It is no secret that South Korea has emerged as a international cultural powerhouse in latest decades, drawing in file-breaking audiences and acclaim with pop icons these kinds of as BTS and aespa, Tv series’ such as Squid Recreation or Pachinko, and arthouse dramas in the vein of Parasite. Now, London’s V&A is established to document this increase, in an upcoming exhibition titled Hallyu! The Korean Wave.
Taking its name from the “hallyu” phenomenon – AKA Korean Wave – which took off throughout a wide range of media in the late 1990s, the display will aspect performs from a assortment of imaginative industries, from cinema, drama, and audio, to fandom, beauty, and fashion.
Highlights involve a initially-of-its-kind recreation of the famed toilet established in Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-successful Parasite – designed with the direction of the film’s generation designer, Lee Ha-jun – as properly as costumes and props from the Netflix hit Squid Match. People will also get a retrospective seem at the evolution of up to date K-pop style, relocating by generations of artists from “Gangnam Style” singer Psy, to teams these kinds of as aespa and ATEEZ.
In the meantime, monumental installations will showcase the get the job done of artists Nam June Paik, Ham Kyungah, and Gwon Osang, and the country’s high style scene will be represented by seems from Overlook Sohee, Minju Kim, Tchai Kim, and a lot more.
As the UK’s very first key exhibition of Korean culture, Hallyu! The Korean Wave will location these artworks, appears to be like, and immersive installations – which comprise about 200 objects – in the broader context of South Korea’s swift enhancement. Devastated by war in the 1950s, the country’s increase to intercontinental cultural acclaim took position about the system of just a few a long time, mostly credited to the 1988 Summer months Olympics, held in Seoul.
Hallyu! The Korean Wave will open up at the Victoria and Albert Museum on September 24, 2022.
