[한류] Unveiling the Unique Landscape of Korean Wave Studies in Australia : 호주에서의 독특한 한류 현상

Author : Eun Sam Cho,  Chloe Miller (Master's course at Seoul National University )

The global Hallyu boom is undisputed, with the number of Hallyu fans worldwide soaring from 9.26 million in 2012 to 225 million in 2023.^[1]

However, despite the fact that Asia and Oceania accounting for the most fans and there being research on the geography of Hallyu Studies on an international level, there has been a surprising gap in research focusing on the evolving trends of Hallyu within the Australian context. Therefore, to bridge this gap, we compiled an archive of scholarly resources authored or co-authored by Ph.D. candidates or holders from Australian educational institutions.

After excluding any works about Korean popular culture that did not involve the foreign public, such as research on fans in Korea, we identified 40 sources from 2006 to 2023 written by 21 Australian scholars, which form the foundation of our analysis of representative studies of Hallyu in Australia.

호주에서의 한류연구
Studies of Hallyu in Australia

Our analysis revealed diverse academic backgrounds among the scholars. Out of the 21 scholars in our dataset, 9 come from Media and Communications backgrounds, while others have History and Language, Social Sciences, Business, and Education backgrounds.

Interestingly, many scholars did not confine their research to their specific disciplines, with a senior lecturer at the School of Business contributing to a journal article exploring the effects of Hallyu on Malaysian women’s identity formation.^[2]

In addition, we found that many scholars in Korean Studies departments at Australian universities were not included in our final dataset because those who wrote about Korean popular culture from this department tended to focus on its history, production and consumption by Koreans.

Another characteristic of the authors was that although there were nine scholars who appeared to be ethnically Korean, all of the articles were written in English, with the exception of one contribution to a journal that was written in both Korean and English. In addition, three scholars, Sarah Keith, Roald Maliangkay and Thomas Baudinette, collectively authored 16 of the 40 articles we catalogued, thus exerting a significant influence on our dataset.

주요한 연구주제들
Major Themes

Moving on to an analysis of our compilation of major themes on the studies of Hallyu in Australia, 'K-pop' is the most frequently explored topic, followed by 'K-film/cinema' and 'K-drama.' However, it should be noted that our data was notably influenced by the prolific contributions of the aforesaid three primary authors. For instance, among the 26 articles on K-pop, 15 were written by those three authors.

Within the field of K-pop, 'fandoms' stands out as the most extensively explored subcategory by Australian scholars, with 10 articles containing the keyword 'fandoms'. Furthermore, these scholarly articles weave in the concept of 'soft power', going beyond economic prosperity to emphasise its role in fostering global connections, particularly between South Korea and countries like Australia.

Notably, this thematic link between 'fandoms' and 'soft power' is not just an Australian observation; it reflects a broader, global recognition of the multifaceted impact of Hallyu.

Another key category in the study of Hallyu in Australia revolves around themes of ‘diaspora’ and ‘identity,’ which are included in the keywords of 6 articles, but also intertwined with discussions on fandoms. With more than 30% of its population being born overseas (see Figure 1) and Australians identifying themselves with more than 270 ancestries,^[3]

Australia has been promoting multiculturalism. Yet, Australian mainstream media has failed to represent such diversity and three in four Australians with non-European ancestry responded that they have been discriminated against because of their ethnicity, with more people feeling that racism is on the rise.^[4] As a result, Australian scholars look to the increasing popularity of K-pop in Australia as a potential avenue for promoting intercultural understanding, cultural literacy, and multicultural identities.

At the same time, they note that K-pop shapes and helps fans in Australia and Southeast Asia to reinforce their Asian identities. Such research reflects the ongoing scholarly interest in multiculturalism and identity in Australian academia, and at the same time, is part of the recent international trend in Hallyu studies focusing on diasporic dimensions and identity.

However, it is unlike some of the North American literature on this topic in that Australian scholars did not specifically discuss Hallyu in the context of Korean diasporic communities; rather, they focused on the broader East and Southeast Asian communities. This may be due in part to the shorter history and relatively smaller ethnic Korean population in Australia compared to that of the United States and Canada.

In fact, as opposed to distinct Koreatowns in North America, Australia has been witnessing the breaking down of strict ethnic boundaries and the emergence of trans-Asian communities and cultures, which aligns with Australian scholars’ study of Hallyu in the broader context of the Asian community in Australia.

연구특성과 흐름들
Characteristics and Trends

Our detailed breakdown of regional case studies not only revealed skewed data, but also uncovered a fascinating trend. While a significant proportion of our articles focused on Australia, with a total of nine entries, four were written by a single author, and we found no non-Australian academics writing about Hallyu in Australia.

All but one of these articles were about K-pop and were published between 2017 and 2020, suggesting that the reception of Hallyu by Australians and research on this phenomenon is still in its infancy.

