The Korean Culture and Information Service has published the English-language book “The Korean Wave” to introduce the country’s contemporary pop culture, which has gained attention overseas with the spread of K-pop and Korean dramas.

The book is the first publication of the four-part “K-Culture Series” through which the KOIS plans to introduce detailed culture content this year.

“The Korean Wave” consists of five chapters ― “Birth of the Korean Wave,” “The Neo-Korean Wave,” “What’s Korean Pop Culture Got,” “The Korean Wave in other Fields” and an epilogue on how it will continue. 

The first chapter describes how Korean pop culture was shaped in interactions with overseas influences since the nation’s liberation from the Japanese rule. The second chapter puts more focus on K-pop, explaining how it prompted the second Korean Wave through the new media and social networking sites. The third chapter analyzes why K-pop and Korean dramas are popular and the fourth chapter introduces other fields such as film and literature.

The “K-Culture Series” is jointly produced with Seoul Selection, a company specializing in English content publication.

Three other books ― “K-pop,” “K-Drama” and “K-Classics” ― will follow later this year.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)