There’s one popular quote which you’ll keep hearing every now and then. Learn to praise what you have rather than being envious of others. However, Indians seemingly do not like what they possess. Thus, they keep on adopting western ideologies and sometimes also buy their products only because it has an imported stamp.
Now, Gen Z is going gaga over Korean culture. Be it K-pop, K-drama or even Korean beauty products, Indians tend to prefer Korean culture over Indian culture. Why so? Let’s find out.
Indians’ obsession with Korean beauty products
Korean beauty products are not just typical CTM (cleansing, toning, and moisturising) routine, but more about ‘flawless skin’. A combination of unique, natural ingredients and potent actives results in enhanced effectiveness of the products. Natural ingredients such as cica, avocado, ginseng, chia seeds, bamboo, rice water, and volcanic ash are combined with actives such as retinol, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid, AHAs, and BHAs to create products to match the glass skin standard.
It is pertinent to note that the Korean brands formulate products using traditional Ayurvedic ingredients such as neem, tulsi, lemon, and honey, among others that India resonates with. Thus, the Indians are going along with Korean products as Indian beauty brands have eventually stopped recognizing the importance of Ayurveda.
Read more: Indians are happily buying Korean ‘Ayurveda’ beauty products as it has an imported stamp
From Forest Essentials to Kama Ayurveda and boutique, India has a series of brands that comprises natural ingredients and Ayurvedic herbs. However, Indians fail to recognise the importance of their own products and rather find Korean ones effective.
The dark reality of K-pop
BTS has been ruling the Billboard charts and has broken several big records lately. Trying to emulate their success, bands like EXO and BLACKPINK have made their mark with myriad more lining up. However, there is a dark side to this dizzying fame. A dark side that is rarely talked about in the popular media. For every global successful K-pop group, there are several hundred that have failed.
Read more: Suicides, unreal expectations and more: The dark underbelly of K-Pop
There is a proper industry working behind the scenes to manufacture the next BTS. K-pop groups are usually formed by South Korean entertainment agencies that host auditions both domestically and abroad, searching for talent after the announcement of a new group.
They are made to go through practice routines from morning to night, seven days a week for three to four years at least, which could last even longer if the group fails to break the glass ceiling. For instance, BTS’s Jimin trained for 10 months, while Blackpink’s Jennie trained for six years.
Apart from the dancing, the food habits of the performers are closely monitored.
Bordering on anorexic levels, these performers are made to eat less and less food, so as not to gain weight and look stuffy on stage. They are not allowed to date anyone and also are barred from revealing their sexual identities.
But Indians overlook all these aspects and what they notice is the on-stage performance of BTS and other Korean bands.
A Delhi-based Avanthika Shringi stated, “I started listening to BTS only last year after I saw them all over the Internet. I was curious then, and now, not just me, but my sons are huge BTS fans too. We sing their songs out loud, they are all so catchy.”
However, BTS is not the only reason Indians are obsessed with K-pop. Korean singer PSY’s viral hit ‘Gangnam Style’ in 2012 worked as a catalyst for the Hallyu Wave (a term used to describe Korean culture’s growth) in India.
K-Drama’s viral popularity in India
According to a Netflix report, the viewership of Korean dramas (hereon, K-dramas) in India had increased by 370% between 2019 and 2020. Moving ahead, between March 2020 and March 2021, six K-dramas, including the second season of Kingdom, It’s Okay To Not Be Okay, and Crash Landing On You, snatched the positions in Netflix’s “Top 10 Trending” list.
As per the reports, “With more than 50% of India’s population under the age of 25, India has offered itself as a demand producing machine for Korean culture.”
This craze for Korean drama initially began in the North-East during the late 2000s when K-drama, dubbed in Mizo, was being telecasted on cable television channels. Moreover, in the neighbouring Manipur, the locals switched to K-drama for entertainment as Bollywood and Hindi satellite channels were banned by the Manipuri separatists.
K-webtoons and K-fandom
According to Hyunwoo Thomas Kim, co-founder, president and CEO of Kross Komics, has predicted that “Korean originated Webtoons, or digital comics, will be the next big craze.” Notably, Kross Komics is a webtoon platform in India launched in December 2019. Within 1.5 years of operation, the app has gathered over 4.5 million downloads with around half of them being females. “High number of webtoons in the romance/ rom-com category along with global best-selling stories make this new form of content a very interesting alternative to binge on,” he says.
Meanwhile, many people are joining K-fandom. The obsessions of fans all over India for K-culture have led to the creation of fan clubs dedicated to K-pop groups. The group ‘armybtsindia’ is one such group with 1.2 lakh followers. Daisy Ray, a member of armybtsindia says, “The group is quite active with all BTS updates—their new albums, TV appearances, news articles on them, their upcoming concerts and cute pictures. It’s a treat really.”
The Korean entertainment wave is still unfolding. How the K-phenomenon evolves from here on depends on how Korea’s entertainment industry innovates.
Indians are losing interest in their culture
Such is the blind love towards Korean culture that the Indians are following their way rather than following what they have been taught since their childhood. Instead of embracing their own culture, they have begun falling for Korean culture. The deep-rooted traditions and customs are loosening up their hold among Indians themselves. Indians have a rich cultural background and the pride in their culture is famous throughout the world. Despite this, what is more impactful these days – is Korean culture.
It is high time Indians take pride in their aged-old culture and explore more of it. They should try to learn more about Indian cultures, Vedas, Puranas and other such aspects rather than blindly following Korean culture.