Globalization, or the logic of cultural hybridization: the case of the Korean wave

Abstract

This article explores a regionally specific phenomenon and logic of transnational popular cultural flow as an example to illustrate the complexity involved in the cultural hybridization thesis and the implications that it has for the debate on the globalization of culture. This article argues that the Korean wave is an indication of new global, as well as local, transformations in the cultural and the economic arena. This phenomenon especially signifies a regionalization of transnational cultural flows as it entails Asian countries’ increasing acceptance of cultural production and consumption from neighboring countries that share similar historical and cultural backgrounds, rather than from politically and economic-ally powerful others. The article further argues that the Korean wave is a sign of how a country considered ‘in-between’ (or sub-periphery) can find a niche and reposition itself as a cultural mediator in the midst of global cultural transformation.