Korean Aesthetic In The Indian Mindspace

바카라�It was a huge hit in Kolkata,바카라� city resident and K-pop enthusiast Arghya Mukherjee recalls.

The smash-hit song by South Korean rapper PSY shattered all conceivable records of popularity, becoming a global phenomenon and the first video to reach one billion views on YouTube. Celebrities across the globe바카라�from MC Hammer to Amitabh Bachchan바카라�shook a leg to its campy choreography.

While PSY might remain a one-hit wonder, Gangnam Style achieved something bigger than the artist could have imagined. It opened the floodgates for Hallyu, the great South Korean cultural wave that has continued to grow ever since. 바카라�I remember not really liking the song at the time, but looking back, it was probably the first major Korean export to go viral in India. BTS was formed in 2013 and everyone knows what happened next,바카라� says Mukherjee, a proud member of BTS바카라� Army fandom.

The 33-year-old now runs a Korean eatery named 바카라�Yum Yum Korea Corner바카라� in Kolkata바카라�s coveted Gol Park neighbourhood, offering a menu that spans corndogs, tteok-bokki, ramen, kimbap, bibimbap, bulgogi, soju and, of course, kimchi. 바카라�The popularity of K-culture started with K-pop and then K-dramas. Now, everything Korean is in vogue,바카라� says Mukherjee.

It took him over two years to perfect the menu. 바카라�I realised that many people became interested in Korean food because of the K-dramas that gained popularity in 2020. I wanted to offer an affordable way for K-culture fans to taste the food they see on these shows.바카라�

Korea바카라�s remarkable rise from an impoverished nation to one of Asia바카라�s most advanced economies, dubbed the Miracle on the Han River, began in the 1960s when it opened itself as a manufacturing and tech hub. Over the last 15 years, the emergence of K-pop, followed by the boom in K-drama viewership, has led to the Hallyu바카라�a cultural wave of all things Korean.

바카라�I remember starting to watch K-dramas and eventually wanting to eat ramyeon (ramen noodles),바카라� says Pallavi Kumari, a researcher of South Korean language, culture and literature at Delhi바카라�s Jawaharlal Nehru University. 바카라�It wasn바카라�t just the taste of the food that was intriguing but the shared K-universe references that made the experience immersive,바카라� she explains. 바카라�The phrase 바카라�Ramyeon mogole?바카라�바카라�meaning 바카라�Would you like to eat some ramyeon at my place?바카라�바카라�is Korea바카라�s equivalent of 바카라�Netflix and Chill바카라�. Being part of K-culture is like knowing a secret language shared among fellow enthusiasts.바카라�

Pallavi notes that the Hallyu wave isn바카라�t limited to big cities. 바카라�I come from Darbhanga in Bihar and grew up in Purnia. Over the last decade, many peers who once scoffed at K-pop and K-dramas are now avid fans, participating in K-cultural events,바카라� she shares.

The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns in 2020바카라�21 served as a springboard for the Korean wave. Although Korean dramas and films had gained popularity earlier, Netflix recorded a 370 per cent jump in K-drama viewership in India in 2020 compared to 2019, according to Euromonitor International, a global market research company. Increased consumption of Korean content바카라�K-pop music videos, dramas, webtoons and OTT-based shows바카라�paved the way for the expansion of Korean goods and products in India.

Today, Korean products have flooded Indian markets, from cuisine to skincare. Metro and tier-one cities have witnessed rapid growth in Korean food joints, eateries and cloud kitchens. Korean condiments like gochugaru, gochujang, ginseng and sticky rice are now widely available. South Korean companies like Daesang, which owns Cheongjeongwon, Jongga and Orion, a major player, have also expanded their footprint in India. Orion opened a production plant in Rajasthan in 2021, while Daesang has been exporting kimchi and traditional sauces since 2015.

According to media reports, the value of imported Korean food items like noodles and pasta grew from $1.5 million in 2020 to $12 million in 2024. South Korea바카라�s share in India바카라�s noodle and pasta imports rose from 0.8 per cent in 2015 to 37 per cent in 2024. NielsenIQ reports that the Korean noodle market grew from Rs 2 crore in 2021 to over Rs 65 crore in 2023.

Part of the appeal, says Reshbha Munjal, founder of Korean skincare clinic KorinMi in Gurugram, lies in the 바카라�natural바카라� components of Korean skincare routines, which promise a 바카라�clean바카라� and 바카라�au naturel바카라� aesthetic.

Traditional Korean aesthetics are characterised by four key aspects: pure formality, naturalistic simplicity, symbolic decoration and playful spontaneity. Pure formality embodies dignity, modesty, purity and status. Unlike Western traditions, which emphasise the body and proportionality, Koreans perceive the body holistically and abstractly. For instance, the preference for baggy, oversized clothing and a fondness for white reflect this sense of pure formality.

Naturalistic beauty integrates simplicity and comfort with pure formality and represents the indigenous ethos, customs and culture of the Korean people.

Contemporary Korean aesthetics often centre around the concept of jayeon, loosely translated as nature. Unlike the Western focus on beauty as symmetry or art for art바카라�s sake, jayeon reflects a deeper connection to natural elements.

