Academia begins to eye K-pop

/Korea Times file

Scholars are focusing on Korean pop culture as it broadens its global presence.

The phenomenon, known in Korea as “hallyu,” is becoming an academic subject, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

According to the article, it asks: “Are Korea’s girl groups more popular because their members are, on average, 10 centimeters, or about 3.9 inches, taller than their Japanese counterparts?”

The story also highlights the annual World Congress of Hallyu Studies, a conference dedicated to the topic, with the third annual conference held in Dubai. More than 150 scholars attended to present their latest findings on K-pop.

Uwe Reinhardt, a Princeton University economics professor, even went so far as to say he would forgo teaching economics to teach “Introductory Korean Drama” and posted a fake syllabus for the course on the university's website.

But as author Jonathan Cheng points out, K-pop scholars have also run into “ivory tower resistance,” with orthodox Korean studies professors concerned that “erudite works on subjects like neo-Confucianism are being eclipsed by papers about eyeliner-wearing pop stars.”

“Artistically, it's crap,” a University of Washington professor was quoted as saying of K-pop music. “That's my personal opinion.”