K-pop craze stirs fan migration

Number of foreign students soars as K-pop goes global

By Kang Hyun-kyung

K-pop has gone viral among some fans in North America, Europe and the Middle East, paving the way for a music craze in regions where K-pop once was perceived as a foreign novelty.

Korea's "cultural invasion" into the late-blooming K-pop regions, ironically, has spurred rare demographic changes in Korea _ foreign students here have increased and their nationalities are more diverse.

About a decade ago, Asians, mostly Chinese, dominated international student rosters. In 2017, France became one of the top 12 countries sending 1,000 or more students to Korea.

K-pop migrants _ albeit their exact ratio is hard to quantify _ are behind the changing demographics on campuses.

Inspired by the trendy music and attractive singers, some young K-pop fans are packing their suitcases to explore Korea, home to K-pop.

Paulina Bonnevier, 22, a Swedish student attending Seoul National University, said K-pop was the key driver behind her decision to study in Korea.

"I would have never been interested in Korea without K-pop," she said. "K-pop was like the door that opened up for my visit to Korea."

In Sweden, Bonnevier said she was one of the early adapters of Korean music.

"When I started listening to it, it had a very small following and it was hard finding others interested in the music," she said. "But K-pop is getting more popular recently. I think most people who have experienced K-pop would want to visit Korea at least once in their lifetime."

British student Caitlin Ho, 19, shares the view that K-pop is Europe's latest musical phenomenon.

For her, she said K-pop was a catalyst through which she was able to experience Korean culture, society and language.

"K-pop was never really popular in my country," she said. "It was more like if you liked K-pop, you didn't tell anyone. It was not really seen as the norm, so sometimes people would tease you for it."

The status of K-pop in Britain, however, changed after the global success of the boy band BTS, according to her.

"I have heard from friends back home that BTS are drawing in listeners," she said. "In my home university we established a society where people who like K-pop can come together to meet other fans and talk about it. Through this we are building a community for people to find friends with common interest."

Foreign hallyu fans' migration to Korea is not a new phenomenon.

In the mid-2000s, Korea saw an increase in Japanese tourists, mostly women in their 50s or older. They chose to visit the country after they were mesmerized by the hit drama, "Winter Sonata" starring Bae Yong-joon and Choi Ji-woo.

The middle-aged Japanese tourists were depicted by the media as "hallyu pilgrims" as they were loyal to their favorite Korean stars and they would visit the "holy sites" where the drama was shot.

Compared to drama fans, K-pop migrants are younger and their purposes are also different.
Dramas fans tend to come here for several days to look around the country, but K-pop migrants stay longer for study or work and they want to know more about the country.

As of October 2017, 123,000 foreign students are in Korea, about a 40 percent increase from 2007.

Chinese students still take the lion's share with 55 percent, followed by Vietnam, Japan, Mongolia and the United States.

The data shows a noticeable change in demographic traits of foreign-born students. France is in the top 12 countries, sending over 1,000 students or more to Korea.

The increase of French students is eye-catching. The number of French students in Korea was merely 287 in 2009. It has soared since 2012, a year after a K-pop concert featuring SM Entertainment bands and singers at Le Zenith de Paris in France and two years after Psy performed his global hit "Gangnam Style" near the Eiffel Tower.

Since 2013, French students have outnumbered Russians, who used to be the largest European population on Korean campuses, and have continued to increase. Last year the French student population rose to 1,344.

A source familiar with French students' migration said K-pop is one of the reasons that prompted them to come to Korea. "More and more young French people want to learn the Korean language," she said asking for anonymity as she was not authorized to speak to the media on the matter. "There is a Korea boom among French youth and they are intrigued by Korea because of hallyu, Korean food and beauty products."

Her remarks indicated hallyu has expanded French people's overall interest in Korean products.

Various reasons are behind the sharp increase of foreign students in Korean universities.

Some claim universities' aggressive endeavors to attract foreign students is one of the factors that resulted in an increase of foreign students.

Some argue K-pop has played a part as the Korean music craze has motivated fans' migration to Korea. Even if their claim is true, the question remains unanswered regarding how many foreign students are truly K-pop migrants.

Oh In-gyu, a professor of the Foreign Languages Department at Kansai Gaidai University of Japan, claimed "many of the foreign students" are K-pop fans.

Asked to quantify how many, Oh, also president of the World Association for Hallyu Studies, said an increase of "non-Asian, white students" has to do with K-pop-driven migration.

"Back in 2010, we saw a sudden increase of foreign students at the top five universities in Seoul. There was the media frenzy about the phenomenon but no media outlets provided convincing analysis about what was going on behind the surge of foreign students in Korea," he said.

"The Yonsei University Korean Language Institute, however, knew why. Before 2010, they had 3,000 students but the number rose to 7,000 in 2010."

Oh, then a professor of Korea University, said he researched the phenomenon and interviewed foreign students and faculty of the language institute.

"I remember faculty there were excited about the sharp increase of foreign students but some were worried what if the hallyu boom was short-lived, just as the popularity of films made in Hong Kong didn't last long in Korea in the 1990s," he said. "I told them no worries because I was convinced hallyu would continue."

Regarding K-pop-driven migration, Alshaima Mohammed from the United Arab Emirates, who finished her bachelor's degree program at Korea University in Seoul, said there are certainly fans who are inspired to visit Korea after watching Korean singers and dramas.

"Here in Abu Dhabi, the number of aspiring K-pop migrants is very small," she said. "I know an Emirati girl who told me she would love to work in Korea. She is a K-pop fan and was motivated to visit Korea to fulfill her dream of seeing or meeting her favorite singers in person," she said.

SM Entertainment singers' K-pop concert in Dubai last week was a milestone event through which Mohammed said she was able to identify a K-pop boom in the Middle East. Among other K-pop bands, she said boy band EXO is hugely popular in her country. "I know some teenagers encouraged each other to buy the tickets for the Dubai concert. They wanted to show their favorite singers that they are very popular here and thus they must come here for more concerts," she said. Some fans memorized the lyrics of their songs in Korean and sang together with the boy band, she said.

Mohammed said some K-pop fans have a sort of fantasy about life in Korea as they presume life here would be as fancy as being depicted in pop culture.