Hallyu crusade

By Oh Young-jin

Assistant managing editor

I was a skeptic of hallyu or the Korean wave. I even denied its existence. Now I am converted.

For those unbelievers, I want to share my story in the hope of rescuing you from limbo and helping you save your souls. Of course, if you resist my hand of help, you won’t be condemned.

That is the beauty of this hallyu religion. It dictates no norms but only promises joy upon believers.

It frees you from 2,000 years of psychological obligations to make a choice ― believe in one god or face fire and brimstone. We know of people who say humans are made for multiple choices ranging from the number of spouses to live with to that of absolute beings to rely on.

Rather, the hallyu religion sends you to the free era of Greek mythology ― a myriad of gods sometimes competing for the attention of us, humans.

It is an equal opportunity realized, transcending color divide, wealth gap, national grudges and, most importantly, age barriers. This religion is closer to Buddhism in that conversion is motivated by self-realization rather than whispers we pretend to hear from gods.

The joy it gives is instant and indulgent. It’s not a religion of repentance.

Your five senses are satisfied with the sixth no longer needed.

Just imagine a deliverance from the tedium of life and the pains of living it.

Here is my story of conversion.

I used to switch channels when I saw television specials about hallyu’s rising popularity.

As any nonbeliever, I dismissed them as gimmicks.

Most of them included what I called “gymnasium scenes.”

A handful of K-pop stars appeared on a small stage in what appeared to be a middle school in some South American country.

Seen in the bleachers were young students ― most of them descendants of Korean immigrants ― who were expectedly enthusiastic.

However, it didn’t take long to move from gymnasiums to stadiums.

Lately, there have been extensive reports of an army of K-pop stars staging a big show in Europe. Teenagers there imitated dance moves by young Korean singers or “idols” and recited the lyrics of their songs.

Thousands of them crowded the stadium, showing a hysteria that I thought was reserved only for the Beatles. (A slight exaggeration!)

Even then, I rejected the obvious. I didn’t believe what I saw.

I told myself that the crowd was “paid” ― some Europeans acting hysterically in return for lunch money.

Then, Girls’ Generation, the cream of K-pop appeared on the Late Night Show with David Letterman, yes, the man who competed with Jay Leno for the job of hosting NBC’s Tonight Show and moved to CBS for his own talk show, when he lost.

Then, I tried harder this time to convince myself that the American entertainment industry has reached such a low point that it takes whatever comes its way or the aging Letterman has finally lost his senses.

Not long before Girls’ Generation, the Wonder Girls, another K-pop girl group, embarked on an American tour but failed. I still remember the tired faces of the girls singing on one local American talk show. Now, they are back in Korea but are no longer as active on the music scene.

Then, I had my “Siddhartha” moment not under a Bodhi tree but after having a late-night shouting match with two foreign colleagues _ one Californian and one Brit. I admit that I did most, no, all the shouting.

The Californian, who said that he has lived in Korea for 15 years, said that he didn’t believe in hallyu. He disputed its popularity not just in Europe and the United States but in Japan as well. A number of Japanese come to Korea just to tour locations at which the famed soap, “Winter Sonata,” was filmed.

The Brit pointed out a soft spot among Korean middle-aged men for K-pop stars in what I took as an attempt to marginalize a cultural phenomenon spreading at a religious fever.

I still had some doubts about hallyu.

My deliverance came in a sequence.

I asked myself whether I like K-pop.

Yes came the answer. Then, the second question was why I like it.

Because it’s entertaining ― the girls are pretty, the boys handsome, they sing and dance well. Some may call them all look-alikes but they are not, offering entertainment that meets a great variety of different tastes and needs.

The boy band, 2PM, dances well and its variant 2AM sings well.

The nine ladies of Girls’ Generation offer nine different characters when they don’t play together. They work as show hosts, star in reality shows or act in television dramas. There is also 2NE1, f(x), Sistar, Kara.

Besides those established stars, there are probably hundreds of boy bands and girl groups in the making, if not already waiting for their chance to take the limelight. Turn on the television and you will see and hear the sounds of the inevitable coming. It’s not the sound of a subway train coming as Agent Smith speaks to Leo, while pinning The One down on the tracks, in the original Matrix, but a challenge by the alluring songs and dances of K-pop idols ― ”love us or perish.”

So the choice is obvious. You can still try and ignore hallyu because you won’t face being burnt to death as punishment. The alternative would be even direr, since you will miss a lot of fun.

To those unconverted heretics, I plead you to stop resisting and turn on the television or go to concerts to listen to and watch K-pop heartthrobs. In other words, join the global congregation of hallyu or find yourselves left behind the Korean wave juggernaut.