The Birth of Korean Cool

The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture | Euny Hong

pick

Absolutely fascinating and very, very readable. Obviously the geopolitics of north and South Korea has moved in a bit since this was written so a few bits feel a little dated but that doesn‘t at all detract from the points the author is making about South Korea‘s approach to world domination via pop culture.

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Verity

The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture | Euny Hong

This morning‘s train book is this look at the emergence of modern South Korea 🇰🇷 and its fascinating and incredibly readable.

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karasu13

The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture | Euny Hong

pick

A fun, breezy read that is half memoir, half social study. Hong covers every facet of Korean culture that Korea has exported or wants to export (such as its music, dramas and technology). Because K-pop has been my major obsession for seven years, the K-pop chapter was my favourite, but I did learn a lot about Korea‘s history and motivations. The one drawback? I was reminded of the 20 hours I wasted watching “Winter Sonata.” 🙃

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karasu13

The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture | Euny Hong

And now Hot Topic is selling Big Bang and G-Dragon shirts. This book predates the BTS explosion, but I agree with Hong that Big Bang is the most Western-friendly group to represent K-pop.

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karasu13

The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture | Euny Hong

Anyone who knows me knows I am an obsessive KPop fan. I‘ve been a fan of South Korean pop culture for the last 13 years and while I know the basics of the country‘s move from dictatorship to technological leader, I haven‘t read anything that covers the shift in an in-depth way. Looking forward to reading this!

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