The increase in popularity of the Republic of Korea’s culture, also known as Hallyu, has taken root in numerous Asian countries, including Vietnam, through cinemas, game shows, cuisine and fashion trends, highly influencing the youth in the country.

Kim Ho Sang, Producing Director of the Music Bank World Tour made the remark at a recent seminar on the so-called Korean wave, jointly held by the Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS) and the Korean International Culture Exchange Fund in Hanoi.

Kim said the Korean wave has developed in three stages: the introduction of TV dramas, then the K-pop penetration and later on, the movie flow, adding that the Korean wave has made great contributions to the socio-economic development of the RoK.

He highlighted that the trend first began to infiltrate Vietnam in the late 1990s with films such as “First Love”, “Doctor Brothers”, “Dea Jang Geum” and “I’m Kim Sam Soon”, Vietnamese audience favourites.

Vietnam and the RoK cooperated to produce “Forever Young”, currently screening in both nations, Kim noted, adding that Vietnamese youth have also taken a keen interest in Korean music.

According to a survey conducted among 600 respondents in the 15-30 age group in 2012 by Thu Dau Mot University, 78 percent were fond of Korean culture, primarily those between the ages of 15 to 22.-VNA