Over the last decade or so, there is a wave of Korean influences in the Western world. I saw it start to emerge back in Australia in the early 2010s when I lived there - with Korean Dramas surfacing in our community circles and TV channels dedicated to Korean Pop music (KPOP). K-Beauty was also starting to come across the Pacific Ocean to us.
As it's starting to make its way over to the UK, the V&A London celebrated the movement with an exhibition called the The Korean Wave (Hallyu).
It shares Korean culture within the creative industries has risen to fame - showcasing Korean influences within cinema, drama, music, fandom, beauty, fashion and even technology.
Interestingly, the V&A adopted the term "Hallyu", which is a Chinese term that translate to "Korean Wave".
As you walk towards the space in the V&A London, there's a glass panel to peek through one of the key interactive activities of the exhibition, which is actually positioned to be one of the later activities. It gives you a little bit of a sneak peek of some fun to come!
As the V&A's proposition is centred around textiles, the core of the exhibition features fashion pieces, with digital screens interwoven to tell the wider story of Korean culture.
One of the main components is around K-POP bands, highlighting one band in particular, "aespa". During covid, released their digital avatars which exists in an alternative reality as a signifier of innovation around technology.
Thematically, a set of digital avatars connects to K-POP's overall strategy to carefully curate "characters" to bring a deeper story, lore and attachment to the band members, known as "idols".
Much like the Western musicians and actors in the 50s and 60s (and many still today) these cast members go through rigorous training in schools dedicated to design stars. There's a lot of controversy around this, but the V&A only touches on this very lightly (see sources below for more information).
A large digital screen set on portrait mode and looping, brought each of these avatars to life for the guests.
It would transition to the digital avatars, and then the real life counterparts of the Idols dancing. Dance in KPOP is one of the key components, somewhat paying homage to the Western bands in the 90s.
Their costumes were highlighted on a circular plinth that allowed each guest view the piece up close and in detail.
In close proximity, more digital screens showcased the KPOP band in their digital alter-egos.
There are several wings to the exhibition - one was the interactive experience for guests that we saw a sneak peek of earlier.
As the guest walks to the space, they can see a screen featuring multiple people dancing as a co-created piece of art.
The principle of the activity leans on one of the key elements that connect both Western and Korean pop music: dance.
As you walk through, there's a little booth which was the preview area at the entrance of the exhibition. A screen and a camera faces one way, and there are guides on the floor for the guest to prepare their contribution.
If the guests wants to participate, they can use the little screen to the side (accepting terms and conditions) and starting the process.
I should have recorded the process (next time!) but essentially you can choose difficulty levels and then a dance coach guides you through several steps to "copy" him. They're later collaged together and surfaced on the wall of the other dances.
Other installations showcase the imaginative creativity behind the bands and fashion.
Towards the end, there was more focus on specifically fashion pieces. The lighting in the room was a bit stark compared to the warm and darker lighting in the other rooms - but it was able to showcase the fashion pieces without a red light cast over it.
This in particular was stunning, a puffer jacket with flower-like stuffing.
OVERALL
The exhibition was a lovely experience - a nice balance of interactive media and moving image in order to bring more life and context to the story.
I feel that the exhibition leaned too heavily on K-Pop and fashion (understandably) however other massive movements of Korean Beauty (a particular favourite) and K-Drama was missing that would have been able to tell the whole story of a Korean Wave of culture in many facets.
The co-created dance screen was one of the most memorable - showcasing live feeds of guest-created content on a wall that everyone could see. It was engaging and fun to participate in.
FOR MORE READING
https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/hallyu-the-korean-wave
https://www.90daykorean.com/kpop-idol
https://www.90daykorean.com/kdrama/
