What You Said

In my last post I discussed the different theories of globalization and how it has affects culture. Since then I asked some Singaporeans what their opinion is of how Hallyu has affected them. These are their responses:

(1) Singaporean Responder:

I think it is less of hybridity more convergence. You do get diehard fans of popstars and actors where they learn the language to enjoy the shows better. Some do engage in learning about Korea's history, literature, and/politics but those are few. Make-up style is arguably Korean, but that's mostly amongst students or young adults.

It may not be relevant, but I think Singapore's laws are heavily influenced by the British. Our media staple (e.g. Movies, songs, etc) are largely American so I'd say majority of the fashion/music/literature fits better with the convergence theory (as compared to Korean).

(2) Filipino Living in Singapore:

Currently, my Singaporean friends are now hooked with K-Dramas and I've seen how it influence their way of thinking. It's more to Hybrid as they're mixing their culture and languages with Korean's. Instead of them saying "ok lah", they will say "araso"; instead of saying "Terimah kasih"; they now say "kamsahamnida"; and instead of "ni hao!"; they now say "annyeonghaseyo"...
They pick up those from the K-dramas and are using it most of the time. However they're manner of speaking is still there. Still Singlish. They're just mixing it up with some Korean expressions.

I am very grateful for these responses and their thoughts on the Korean Wave's influence in Singapore. However, it seems that there is a slight difference of opinion as to whether the Korean movement in Singapore is actually mixing and changing the culture. The first responder does however hint at aspects of hybridization. She does acknowledge that there is an increased interest in Korean culture, politics, history, and fashion, but her argument is that it is only among "students or young adults". To me this means simply that the hybridity is focused on the younger generation and in the future we will see further hints of Hallyu embedded into Singapore culture.

What do you think?