How the Korean Wave Intersects With Social Change in Vietnam

Since Vietnam and South Korea established formal diplomatic ties in 1992, popular culture has turned out to be the best ambassador for Seoul in Vietnam. It all began in the late 1990s when Korean television dramas (also known as K-dramas) such as “Medical Brothers” (starring Jang Dong Gun and Lee Young Ae) and “Star in My Heart” (starring Ahn Jae Wook and Choi Jin Sil) started to appear on local television thanks to some Korean corporations’ sponsorships, leading to audiences’ interest in K-pop and other Korean cultural exports like films, food, travel packages, fashion, and cosmetics.

Now, after more than two decades, this Korean Wave, known as Hallyu, has remained popular in Vietnam while forging its presence worldwide. Many scholars believe this is partly a result of the Korean government’s policy to promote South Korea as a “dream economy of icons and aesthetic experience.”

According to Google Trends annual reports over the past decade, the titles of K-dramas and Korean entertainers have been consistently present in its top searches by Vietnamese people. Recent K-drama hits such as “Reply 1988,” “Descendants of the Sun,” “Crash Landing on You,” and “The Glory” became popular topics of discussion on social media. The most popular Vietnamese news websites, such as Kenh14, Zing, and VnExpress frequently report Korean showbiz events. Korean reality shows such as “Running Man” and “Dad! Where Are We Going?” have been adapted for the Vietnamese market, while local remakes of Korean films like “Em la ba noi cua anh” (I’m Your Grandma) (2015) and “Thang nam ruc ro” (The Brightest Years) (2018) became box-office hits.

Aesthetic traces of Korean pop culture in Vietnam are palpable. Images of Korean entertainers pervade public sites in Vietnam, decorating advertising billboards, department stores, and beauty salons. Phrases such as long lanh nhu phim Han (beautiful as Korean dramas), or trang nhu Han Quoc (white as Koreans – used to approvingly describe pale skin color) have entered everyday vocabulary.

The popularity of all things Korean, including food, mobile phones, and cosmetic brands, reflects a general forward-looking attitude that views South Korea as a modern and intriguing culture. While the Vietnamese show a forward-looking attitude toward the West as well, it is usually tempered with a sense of alienation due to the underlying cultural differences. South Korea as a model of Asian modernity feels closer. Its development therefore seems more attainable to the Vietnamese public.  After all, South Korea’s miraculous economic growth during the latter half of the 20th century is quite recent, and Korea shares clear elements of cultural similarities with Vietnam, including a Confucian cultural heritage, an emphasis on family ties and respect for the elderly, and a collectivist value that foregrounds conformity.

My interviews with Vietnamese research participants reveal that many saw in South Korea and the glamorous, metropolitan lifestyles embodied by Korean stars on screens an alluring future they wished for themselves. Some acknowledged how K-dramas’ recurring rags-to-riches stories serve as inspiration for them to reflect on their own lives and strive toward success. Portrayals of characters’ relentless pursuit of status and money in K-dramas resonate with many local viewers, who are encouraged to be self-sufficient by the Vietnamese government’s recent neoliberal social policy. Decades after the 1986 Doi Moi (Renovation) socioeconomic milestone, marked by Vietnam’s transition to a market economy and integration into global trade, the government has transferred certain welfare responsibilities to the market and now touts self-made wealth and success as patriotism.

Vietnamese enthusiasm toward Korean pop culture has not escaped criticism. Government officials and members of the public have raised charges of a cultural invasion. K-pop fandom, which has been part of the local youth culture since the mid-2000s, has triggered heated social debates and given rise to moral panic over young people’s obsession with Korean idols. This fervent reception distinguishes K-pop fandom from fan activities associated with other genres of global media from the U.S., the U.K., China, Japan, or Thailand, which enjoy some popularity in Vietnam but generally do not attract such heated debates. However, the backlash in Vietnam toward Korean pop culture has been more tempered than in some other Asian countries, never erupting into protests such as those seen in China and Japan.