Inside the fascinating new Korean Wave exhibition at the V&A

From Gangnam style to Parasite, K-Pop to Squid Game, South Korea has been making its mark on our cultural landscape for more than two decades now. Just look at our fascination with Korean beauty – leading the way in innovation – and Korean fashion, with its arresting hybrid of traditional dress (hanbok) and gender-neutral street style.

This collective preoccupation with Korean pop culture is known as hallyu – the Korean Wave – and, this Saturday, the V&A Museum debuts a landmark exhibition charting its rise. Over many dramatically-staged rooms, 'Hallyu!' – which fittingly opens during ESEA Heritage month – is the first of its kind: dissecting the early origins of Korean cultural output, from ancient texts and pamphlets from the Korean War to its ever expanding global reach – featuring everything from K-Pop costumes to LED face masks.

“South Korea has captivated the world over with hallyu, its vibrant and creative popular culture," says Rosalie Kim, curator of Hallyu! "This has transformed the country’s image from one devastated by the Korean War to that of a leading cultural powerhouse in the era of social media and digital culture today."

Here's what not to miss...

This image was taken in 1978, and encapsulates the seismic changes in South Korea over the past few decades. The district here is Gangnam, which is now one of the most expensive areas in Seoul; a luxury, sprawling metropolis of high-end, high-rise towers. This is what Hallyu! charts; the extraordinary rise, not just of this distinct pop culture, but of a nation defined by war, resilience and rapid change. The exhibition displays an array of extraordinary artefacts from the Korean war of the 1950s, from safe passes to North Korean propaganda pamphlets, to Korea's pivotal move onto the international stage in 1988 with the Seoul Summer Olympics.

Neatly integrated into the exhibition's thematic approach to Korean pop culture are seminal artworks which derive from, and define, epochs and focal points of hallyu. A monumental 1986 video sculpture by artist Nam June Paik, featuring 33 TV monitors, is the ideal choice to highlight Korea's rapid dominance of technology. There are also stunning ancient paintings and engravings, showing Korea's early preoccupations and traditions, works by Ham Kyungah, and this three-metre high sculpture of K Pop superstar G-Dragon by Gwon Osang.

It was perhaps many people's introduction to South Korean pop culture: a mad, energetic and utterly addictive song with dance moves to match. PSY's Gangnam Style put K Pop on the map for a whole new demographic, and its lingering dominance over our attention has made it the first video to reach 1 billion views on YouTube. The global phenomenon is the ideal intro to the Hallyu! exhibition – which displays PSY's iconic blazer and will, yes, get the song stuck in your head for many more days to come.

South Korea was not long out of the ravages of the Korean War in the 1950s when it began to innovate with technology. The exhibition charts the rise of some of the biggest tech and engineering giants today – from Samsung to Hyundai. Despite the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, Korea's bold and sophisticated IT developments meant that they had become one of the most digitally connected countries in the world by the late 1990s. Artefacts from throughout this time are on display – including the world’s first commercial MP3 player – and the exhibition's major sponsor, Genesis, is an example of the most up-to-date innovations in Korea. The luxury brand, owned by Hyundai, is a pioneer of hybrid and electric cars, a beacon of the nation's tech savvy and commitment to future-proofing the planet.

The pinnacle of the exhibition's focus on Korean television is, of course, some of the original costumes from its most high-profile export: Squid Game. The Netflix phenomenon brought K-drama to an entirely new audience (one of the steaming platform's biggest ever, in fact) and drew attention to an already burgeoning and diverse TV output; much of which is exhibited here.

For many in the know, Korea is the beauty destination of choice. But far from being a post-war growth industry, like tech or cinema, beauty has been an age-old Korean preoccupation. Here, 18th and 19th century paintings show old beauty rituals, while lacquered cosmetic boxes, with intricate sections for all your beauty needs, date back centuries. Some of the oldest make-up and skincare in the world – discovered in an excavated tomb – is exhibited here, with cosmetics packaging from the 13th century to the present day. Porcelain pots of powder and LED face masks have never felt so connected.

Parasite – Boon Joon-ho's gripping and sinister social commentary – made history in 2020, as the first Korean film to ever be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and the first foreign language film to win. It was the latest of a series of 'firsts' for the film – which also became the only Korean film to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes and is the highest grossing South Korean film of all time. Yet Parasite is just the apex of a growing and already hugely critically acclaimed Korean cinema scene, which has produced some cult classics from Oldboy to A Tale of Two Sisters – a 2003 horror film which has had innumerable iterations, including two silent era films, based on a 14th-century Korean folktale.

The exhibition features a concentrated celebration of K-fashion, showcasing more than 20 looks by contemporary designers from Korea and the Korean diaspora. It looks at the defining aesthetic of modern Korean fashion, celebrating its bold use of colour, striking silhouettes and commitment to gender fluidity. This includes a look specially created for the V&A by acclaimed stylist Suh Younghee as well as some of the biggest names in contemporary Korean design, Minju Kim, Münn, and Miss Sohee (pictured).

K-fashion may seem like a defiantly modern aesthetic, but it draws so many of its roots from traditional Korean dress. Hallyu! foregrounds some beautiful paintings which chart the evolution of Korean style – from ancient renderings to the 1960s. Far from revealing how far removed modern styling is, this collation reveals the inspiration which binds them together. Modern K-fashion designers are frequently reimagining the silhouette of hanbok, the national costume of Korea, making contemporary looks from traditional patterns and codes.

By far the most interactive room in Hallyu! is its dedication to one of Korea's fastest growing exports: K-pop. Learn about the intricate organisation of K-pop 'fandoms,' see countless K-pop costumes and fan light-sticks on display, and experience the growing use of digital avatars for some of the biggest music stars. You can also try your hand at the K-pop dance challenge, which invites you to learn a routine for PSY’s ‘That That’, co-written and co-produced with Suga from BTS, with choreography by B.B Trippin. The challenge was created in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture Lab, and your moves will become part of an evolving collective dance displayed in the space.