More than just BTS: ‘Hello Hallyu’ podcast explains the megawave of Korean pop-culture
The Hindu
Nirupama V and Sadhana C speak to superfans, researchers and fellow podcasters to examine the popularity of Korean entertainment
Three years ago, Sadhana C was at the Inox in Kachiguda to watch the premiere of South Korean pop (k-pop) band BTS’s documentary . She was expecting a sparsely populated hall. She didn’t think people in India, least of all in a Hyderabad suburb, would make a beeline for a documentary on a Korean boyband. But what she saw at the cinema surprised her. The hall was packed. One of the fans had sneaked in a portable speaker; before the film began, they played their favourite BTS tracks. Some danced. Some waved flashlights during scenes from concerts. The atmosphere was akin to a Telugu superstar's first-day show. That’s when Sadhana realised the extent of k-pop following in India. Her friend, Nirupama V, meanwhile, has been into Korean shows (k-dramas) since 2012. She started watching them during college in Madurai. There was a small circle of friends with whom she could discuss k-dramas. But when she moved to Chennai two years later for her post-graduation diploma course, most of her classmates mocked her for watching them. So, for the next few years, she stopped talking about them.More Related News