Origin of K-Wave in Vietnam

<The Start of the Korean Wave in ASEAN : Vietnam> 

"The start of the Korean Wave is Vietnam." 

In September 2003, Hanu Chang, a public relations officer at the Korean Embassy in Hanoi, introduced and analyzed the reasons behind the Korean Wave phenomenon, which was immensely popular in Vietnam at the time, through his article <The Korean Wave Phenomenon in Vietnam>. A notable excerpt from this article is the part where he states, "Koreans living in Vietnam do not hesitate to claim that Vietnam is indeed the origin of the Korean Wave." 

The term ‘Korean Wave’ was first coined by Taiwanese media in 1997, and it became a term used extensively by Chinese media to refer to the ‘enthusiastic preference for Korean popular culture abroad.’ Thus, it is generally recognized that ‘the Korean Wave first started in the Greater China region and spread to ASEAN and the Middle East.’ 

However, Koreans living in Vietnam at the time could not agree with this. This is because Vietnamese people liked Korean culture even before the term ‘Korean Wave’ was created in China. Vietnamese people felt a sense of familiarity with Koreans and Korean culture, and found many similarities with their own culture, fostering a sense of kinship. The claim by Koreans living in Vietnam at the time was not entirely without basis, as the popularity of Korean culture and products in Vietnam had been continuing for hundreds of years.

In Professor Choi Byung-wook of Inha University’s study, "Korean and Vietnamese Envoys Who Met Each Other in Peking," and Professor Park Hee-byung of Seoul National University’s research, "Intellectuals of Late Joseon and Vietnam," the stories of Korean and Vietnamese envoys who met in Beijing during the late 16th century under the Ming and Qing dynasties of China are intriguing. Envoys from Korea and Vietnam, both part of the same Chinese-character cultural sphere, exchanged written conversations, inquired about each other’s political situations, and shared poems, building friendships.

Notably, Yi Su-gwang, a pioneer of the Silhak school of thought in Korea, compiled conversations and poems exchanged with Vietnamese envoys during his visit to Beijing as an envoy to the Ming dynasty in 1597. He introduced Vietnam through a record called "Annamguk Sasin Changhwamundaprok." Additionally, Yi Su-gwang provided various information about Vietnam in his work "Jibong Yuseol," which is highly praised as Korea's first encyclopedia.

Vietnamese envoy visiting the Ming Dynasty in China (painting by a Korean envoy)

Meanwhile, Phung Khac Khoan, the Vietnamese envoy who befriended Yi Su-gwang in Beijing, was a highly esteemed politician and scholar of his time in Vietnam. His prominence is such that a high school in Hanoi is named after him. When he returned to Vietnam as an envoy from Beijing and introduced Yi Su-gwang's poems, they gained immense popularity among the Vietnamese upper class. This became widely known later through Jo Wan-byeok, the first Korean to visit Vietnam three times. When Jo Wan-byeok arrived in Vietnam, Vietnamese officials proudly showed him Yi Su-gwang's poems and warmly welcomed him, noting that he was from the same country as Yi Su-gwang. Among Vietnamese intellectuals of the time, Yi Su-gwang was like a Korean Hallyu star.

There is no dispute that the first Hallyu product from Korea was ginseng. Records indicate that ginseng was exported to the Tang Dynasty as far back as the Three Kingdoms period, 1500 years ago. During the Goryeo Dynasty, ginseng was also exported to the Middle East through the international trade city of Byeokran-do.

In another paper by Professor Choi Byung-wook, "Korean Ginseng in Vietnam in the Early 19th Century," he verifies the historical fact that ginseng brought to Beijing by envoys was introduced to Vietnam. Korean ginseng, received as gifts from the Chinese emperor or through smuggling from China, was used by the Vietnamese emperor as a special reward for his loyal subjects. The "Bukwonrok," a journal written in diary form by Kang Jang-hwan, who visited Beijing as an envoy of the Qing Dynasty in 1760, contains an account of a Vietnamese envoy earnestly requesting ginseng as a gift, indicating the immense popularity of ginseng in Vietnam.

