Currently, among Asian countries except Korea, the term Korean style (cultural trend) is very popular in China and Japan. In particular, the most popular age group was women in their teens and 20s.
At first, as Korean celebrities, especially idols, became popular simply on Instagram, hair styles and clothing styles became popular. However, as social media such as dramas and Instagram have developed greatly, the boundaries between countries are breaking down. In the past, news from abroad was impossible at a time when overseas travel was not as free as it is now, but now it can be delivered through Mentabus or social media.
Since there are many export ot companies such as dramas and entertainment, there are many restaurants, bars, and cashes that allow people who cannot go to Korea to feel vicarious satisfaction as exports become very fast.
Asked why Korean cafes are good, a 21-year-old Chinese girl from Laoning Province said this. She said that you can make memories there, not just buy coffee or tea. When asked what kind of memories they had as a question, the answer was that the cafeteria in Korea was not just a place to eat food, but rather a beautiful interior like an art space, raising satisfaction.
A 22-year-old hairdresser living in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, answered the question, saying that most cafes in Japan have a strong image of smoking or older people going except Starbucks. Starbucks is said to have no difference in most places. However, the cafes according to the Korean style have different interiors and make places where you can take pictures to make you very happy as a woman, and they answered that the design is very cute, not just drinks or desserts.
In addition, recently, in China, if everyone speaks Korean and the menu, food, beverage, and alcohol are all in Korean, they sell products imported from Korea, and the designs are all written in Korean.
When I asked why I was visiting such a place, I answered similar to the cafeteria, but a slightly different answer came back.
Recently, the Korean-Chinese law has not yet been lifted in China, but it is said that Korean dramas are imported from platforms such as Yufu or Aichi such as Netflix in China, which is said to have fantasies about Hong Kong when the Hong Kong Rwar genre was popular.
He said that if you eat Hadriquo, Beer & Wine, and beverage food they drink at the Hadriquo restaurant where the main characters go in the drama, you feel like you are the main character in the same drama.
And this is not only for the general public, but also for Chinese dramas, there are characters who often pretend to be Koreans. And there are many stories about Korea, and one of China’s 20s actresses named Zorosa (Zhaolus), who belongs to the top actor level, is representative. In her drama, she often spoke Korean, spoke as if she were Korean, and in her drama, she sang Gangnam Style and said Oppa (Brother and Sister) in Korean, and in her work, she talked about wisdom teeth, showing how Korean women in their teens and 20s feel about Korea.
In addition, Taiwanese dramas used to use Japanese a lot in the past because they were influenced by Japan and showed pro-Japanese tendencies, but now they show that Korean culture is affecting them in many ways, such as using the latest Korean buzzwords.
In Japan, people in their teens and 20s want to live in Korea. I want to be friends with Koreans. There are a lot of hashtags on the Internet saying that they want to be Korean. Korea is currently showing that it is culturally attracting attention from Asian countries.
In the past, there were many Koreans who wanted to travel to Japan and admired it, but these can be said to be evidence that there is an opposite situation inside Japan now.
Sophia Kim
Asia Journal
