Journal of Intercultural Studies

Korean Culture Trends (K-Pop) In The Student Enviroment

Gabriel Josua Saputra Siregar

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 JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL STUDIES

Korean Culture Trends (K-Pop) In The Student Enviroment

Gabriel Josua Saputra Siregar
a
Fa c u l t y o f S o c i a l S c i e n c e s , M e d a n S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , N o r t h S u m a t r a

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Korean wave or Hallyu is a term for the spread of Korean culture in K-pop; . Korean, fans,
various worlds, including Indonesia. The entry of Korean culture into trends
Indonesia has attracted a lot of public attention, especially students,
and has even become a trend. Thus, it is unavoidable the impact that
will arise after the Korean culture is spread. One of them is K-Pop, in
Indonesia, there are not a few K-Pop fans. The purpose of this
research is to find out how these Korean cultural trends occur and
what impacts arise from them. The method used by the author is a
qualitative method by collecting data through literature studies.
Students get to know and like K-Pop in various ways, such as from
friends and also from Korean dramas themselves.

Introduction
The era of globalization is an era where the development of technology has an impact on
various aspects of people's lives (Bakhri, S., Dyatmika, T., & Kamal, M. R. 2020). In addition,
global changes occur in various aspects, both in the economic, political, social, and cultural
fields in various worlds including Indonesia. This cultural change was caused by several foreign
cultures that entered Indonesia quickly. One of the cultures that are currently booming, namely
the Korean wave or Hallyu which is very popular among students. The Korean wave is a term
for the spread of popular South Korean culture such as drama, music, entertainment, food,
fashion, and so on (Larasati,2018). South Korea presents music in different colors by featuring
talented idols and also Korean dramas that tell different stories are the main attraction for the
audience. So no wonder South Korea is currently experiencing progress in the entertainment
industry.
K-Pop is one of the Korean cultures that occur in Indonesia, Korean pop or Korean music is
popular with various types of music genres, usually performed by boy groups or girl groups
under a management or agency such as EXO, NCT, BTS, Red Velvet. , Aespa and Blackpink.In
addition to k-pop, there are also k-drama or Korean dramas, dramas that tell the lives of korean
people that are broadcast on TV or paid applications. Usually, in a Korean drama consisting of
16-20 episodes, the story is adapted from a true story or fictional story (Ardia, V. 2014).
The emergence of the Korean wave has succeeded in making everyone stunned, especially
young people. The students like K-Pop and K-Drama a lot because they have their
characteristics in their appearance in terms of music, energetic dance, attractive fashion,
handsome and beautiful face, and also the talent and the talents they have. these talents and
talents are not obtained instantly and easily, but idols must attend training at a time that is not
practically short of about 3 to 7 years to achieve success. So it's not surprising that Korean idols
can display a work so extraordinary that it is in demand by many people. This Korean wave can
also affect lifestyle. Not a few teenagers who follow Korean culture such as following the style
of dress, hairstyle, food, skincare, to buying knick-knacks related to idols and they have
thpleasure after all of that is achieved (Ayu Soraya Vani. 2013).

CONTACT Gabriel Josua Saputra Siregar

 JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL STUDIES 3

A person's enjoyment of idols as their fans is often associated with fanaticism.

