Audiences around the world are now enjoying media products of The Korean Wave, including the wide variety of K-Drama, movies, and K-Pop. K-Dramas are broadcast not only in South Korea, but also in Japan, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Iran, Kuwait, UAE, all throughout North and South America, and parts of Africa, including Zimbabwe and Ghana.  K-Pop music has fan followers from small, rural villages to ultra modern metropolises, literally spanning the globe.

The six units in this newest series focus on The Korean Wave. Units 1, 2, and 3 provide a general history and overview of The Korean Wave as well as rich samples of K-Drama excerpts, like scripts and links to video clips, and
activities to explore the discourse and compare and contrast cultural practices and products.  Units 4, 5, and 6 document the history of K-Pop and provide an overview of this music genre, with a specific focus on two modern idol groups, BUZZ and EXO. Here you’ll find a robust sampling of news releases, fandom blogs, and song lyrics, also with links to selected music videos. The materials contain a variety of activities for students to explore and experience K-Pop song lyrics, fans’ reactions to their favorite groups, and bits of information on behind-the-scenes production and management operations.

Like all of the units in our Discourse and Genre series, The Korean Wave units match the goals of the Korean National Standards and are designed for teachers and students to work toward increasing proficiency in the 5Cs, while working with a complex set of discourse-based materials and activities.