The other article was about Korean film and was published in 2021, reflecting the relatively low and recent interest in Korean cinema compared to K-pop. These findings were also consistent with the survey results presented in "Korean Pop Culture in Australia: Global Hallyu Issue Magazine", which asked Australians what came to mind when they thought of Korea; most people replied that K-pop and K-cinema ranked fifth, behind Korean food, drama and Taekwondo.^[5]

Following closely, Japan emerged with 7 entries. Notably, Thomas Baudinette, who has an educational background in Japanese Studies, contributed to 4 out of the 7 publications pertaining to Hallyu studies by an Australian author with a focus on Japan. In fact, due to his influence, 3 of the articles on Japan are about gender and sexuality. Moreover, the remaining 3 entries delved into East Asian regional case studies involving transnational flows of East Asian popular culture, especially that of film.

However, the most intriguing revelation our team uncovered is the pronounced focus on Southeast Asia by Australian scholars. Particularly striking is the fact that nearly all 5 published papers dedicated to Southeast Asia are interconnected with Women and Gender Studies, despite featuring authors from diverse academic disciplines. Three plausible explanations our team posits for this phenomenon is rooted in the affiliation of the authors, the history of Australian academia and Australian diplomatic policy.

First, 4 of the 5 articles about Southeast Asia were written by scholars affiliated with the University of New South Wales Canberra. Of these, 3 of the articles were written by executives of Korea Research Initiatives (KRI), an international research hub for Korean Studies in Australasia that conducts interdisciplinary research on Korea through collaborative research networks with Southeast Asia; the other article was written by a scholar from a KRI-associated school. The remaining article on Southeast Asia was written by an author with a background in Ethnomusicology and Indonesian Studies, which may explain the research interest on Southeast Asia.

The broader interest in Southeast Asia and the establishment of research networks with the region can also be traced to Australia’s history and foreign policy. From its infancy as a British colony, Australia was a colonial power in the Pacific region that hoped to pursue its own extraterritorial expansion. As a result, Australian universities were established to research and become hubs of information about countries in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. In addition, since 1950, Australia has engaged in agreements with various Indo-Pacific nations, fostering cooperation and cultural exchange through initiatives in resource development, education, and training.

Furthermore, in 2014, Australia launched the New Colombo Plan, specifically designed to encourage young Australian scholars to actively contribute to Southeast Asian regional development through increased scholarships, technical training, and specialized programs.

타국 연구와의 비교
Comparison with Other Counries

There were notable differences between studies of Hallyu in Australia and those in East and Southeast Asia. Due to a longer exposure to the influence of the Korean Wave, including K-dramas and K-movies, East and Southeast Asian countries, including China, Indonesia and Japan, had much larger and more diverse databases covering a wider range of topics and authors. Furthermore, there was a recurrent negative undertone in Indonesian academic works written in the native language, stemming from divergent religious beliefs.

This was in stark contrast to our findings in Australia, where the analysis of Hallyu publications did not reveal any religious disputes, probably due to the country's secular education and rich multicultural landscape. In fact, while Indonesian scholars have raised concerns about the potential negative impact of Hallyu on Muslim fans, Md Syed and Kwon (2019), in their article “Hallyu and Strategic Interpretation of Malaysian Modernity among Young Malay Women,” argue that young female fans in Malaysia strengthen their identity as Muslim women through the consumption of Hallyu.^[6] In the case of Japan, Australia lacks significant historical ties with Korea that might engender enduring animosities.

Consequently, unlike Japanese scholarship on Hallyu that fluctuated in response to political tensions between the two nations, changes in the quantity of Australian publications were primarily dependent on the international popularity of Korean cultural content.

Additionally, unlike Chinese scholars focusing on Korea’s cultural industry and writing extensively on areas that China could learn from, Australian scholars tended to conduct their research not just on the production aspects, but on the consumers of Hallyu in specific communities. As such, the geography of Hallyu studies in Australia is unique and enriches the global conversation on Hallyu. (END)

참고자료

^[1] "No. of global Hallyu fans last year broke 200M mark: survey," Korea.net, March 15, 2024, https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Society/view?articleId=248349

^[2] Kwon, Seung-Ho. “Hallyu and Gender І: Women’s Identities in Transition in Southeast Asia.” Asian Women, vol. 35, no. 3, 30 Sept. 2019, pp. i–iii, https://doi.org/10.14431/aw.2019.09.35.3.i.

^[3] Australian Bureau of Statistics, "Australia’s population by country of birth," ABS, October 31, 2023, https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/australias-population-country-birth/latest-release; Australian Human Rights Commission, “Face the facts: Cultural Diversity,” 2014, https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/education/face-facts-cultural-diversity

^[4] Stephanie Dalzell, “Most Australians believe there’s a lot of racism these days, but experts say recognising discrimination is just the beginning,” ABC News, May 31, 2021, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-31/australia-talks-racism-discrimination-society/100172652

^[5] Jee Young Lee, “Korean Pop Culture in Australia: Global Hallyu Issue Magazine.” KOFICE, vol. 48, 2023.

^[6] Md Syed, Md Azalanshah, and Seung-Ho Kwon. "Hallyu and Strategic Interpretation of Malaysian Modernity among Young Malay Women." Asian Women, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 1-24.

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