While early Hallyu 1.0 was largely limited to TV dramas, Korean Wave 2.0 that began in 2008 includes more areas such as K-POP music and films. My argument is Hallyu is one of the strongest soft power in Korea and it is political. After the success of the Korean Wave 1.0, the government in Korea found this popular culture can drive economic development and enhance cultural nationalism within their country. So, the Korean government wants to strengthen their soft power through Hallyu 2.0. According to the essay written by Hwa Kyung Kim, “Hallyu is not occurring in vacuum, for it exists in the context of national, economic, and increasingly cultural competition (Catching up to Hallyu 527)”. It means Korean Wave does not exist just for entertainment, it is one kind of soft power which can boost the economy in Korea by exporting cultural products such like DVDs, Tourist Incentives, clothing brands, etc.

Moreover, I want to argue that the success of the Korean Wave 2.0 did not simply happen by chance, it is because of the rapid development of digital media. The main medium for Hallyu to spread is through the internet and digital platforms like YouTube. Those platforms are not like DVDs that have limited access by people. People can simply access the videos from all over the world. The second reason why Korean Wave 2.0 had a great success is that they include things that different from the social norms. For example, PSY’s music video Gentleman has many scenes that are not socially acceptive. In the MV, he likes pranking people and he is not the “gentleman” at all. His unique style and his own sense of fashion successfully grabbed the eyeballs of the audience. Not only for PSY, but also groups like BTS and Blackpink use their ways to explain what fashion really means. People are interested in this kind of culture because they are unique.