The cultural season has started again and several fashion exhibitions are also starting this month. This Saturday, among other things, the exhibition “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” will open at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
The exhibition celebrates Korea’s “colorful and dynamic” (fashion) culture, according to the Victoria & Albert Museum in its press release. It includes historical fashion items as well as costumes by K-Pop artists (Korean pop music). The exhibition features outfits by Psy (the artist behind the popular 2021 hit Gangnam Style), Aespa and Ateez. Objects from the music and film worlds as well as from various “fandoms” can also be discovered.
The word “Hallyu” means “Korean wave”. This phenomenon became big in the 1990s, spreading across Asia and later around the world, according to the museum. “South Korea has taken the world by storm with its vibrant and creative Hallyu popular culture, which has transformed the country’s image from a country devastated by the Korean War into a leading cultural powerhouse in the age of social media and digital culture,” said Rosalie Kim, Exhibition curator, “This phenomenon has been amplified by the technologically and socially conscious fanbase around the world, which has further raised Hallyu’s profile and relevance around the world, and we’re excited to share its energy and momentum this fall in to bring the first exhibition of this kind to the V&A.
The exhibition will be on view from September 24, 2022 to June 25, 2023.
This translated and edited post previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.