According to (Mutaali and Prastiti, 2019), fanaticism is a belief in something related to
excessive pleasure. This fanaticism can be shown through enthusiasm for something
extreme, emotion, and excessive interest for a long time. These fanatical K-Pop fans like
buying the idol's album, buying tickets, and watching concerts even though the concerts
are held abroad, always looking for information about their idols, to celebrating the
idol's birthday (Putri Alantiati Kartina, dkk,2019).
Culture or culture comes from the Sanskrit word buddhayah. This is the plural of
buddhi (mind or reason). The word culture is a combination of the word cultivation
which means creativity, initiative, and taste. In Dutch culture or culture, there is the
word culture which means culture in English (Kusherdyana, R, 2020). According to the
Big Indonesian Dictionary, culture is thoughts, reason, results, customs, or something
that has become a habit that is difficult to change. Culture is the result of human
creation, taste, and creativity, namely the way of life which includes belief, art, morals,
customs, and all other habits acquired by humans as a member of society (sumarto,
2019).
The Korean wave or also known as Hallyu is a term for Korean popular culture that is
spread in various countries around the world. (Shim, 2006). South Korea introduces its
culture by combining traditional cultural life and modern culture which is disseminated
through drama, music, lifestyle, and also entertainment industry products (arindanvts,
2020). In two decades the Korean wave or Hallyu has grown rapidly and expanded
globally. This Korean wave culture can be accepted by the public from various circles.
Korean culture has an impact on everyday life, especially for teenagers. With
globalization, the Korean wave spreads rapidly and enthusiasm for Korean culture is
getting bigger. The Korean wave is known for its entertainment industry. The greater the
enthusiasm of Korean culture lovers, the This culture is widely applied to everyday life.
Starting from the style of dress, skincare, makeup, and Korean treat food to the language
and style of speaking (egsaugm, 2020).
artin Roll (2018), an author, brand strategist and management consultant from
Denmark defines the Korean Wave as a collective term Used to refer to the phenomenal
growth of Korean culture And popular culture that includes everything from music,
films,Dramas, to online games and Korean cuisine.In Putri's research, L.A (2020) Found
the following positive impacts of the Korean Wave, Korean Culture Become an
inspiration in the world of fashion, be able to socialize, Being Independent, Motivating,
Helpful , Emotionally whereas The negative impacts of the Korean Wave include: the
emergence of fanaticism, the emergence of attitudes of excessive imitation, conformity,
wasting time and being consumptive.,Decreased Eye Health and Insomnia. In Setyani’s
research, Azhari (2021) explains the existence of interest buy skin care products from
Korea South carried out by 200 female respondents living in Jakarta and surrounding
areas aged 15 years, 44.3% were influenced by the Korean wave culture which is
currently being used as a mecca or the latest trend.

Methods

The focus of this research is to analyze how the trend of Korean culture (K-Pop)
among students and the factors that arise from Korean culture. This study uses an
inductive (rational) thinking pattern. The data collection carried out at the time of the
 4 Gabriel Josua

study was based on phenomenological principles by understanding the phenomena that

occurred in-depth. The result of this research is a description (Ibrahim and Nana Sudjana,
2001:7).
The method used in this research is a qualitative approach method. According to
Bogdan and Taylor in Moleng's description, the describe that qualitative method is a
research procedure that produces data in the form of written or spoken (descriptive) words
from people and observed behavior. Data collection in research is in the form of a
literature study.
The data source is from the research the author conducted, namely secondary sources.
Secondary data is data obtained from Various references related to research.The research
technique used is literature study, namely a series of activities relating to methods of
collecting library data, reading and taking notes, and managing research materials (Zed,
2008:3). Based on the problem formulation in the research.
Results And Discussion

some of the K-Pop fan students initially knew K-Pop from watching Korean dramas and
there were also those who knew through their friends who like K-Pop. Knows K-Pop
from the theme that she has become K-Poppers since 2017. likes the boy group NCT,
which stands for Neo Culture Technology. This is a South Korean boy group that debuted
in January 2016 until now under the auspices of the SM Entertainment agency with a total
of 23 members. NCT is divided into several sub-units, namely NCT Dream, NCT 127,
NCT U, and WayV. NCTZEN or sijeuni as they are fans of NCT.

there are those who follow the account NCT's fanbase and idol accounts via Instagram.
Also joins the fanbase group on Telegram sohe doesn't miss the latest news updates from
his idols. From Korean dramas he also likes it, but only a few genres such as romance,
comedy, and fantasy. Korean fashion informant 1 is interested in making the fashion used
by his idol as an inspiration for his fashion style. he once bought the same clothes as his
idol. In contrast to Korean food, he feels it doesn't suit his tongue because he thinks
Korean food is too spicy. follows the trend of her idol's K-Pop music making a comeback,
such as recently NCT Dream's comeback with a song called beatbox which is booming
among young people. Like taking part in a challenge that was held as a form of promotion
for their newest song, one of them by making a video with a beatbox song as a
background on TikTok. After knowing and liking K-Pop, he felt that he had many friends
from various regions who liked the same thing.