In the paper "Ginseng of Louis XIV" by Dr. Hye-min Lee from the Anthropology Department of New York University, it is mentioned that the Siamese (Thai) delegation that visited France in 1686 presented ginseng to Louis XIV. Since ginseng was not cultivated in Thailand, it is presumed that they indirectly acquired Korean ginseng through China, introducing it to France. In France, Jesuit missionaries consistently collected ginseng from regions like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, and purchased it in large quantities through the East India Company.

In modern times, starting from the 1910s, there were dozens of Koreans trading ginseng while traveling through ASEAN regions such as Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia. According to statistics compiled by the Japanese Government-General of Korea in 1938, 54 Koreans were residing in Vietnam, including a wealthy Korean expatriate in Hai Phong, northern Vietnam, who made his fortune through the ginseng trade. This indicates the significant popularity of the Hallyu product, ginseng, in Vietnam.

After the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 and the subsequent mass withdrawal of Korean expatriates, the late 1980s saw the implementation of Vietnam's Doi Moi policy of reform and opening up. By the 1990s, Korean companies began to enter the Vietnamese market in earnest, and Korean dramas started gaining popularity in Vietnam. The Korean Cultural Center purchased the copyrights to Korean dramas and supplied them to Vietnamese broadcasters for free as part of its cultural promotion efforts. Korean companies also provided dramas either free of charge or at very low prices, leveraging the advertising slots at the beginning and end of the drama broadcasts to maximize their commercial impact.

In 1996, the first Korean drama to be broadcast on HTV (Ho Chi Minh TV) was "Golden Pond," which marked the beginning of the Korean drama craze. According to Professor Han-Woo Lee of Sogang University's 2002 paper, "The Formation and Socio-Economic Effects of 'Hallyu' in Vietnam," popular Korean dramas such as "Feelings" in 1997, "My Love Yumi," "Medical Brothers," and "Sons and Daughters" in 1998 were aired. This trend continued with "Love in Your Embrace" and "Star in My Heart" in the following year, with a total of 45 Korean dramas airing in 1999 and 60 in 2000. By then, multiple Korean dramas were being broadcast daily on Vietnamese TV.

Jang Dong-gun, who rose to the pinnacle of stardom in Vietnam with the drama "Medical Brothers," held a concert in 1999 in Vietnam broadcast by HTV, sponsored by the world’s leading consumer goods company, Unilever. Unilever hired Jang Dong-gun as the Vietnamese model for their toothpaste brand, Close Up, and offered concert tickets to customers who purchased three or more tubes of Close Up toothpaste. The promotional toothpaste sold out within an hour.

In 2002, Baby V.O.X. achieved immense popularity in Vietnam

In the 2000s, Korean pop groups such as Baby V.O.X., NRG, and Sechs Kies gained explosive popularity among Vietnamese youth. This led to a significant cultural phenomenon where young people in Vietnam started dyeing their hair and wearing makeup like Korean pop stars, causing a generational conflict with the older generation who opposed these changes. As the internet became more widely available, popular Korean singers and songs simultaneously became hits in Vietnam. The peak of this cultural wave was exemplified by the sold-out Hanoi concert of BLACKPINK in July 2023, with tickets selling out as soon as the booking site opened. This supports the claim by Korean expatriates that Hallyu started in Vietnam.

Despite the fact that Japanese cars hold a 70-80% market share in most ASEAN regions, the market share for Korean cars is only 3-5%. However, in Vietnam, Hyundai and Kia hold a unique 35% market share. While one might assume that Hallyu contributes to the high sales of Korean products, it is not the sole factor. Although the Hallyu wave can lower barriers to entry for Korean products, it does not guarantee their sales. Additionally, some perceive the Hallyu wave as a form of cultural colonization. This topic will be discussed in the next article.