Culture of South Korea

Changing economics and lifestyles have led to urbanization—a concentration of population in major cities (and depopulation of the rural countryside), with multi-generational households separating into nuclear family living arrangements.

Modern literature is often linked with the development of Hangul, which was created by the fourth king of Joseon Sejong the Great and promulgated in the text Hunminjeongeum.

[6] This move was initially made to help spread literacy from the dominant scholarly-official class, the yangban, to the common people— including women.

Before the creation of Hangul, the common text being read was Hanja, which are Chinese characters; only those from wealthy families who could afford an education were able to learn it.

While tea remains a highly popular traditional drink, Coffeehouses operated by 12 major brands increased to up to 2,000 locations in 2010,[8] and the term "coffice" (keopiseu 커피스)[9] was coined to describe using a cafe as an office.

[12] Pansori is a form of traditional musical art within Korea that dates back to the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897),[13][unreliable source?

[23] An estimated 98% of South Koreans own mobile phones and use them not only for calling and messaging but also for watching live TV, viewing websites and keeping track of their online gaming statuses.

[27] The success of this low-cost model has led to the rise of PC bangs as a popular hangout spot among students, and they generally serve as a place to meet people with similar gaming interests.

Professional StarCraft players can command considerable salaries in Korea, and are usually noted celebrities, such as Lim "BoxeR" Yo-Hwan.

and the side dish (called banchan), diverse recipes, a balanced mix of animal and plant products, and fermented foods.

[33] Bibimbap is a rice-based dish with various colorful vegetables and eggs, which are mixed with the addition of gochujang (red chili paste), making its texture very different from what it was in the beginning.

[37] The stew includes spam, baked beans, hotdogs, and ramen noodles with green onions garnished on top.

Korean popular culture has a timely commercial combination of (1) the global liberalization of music markets in Asia and more recently the rest of the world; and (2) the rapid advancement of digital technologies like YouTube which prefers to select and feature perfectly photogenic performers from all over the world, including Korean girl and boy bands (Oh, 391).

To illustrate, their popularity was based on innovative hybridization of music as they creatively mixed the genres like rap, soul, rock and roll, techno, punk, hardcore and even ppongjjak, and invented a unique musical form which 'employs rap only during the verses, singing choruses in a pop style' with dynamic dance movements.

[44] In 2002, BoA became the first Korean pop star to break through in Japan following the fall of barriers that had restricted the import and export of entertainment between the countries since the end of World War II.

For that reason, she was awarded the title of Goodwill Ambassador, and has since contributed to restoring the good relations between Japan and South Korea.

However, trot has recently experienced a resurgence due to the popularity of Jang Yoon Jeong, a young semi-trot star, who had a breakout hit with "Omona."

For example, the popular South Korean film titled "Shiri" (쉬리) sold more than 5.78 million movie tickets in the United States alone.

Recent years have led to changes in access to both enjoying and creating new songs, movies, and other types of popular culture.

One example comes from recent collaboration with the Korean Government and others to help achieve glocalization, making hallyu approachable and enjoyable for people from many different cultures and backgrounds.

South Korea is one of the few countries where Hollywood productions do not enjoy a dominant share of the domestic market, partly due to screen quotas requiring cinemas to show Korean films at least 73 days a year.

Upon release, Shiri attracted 5.8 million theatre-goers; these numbers outscored the local theater attendance for the Hollywood-made film, Titanic.

Park Chan-wook, the director of Joint Security Area, has gone on to direct many popular films in Korea and abroad, and is best known for Oldboy.

[48] Silmido is based on a true story about a secret special force, while Taegukgi is a blockbuster about the Korean War from the director of Shiri.

The social satire and monster movie The Host (2006) broke Korean box office records and grossed $1.8 million in the United States.

In 2001, Miramax bought the rights to an English-language remake of the successful Korean action comedy movie, My Wife is a Gangster.

In 2016, Train to Busan, directed by Yeon Sang-ho created a new sub division genre of zombie-like film in South Korea.

Becoming a Korean zombie blockbuster film,[50] modeled after Shiri(1999),[51] Train to Busan earned a worldwide grossing of US$93.1 million.

[52] The film reflects social and economic challenges in a developing South Korean society,[53] creating a realistic perspective of the future.

Responding to popular demand, CCTV re-aired the program in 1998 and recorded the second-highest ratings ever in the history of Chinese television.