Someone knows K-Pop from the Korean drama True Beauty, played by Cha Eun-woo, a
member of the boy group ASTRO and she sang one of the soundtracks of the drama.
From there started liking ASTRO and became a fan called Aroha. This boy group debuted
in February 2016 until now under the auspices of the Fantagio Entertainment agency.
Liked all of ASTRO's music, both in their group and solo albums. Every day he plays
ASTRO's songs to accompany him on his assignments to make him more excited. Zhifa
also collects several items related to his idols, such as Roroha dolls, photo cards, and
snacks promoted by his idols.

In addition to liking K-Pop, There are also likes Korean dramas of various genres and
follows the latest updates from Korean dramas. During his free time, he can spend the
 JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL STUDIES 5

whole day watching Korean dramas. Talking about Korean fashion, he is also interested
in it because he thinks it can be an inspiration for fashion styles, but in the Islamic
version, such as the Instagram accounts @studhijabstore and @jilbrave.official selling
local products that combine Korean fashion with clothes worn by Muslim women. Zhifa
feels that knowing K-Pop makes him happier, as an encouragement as well as the best
place for healing

There are also knows that K-Pop from her friendswas on hiatus but came back to like it
again. At first, liked K-Pop because there was one EXO member who caught her
attention, namely Chanyeol, who she thought was her ideal type. EXO was formed by SM
Entertainment which debuted on April 8, 2012, with 12 members. Divided into two sub-
units EXO-K focus on promotions in Korea and EXO-M focuses on mandarin
promotions.

But currently, EXO has 9 members, three members left the group because there was a
problem with the agency. Exo members now are Suho, Xiumin, Lay, Baekyun, Chen,

Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, Sehun. EXO-L or eri is the name for EXO fans. Besides EXO, also
likes NCT, which is still the same agency as EXO. From K-Pop, began to learn a lot and
also get motivation from her idol. Especially in the original Korean language because
according to him it has a beautiful impression. Hangeul is the official Korean name used
by Koreans after it was created in 1443 by the Korean king Joseon dynasty. Hangul has
24 characters and consists of 10 vowels and 14 consonants. Korean Hangul, like other
foreign languages, is written by combining vowels and consonants into one syllable, from
left to right or from top to bottom (sirumapea, A., Panchadria, PA, & Rosmiati, A. 2020).
follows the trend of music, K-Drama, and other works of his idol. Like the last time, there
was a local instant mei product that collaboratedwith NCT Dream and followed the trend
by buying the product and then collecting the photo card of the idol.

KPop Interest level in students

Female students are the most numerous K-Pop fans, especially students aged 13 with
junior high school education, have a greater level of liking for K-Pop. As we know,
adolescence is a transitional period and tends to be emotional, so that a person during this
period of adolescence still finds it difficult to choose or determine which situations are
good and bad for him. From the development of K-pop and we can see from the large
number of fans that there are two impacts produced, namely positive and negative, even
though in fact every individual can manage to get positive and negative impacts, this
statement is reinforced by Nofia Sri Yanti’s statement (2022:3) that , not all k-pop culture
that enters Indonesia has a positive or even negative impact, but these negative and
positive impacts cannot be separated or depend on each individual who likes k-pop
culture, such as those who can manage their time or are not too fanatical.Towards things
related to K-Pop.Based on the discussion above, it can be concluded that demographic
factors (type Gender, age, and education) can determine the high or low level of K-Pop
variety.Demographic factors in K-Pop variables have relatively high levels of learning
motivation Seen from gender, age and education.
 6 Gabriel Josua

The Influence of K-Pop on Student Learning Motivation

K-Pop fans are simultaneously campaigning that K-Pop encourages them To have
motivation to learn, because K-Pop itself often shows identity Them with a series of
hard work they do and other positive things and excuses This is what K-Pop fans,
especially those who are still in school, use for Adding to their motivation, the same as
their idols. However, in this research the learning motivation caused by K-Pop was not
visible significantly, where regarding the influence of K-Pop on learning motivation, it
was found that Many parents of students aged 13 to 15 feel that their children only do
K-Pop as entertainment and it is not uncommon for parents to feel uneasy about this,
for several reasons, like K-Pop culture which pays more attention to its western side
makes parents afraid that their children will copy this, such as their clothing style, and
there are also parents who feels that K-Pop gives everyone a sense of enthusiasm,
where their children are motivated with K-Pop but too often monitor or follow K-pop
via social media or become addicted to K-Pop. Meanwhile, parents of teenagers 16 to
17 feel His child can now focus on learning and only follow K-Pop.Judging from the
intensity with which they watch K-Pop, it's no longer late at night,
supported by busy school activities and not having much free time.

