperson of the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies and Professor Emeritus, as well as a former Dean of the College of Business Administration at Seoul National University. He also served as President of Incheon National University. He earned his doctoral degree from Harvard Business School. Throughout his career, he has been a visiting professor at institutions including Harvard Business School, the University of Michigan, Boston University, Duke University, INSEAD, Aalto University (formerly Helsinki School of Economics), the University of Sydney, the University of Tokyo, and Peking University. Cho has published over 120 research articles in major journals and authored or co-authored more than 60 monographs, including The General Trading Company: Concept and Strategy (1988, Lexington Books), Tiger Technology: The Creation of a Semiconductor Industry in East Asia (2000, Cambridge University Press), and The Mechanism-Based View (2014, SEBA).

Hwy-Chang Moon, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington, is currently the President of aSSIST University. He is also Professor Emeritus and former Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University. In addition, he serves as an Honorary Ambassador for Foreign Investment Promotion for South Korea. Moon is a frequent guest lecturer at prestigious universities, including Aalto University (formerly Helsinki School of Economics), Stockholm University, Keio University, Beijing Normal University, The State University of New York at Stony Brook, and Stanford University. He has published numerous articles and books with prominent publishers, including The Strategy for Korea’s Economic Success (2016, Oxford University Press), The Art of Strategy: Sun Tzu, Michael Porter, and Beyond (2018, Cambridge University Press), and Global Business Strategy: Asian Perspective (2022, World Scientific Publishing Co.).

Please make all inquiries or submissions to:

Professor Dilong Huang (dlhuang@assist.ac.kr),

with a copy to Professor Hwy-Chang Moon (cmoon.snu@gmail.com)