In Korean art history and discussions on Korean aesthetic, art historian Yu-Sup Koh describes the 바카라�naturalistic simplicity바카라� of Korean artefacts as 바카라�free of excess바카라� and 바카라�deeply connected to functionality바카라�.

These artefacts are created through processes emphasising concepts like 바카라�artless art바카라� and 바카라�planless plan바카라�, which derive from real-life functionality rather than abstract artistic ideas. 바카라�The notions of artless art and planless plan refer to stylistic features originating from real life in contrast to abstract notions of art,바카라� write Y. J. Kwon and Y. Y. Lee in Traditional Aesthetic Characteristics Traced in South Korean Contemporary Fashion Practice. K-beauty standards and products, often marketed as 바카라�pristine바카라�, 바카라�clean바카라�, and 바카라�all-natural바카라�, reflect these aesthetic ideals. Skincare lines focus on 바카라�inner beauty바카라� and the glow of naturally 바카라�glass skin바카라�. While Korean beauty standards have faced criticism for being 바카라�colourist바카라�, Reshbha Munjal, co-founder of Korean skincare clinic, KorinMi, notes that 바카라�unlike European or American trends tailored to dominant skin types of those regions, Korean beauty caters to Asian and South Asian skin tones and textures, considering South Asian climatic conditions바카라�.

The adaptability of Korean products to hybridise and meet the needs of diverse audiences contributes to the enduring appeal of the Hallyu. This hybridity also arises from cultural synergies and similarities between India and South Korea.

The rise of Hallyu symbolises a shift from the Western (read: American) hegemony over the global culture industry and the Eurocentric gaze that dictates what is deemed acceptable for mass consumption. 바카라�The success of Korean products and cultural iconography in postcolonial nations like India flows from shared neocolonial anxieties and afflictions resulting from the political and cultural dominance of the 바카라�West바카라�,바카라� Pallavi asserts.

In her 2019 book New Kings of the World: Dispatches from Bollywood, Dizi and K-Pop, Pakistani writer Fatima Bhutto argues that Bollywood films, Turkish soap operas and K-pop music are the new arbiters of mass pop culture. While the content may not always promote modern, secular or progressive views, it often marries traditional values with contemporary settings, portraying aspirations more relatable to viewers in the 바카라�third world바카라� than the 바카라�American dream바카라�.

Despite its commercial nature, popular culture can serve as a significant sociopolitical marker if it resonates deeply enough to shape contemporary norms. Researchers Srijita Biswas and Pratiti Roy, in their paper Binge Watching, Binge Eating: Popularity of K-Dramas and the Emergent Korean Cuisine in India, observe that the rise of K-dramas and food in the popular imagination reflect an 바카라�acceptance of the 바카라�other바카라�바카라� through pop culture. With its exotic and 바카라�foreign바카라� aesthetic, Korean content disrupts the monotony of 바카라�Western-gaze바카라�-driven entertainment and normalises the 바카라�other바카라�, symbolising an 바카라�unconscious break from xenophobia바카라�. 바카라�The Army of K-drama fans, content consumers of 바카라�everything Korean,바카라� and even reluctant viewers have embraced and adapted South Korean culture through entertainment and food,바카라� Biswas states, calling it a step toward 바카라�achieving inclusivity바카라�.

Analysing the popularity of Gangnam Style, offers insights into how Korean cultural expansion operates on sociopolitical and emotional levels. The song references the upscale Gangnam district of Seoul, known for its lavish, trendy lifestyle. The music video begins with PSY lounging on a deck chair, surrounded by sand and fanned by an attractive woman. As the camera pans out, a children바카라�s park emerges and the subject바카라�s reality shifts. The illusion of a beach party gives way to the reality of a city choked with dust and skyscrapers바카라�a scene relatable to many viewers.

Korean feminist author S. Heijin Lee, who teaches at New York University바카라�s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, notes how US culture has historically racialised Asian men, stereotyping them as 바카라�laughable, emasculated figures바카라� while emphasising their 바카라�foreignness바카라�. PSY, having studied in the US, delivers a comedic yet incisive critique of the hyper-consumerist, materialist Korean high society and flashy influencer culture influenced by Western individualism and capitalism. He situates modern Asian aspirations within the intersections of Western modernity and Eastern morality.

PSY바카라�s character in Gangnam Style fits stereotypical 바카라�Asian바카라� traits바카라�eccentric, comedic and foreign바카라�making him both familiar and exotically different. His antics are accepted as a legacy of his origins and he subverts stereotypes by embracing them. 바카라�PSY바카라�s comedic appeal undoubtedly contributes to his popularity both in Korea and the United States,바카라� Lee states.

The marketing of Korean cultural products often leverages this 바카라�familiar difference바카라�. However, in her essay, The Politics and Promises of Gangnam Style, published in Pop Empires: Transnational Flows of Korea and India, Lee warns that exploiting these familiar differences for commercial ends risks reinforcing the very stereotypes and systems postcolonial nations seek to dismantle.