Hallyu ......What?

Have you ever heard of this??, the 1st time I heard of this was thanks to the Korean Culture Center in Mexico, and I thought It was just the name of a "Fan Club" :| WROOOOOOOOOONG!! here's a definition of what Hallyu means:

Hallyu(Korean Wave) refers to the popularity of Korean pop culture abroad. The genre ranges from movies and TV dramas to pop music, and more. Many local celebrities, including actors and singers, have begun to make a name for themselves across Asia and other regions thanks to the Hallyu boom. These days, some are inspired to aim even higher, looking toward Hollywood.

This Hallyu Mexico promotes the Korean Culture in Mexico with the help of the Korean culture Center, in this center you can find
Language Classes (Korean and Spanish lessons)
Dance Classes
Music Classes
Etc....

 You can meet lots of people interested in the Korean Culture there, I met a Korean girl there and took some Korean lessons with her. And from time to time they have this meetings where they cook Korean food (yummers) and you can meet people that has K-pop Fan clubs or change TV Series/DVD's or music with everyone!, it's actually pretty cool!!! I just went once and it was awesome they had tons of really good food and Soju LOTS and LOTS of Soju, there was this guy that didn't want us to leave he wanted us to stay just to chat and drink Soju.... It's great how they wanted to interact with everybody Korean and Non-Koreans, and this lady kept telling us to eat! and will keep coming back with meat, rice, lettuce, etc!...so much fun!!!! I wanna go to another one soon! 

Ok ok enough about parties and food!! lol

Hallyu or Korean Wave is most popular thanks to some of these POP(ular) phenomenons

MOVIES

The first Korean-made film was shown to the public in 1919. Entitled  "Righteous Revenge" (1919) and directed by Kim Do-san, it was a so-called kino-drama designed to be combined with a stage performance. The first feature film, "Oath Under the Moon," directed by Yoon Baek-nam, was screened in 1923. In 1926, legendary actor-director Na Un-gyu drew an enthusiastic response from the public by producing "Arirang," a cinematic protest against  Japanese oppression.

TV SHOWS
No other factor has contributed more to rise of "Hallyu," the Korean Wave across Asia and beyond, than Korean TV dramas.

Some of the unique features of Korean TV dramas that have won the hearts of  many viewers overseas include: the detailed depictions of human relations between lovers, families and friends; convincing portrayals of conflict between traditional Asian society versus western values; dramatic dialogues; emotionally stirring background music with perfect timing; and the presentation of excellent visual images, taking full advantage of scenic locations all  around Korea.

The term Hallyu was first coined in China in the late 1990s, with the emergence of mega hit TV dramas from Korea, among them "What is Love" (1992) by popular scriptwriter Kim Soo-hyeon. In Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam, dramas with dramatic love stories and exceptional visual imagery such as "Autumn Tale" (2000) (also known as "Endless Love") and "Winter Sonata"
(2002) started the wave.<-- I had tried to watch Winter Sonata but is way too Romantic for me O_o
Another mega-hit Korean drama is MBC's "Daejanggeum" (2004) or "Jewel in the Palace", a period drama about a woman who became the first royal physician to the king in a strictly male-centered, Confucian society. The drama was exported worldwide. <-Actually my mom introduced me to this one, I didn't like it at 1st because the girl was always suffering lol, but then I got used to it and became addicted....

K-POP
The biggest appeal of "K-pop," or popular Korean music, can be found in great songs, dancers and stage effects (Just like one time in the 90's BoyBands mainly from the USA were really popular). Korean pop idols' fast tempo music mixed with Asian rhythms appeals greatly to many young teens in China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other parts of the world. The true history of K-pop began in with the advent of the three-member group Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992. The group contributed significantly to breaking down various conventions of the local music scene and introducing various genres and styles from abroad. By the turn of the century, dance music became an essential part of K-pop, giving birth to many young pop idols.

E-SPORTS
E-sports is the new sports genre for the 21st century, meaning "Electronics Games & Sports" presented through matches within cyberspace. E-sports is fast attracting world attention and growing in size and prestige. In Korea, the craze for e-sports began with the huge success in the late 1990s of the game StarCraft, coupled with the fast rollout of high speed internet, websites, community boards, online game competitions and gaming TV channels, including OngameNet (2000) and MBC Game Channel (2001). This brought on sponsorship from big companies and the advent of professional gamers. So far, over 100 official online matches have taken place with over 400 certified, professional gamers in Korea alone.

***StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game
developed by Blizzard Entertainment.***

If you are in Mexico and are interested in Korean Culture but don't know who can help you I recomend you to check out this website  hallyumx.wordpress.com/ or sent an email to OLA COREANA EN MEXICO [centroculturalcoreano@yahoo.com.mx]
If there's anything I can help you, don't hesitate to ask!!

A friend of my sis told her that maybe I was Korean in a previous life and that's why I have so much interest in Korea...and sounds weird but it could besince I don't feel this passion (??) for many things in life..what do you think??

-Gisela V.
 Ps. Sorry  I didn't put the images where they are suppossed to go on the post but my blog is acting weird :(

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

K-Pop

Korean Drama