Conclusion

From the research that has been done, the authors get answers to the formulation of
the first problem, how the wave culture trend (K-Pop) among students occurs. they
started to like K-Pop in different ways. There are those who know K-Pop from their
friends who often talk about it and start introducing their idols to the two of them. there
are also those that started from Korean dramas that were being talked about by many
people at that time. To formulate the second problem, what impact would arise if the
Korean wave (K-Pop) cultural trend occurred among students? From the literature
research conducted by the author, it is stated that the impact that arises is more towards
positive impacts such as being able to learn many things about foreign cultures, getting
motivation to become better, seeing their idols work hard, being disciplined makes them
inspired and encourages sources to do the same. to achieve their dreams. The language
differences between speakers and idols encourage them to learn Korean, be able to

establish extensive relationships, and have many friends from various regions who have
the same preoccupations. They are K-Pop fans who like to have fun, so quite a few
people think that K-Pop fans are fanatics and are also thought to have forgotten their
own culture. From the positive. The impacts that have been mentioned, there are also
negative impacts that arise if you cannot control yourself, ranging from being busy with
fun to losing track of time. Liking K-Pop is not wrong because everyone has their own
preferences. However, K-Pop fans must also be good at controlling themselves so as not
to harm themselves.
There are 2 (two) factors The driving force for teenagers to like Korea, namely
internal factors and External. Internal factors come from attitudes, observations, and
perception Teenagers have towards the Korean Wave while external factors are obtained
From family, environment and playmates, as well as the mass media. Forms of
consumption behavior among teenage Korean Wave fans include subscribing to music
 JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL STUDIES 7

platforms,Collect merchandise, then attend gatherings between people Fans and

attending idol band concerts and consuming Other Korean products such as food,
clothing and products Skin beauty. As a result of Korean popular culture entering circles
Indonesian society, especially teenagers Has an impact on teenagers themselves, some of
the positive impacts felt by teenagers are being able to know and learn New culture, then
makes teenagers diligent in saving and Able to manage finances well, hone hobbies and
abilities Also increases language skills and makes the teenager Becoming more fond of
reading and Korean certainly provides that Motivation and entertainment, then the
teenagers also admitted Make lots of friends and make teenagers hone His
entrepreneurial abilities. Meanwhile, the negative impact of the Korean Wave was felt
by the Teenagers become consumptive because they often buy things Without thinking,
it makes these teenagers Giving rise to irrational consumption behavior, then liking
Korean also makes teenagers often distracted and wastes time too Focusing on the
Korean world also makes it difficult for teenagers Socializing and disrupts eye health
because they are often awake Until midnight, then causes anxiety every time it doesn’t
feel right Can follow idol activities and whenever there is a fan war between group
fandoms Idol band fans.

Notes
1. K-Pop is one of the Korean cultures that occur in Indonesia, Korean pop or Korean
music is popular with various types of music genres, usually performed by boy groups or
girl groups under a management or agency such as EXO, NCT, BTS, Red Velvet. ,
Aespa and Blackpink.

2. The emergence of the Korean wave has succeeded in making everyone stunned,
especially young people. The students like K-Pop and K-Drama a lot because they have
their characteristics in their appearance in terms of music, energetic dance, attractive
fashion, handsome and beautiful face, and also the talent and the talents they have.

3. Not a few teenagers who follow Korean culture such as following the style of dress,
hairstyle, food, skincare, to buying knick-knacks related to idols and they have thpleasure
after all of that is achieved (Ayu Soraya Vani. 2013).

Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding
This research was supported by the Academy of Korean Studies (Grant # AKS-2018-R32)

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