HALLYU 'K홀릭' 영문판

Preface

PART 1 KOREAN IDIOSYNCRACIES THAT FASCINATE FOREIGNERS
Koreans Don’t Take Unattended Wallets
K-food Extravaganza
Deliveries at The Speed of Light
Jeonse, Korea’s Unique Housing Solution That Even Angelina Jolie has Used
Fast Wi-fi Everywhere!
K-medical Service Wins the Hearts of Foreigners
Korea: The World’s Fastest Aging Country
Getting Around Smartly with Korea’s Public Transportation

PART 2 KOREANS MAKING THEIR MARK IN THE WORLD
Korean Leaders at International Organizations
From a Sports Periphery to a Powerhouse
Riding the Korean Wave With BTS, B-boys, Dancers, and Musicians
Did We Miss the Nobel Prize? Fear Not, We Have the Fields Medal!
Koreans Featured in Time Magazine

PART 3 The Power of Culture
From Squid Game to The Glory, K-Content Captivates Viewers Worldwide
K-Content: Soft Power Superstar
Getting to 64.3B K-pop Content Views
Blackpink Boasts the Most YouTube Subscribers Among Artists Worldwide
Korea: The Birthplace of Webtoons
A Nation that Distinguishes Itself in Global Sports
Taekwondo: From Korea’s National Sport to a Global Phenomenon
The Power of the Korean Passport: Visa-free Entry to 192 Countries
Overseas Koreans Agency Supports 7.32M Korean Expats

[Take a break] 10 Reasons Why Korea is an Attractive Destination

PART 4 KOREA, A COUNTRY THAT NEVER GOES DARK
From Aid Beneficiary to Science and Technology Benefactor
K-Power on Display at the Olympiad
Went to Catch Fish, Ended Up Building an Antarctic Science Base
Korea Poised to Become a Space Powerhouse
Powering Korea Via Nuclear Plants
Waiting for a Nobel Prize

PART 5 KOREAN COMPANIES THAT MADE THE IMPOSSIBLE, POSSIBLE
Small Korean Companies That Conquered Global Niche Markets Worldwide
The Authority of Korean-Made Semiconductors
Korean Cars: Come So Far, Got so Far to Go
From a Clunker to a Luxury Car
One Out of Two Electric Vehicles Worldwide Uses a Korea-Made Battery
Korea's Defense Industry: Largest Arms Export Since the Nation's Founding
The First Korean President to be Invited to the NATO Summit
A Country That Owns the A380 Super-large Passenger Aircraft
Korean Construction Companies Building Landmarks in the Middle East and Asia
Korean Bio Industry Joins the Ranks of Big Pharma
Not an Oil-Producing Country, but the World’s Largest Exporter of Petroleum Products

Social media has also played a significant role in this phenomenon. As a platform where unique content attracts viewers’ attention, videos showcasing relatively unfamiliar aspects of Korean food culture have garnered interest. Many social media users developed an interest in Korean food through word of mouth from individuals who initially tried Korean food for fun but then acquired a taste for it. Curiosity about Korean food culture, as depicted in videos featuring Korean pop stars, Korean movies, and Korean dramas, has also contributed to the increasing popularity of Korean cuisine. Notable examples include “Chapaguri,” a ramen dish created by mixing Chapagetti (instant black bean noodles) and Neoguri (instant udon noodles), which was featured in the film “Parasite” (2019)—the first Korean film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture—as well as the lunch boxes and dalgona coffee featured in “Squid Game” (2021), a Korean drama series that gained global popularity on Netflix. Following the U.S. release of “Parasite,” the number of Amazon and Walmart reviews for Chapagetti and Neoguri doubled compared to before. Other common Korean dishes such as tteokbokki, kimbap, and hotteok also received attention after videos of BTS members enjoying the treats went viral.
_Excerpts from PART 1 KOREAN IDIOSYNCRACIES THAT FASCINATE FOREIGNERS

On May 24, 2006, at 12:30 p.m., the Notre Dame Cathedral near Geneva Central Station in Switzerland buzzed with activity. activity, with over 1,000 people gathered for a funeral mass. The service was in memory of a Korean: Lee Jong-wook, the former Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), who served in the position for three years. Among the vast assembly paying their respects were leaders of international organizations affiliated with the United Nations, representatives from health ministries of various countries, and diplomatic envoys.
Condolences flooded in globally, and the WHO staff's mourning echoed through the hallowed halls of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Even North Korea, typically adversarial towards South Korea, displayed an unexpected response. North Korean Ambassador Ri Chol remarked, “He was a man of integrity, embodying the morals and faith of the Korean people and held in high regard within the diplomatic community in Geneva,” adding, “He always treated our staff with human decency.” Upon learning of the passing of Lee, often referred to as Asia’s Schweitzer, a man of action, and the “vaccine emperor,” then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan lamented, “Today, the world has lost a great man.”
_Excerpts from PART 2 KOREANS MAKING THEIR MARK IN THE WORLD

While it may sound hyperbolic, there is a humorous saying circulating among foreigners: “If you want to marry a Korean woman, you must first defeat her father in a StarCraft match.” The jest underscores the deep-rooted popularity of e-sports in Korea, spanning various demographics. Over the past two decades, Korea has consistently clinched titles in major e-sports Chase Center in San Francisco, USA, the venue for theLeague of Legends World Championship 2022 finals championships, ranging from ‘StarCraft’ to ‘Warcraft’, ‘League of Legends’, and ‘Overwatch’. In Korea, being a professional gamer is seen as a lucrative and prestigious career promising wealth, fame, and gratification. Dubbed the ‘nation of e-sports’, an astounding 500 million e-sports enthusiasts globally root for Korean players and their awe-inspiring skills.
_ Excerpts from PART 3 The Power of Culture