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Tag Archives: pop culture

The Korean Wave Posted by on Oct 26, 2008

Hallyu (한루) or the Korean wave, is a term that refers to the growing popularity of Korean entertainment, culture, food and language in other countries; particularly in East and Southeast Asia.  The Korean wave can be traced back to the 1990s when audiences in China, Japan and Taiwan were first exposed to South Korean dramas…

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Hwaiting: ