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Halleluja Hallyu: Inside India’s Korean Kraze, the third K-Pop Wave!
Hallyu, the Korean cultural wave , isn’t just entertainment anymore. In the aftermath of the Ghaziabad tragedy, Medha Shri looks at Gen Z's newfound identity
On a frigid February morning in Ghaziabad, three sisters, Nishika (16), Prachi (14) and Pakhi (12) jumped to their deaths from their home on the ninth floor. Police say that besides other circumstances, contacts on their phones and notes recovered at the scene suggest their inability to detach from a virtual world of South Korean culture, aka K-pop, and that they had even taken on Korean names for themselves.
The teens were obsessed with task-based Korean love games. “(The girls) were highly obsessed with the game and thought that they were not Indians, but Koreans. They also portrayed themselves as Korean princesses under the influence of the game,” Atul Kumar Singh, ACP Ghaziabad, had told HT City.
K-Pop is cool!
While this incident is an extreme step and there might be other reasons at play, K-culture is not the villain! “Exposure to global cultures can be enriching. But when admiration mutates into fixation, it can become alarming. Adolescence is a sensitive period for identity formation. Idol culture can offer belonging and emotional regulation,” says leading psychiatrist Dr Deepak Raheja, warning, “But it becomes problematic when it replaces real-world engagement.”
Hooked to Hallyu
This is not an isolated story. “My daughter keeps talking about (K-pop bands) BTS and BLACKPINK. She says your daughters are fans too. What is it?” a bewildered mother once asked me about our then six-year-old daughters. Today, such conversations are ubiquitous.
Bands such as BTS, BLACKPINK and EXO command formidable fan communities in the country. India now ranks among the top five global markets for K-pop streaming with over 15 million engaged listeners. “I changed my friend circle in ninth grade because I loved BLACKPINK and they loved BTS,” says Prakriti, a class XI student, adding, “Now we all dress in Korean aesthetics. When I grow up, I’ll get eye surgery to get Korean eyes.”
K-beauty and fashion, too, have achieved remarkable penetration. Over 60 Korean beauty brands retail in India and consumers are projected to more than double from 12 million to 27 million by 2030.
Wanted: A new face
While quantifiable numbers aren’t yet widely published, anecdotal reports from clinics in Delhi confirm the demand for Korean look rising.
Aesthetic physician Dr Saman Ahmad shares, “As an aesthetic physician and advance cosmetic injector, I love how Korean beauty trends inspire better skincare and self-care habits. However, I get people who want to surgically alter their features to look Korean. Youngsters ask for fox eyes or noses like their idols. I explain to them that the key is to enhance their natural features and not alter or replace their own unique facial features. I tell them one can enhance the natural look, but erasing one's own identity is unhealthy. I counsel them but if I sense body dysmorphic disorder, I refer them to a mental health expert. Enhancing one's natural feature boosts confidence, but losing one's identity to chase trends is not something I endorse."
Not the first gen obsession
Interestingly, this is not the first wave of Korean culture or Hallyu, a term coined by the Chinese media in the ’90s for K-pop’s soft power. Before our kids started Crash Landing On You, there was their parents’ generation dancing to PSY’s Gangnam Style.
Today, we are in the middle of the third Hallyu.
The First Wave: After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the South Korean government identified culture as a strategic export and not a by-product. This is when the first wave of Hallyu came knocking with TV dramas What Is Love? and Winter Sonata. The Chinese Media coined the term, Hallyu to describe the Korean cultural wave.
The Second Wave: 2012 is when K-pop had a global inflection point with PSY’s Gangnam Style becoming the first YouTube video to cross 1 billion views. Korean pop culture travelled beyond Asia without translation
The Third Wave: Zombie films and shows like Train to Busan (2016) and All of Us Are Dead got youngsters hooked, after which Netflix created shows like Crash Landing on You, Itaewon Class and Squid Game. In 2020, Parasite becoming the first non-English language film to win Best Picture at the Oscars.
The aftermath of tragedy
In the aftermath of the Ghaziabad tragedy, parents are doing their best to contain unhealthy obsession in their kids. “I had loved watching the film Parasite (2019) and I have also danced to PSY. Now, I am taking it as a challenge to learn more about Korean culture to make sure my kids know I can relate to their love for K-pop, but also so that I can guide them if they become obsessive,” says Vandana Bhatt, a Delhi resident, whose 20-year-old daughter is “only shopping K-cool clothes”.
Experts stan the approach.
“From a therapeutic standpoint, strict prohibition is rarely effective. Parents are encouraged to focus on balance, open communication, and consistent boundaries. When preoccupation becomes rigid, emotionally distressing, or associated with anxiety, depressive symptoms, or behavioral changes, it is best to get a professional assessment,” says Dr Raheja.
