The Korean Wave

Yongseok Seo and myself discovered evidence supporting the emergence of a dream society while we were trying to understand why the Korean Wave (Hallyu 한류) of popular Korean music (K-pop) emerged and was swiftly spreading all over the world. Korea had no history of encouraging and exporting popular culture as a strategy for economic development. But that is what Korea began doing with great and continuing success to the present time with considerable government support and commercial finesse. We concluded that Korea was leading a global cultural transformation by becoming the world’s first Dream Society of Icons and Aesthetic Experiences.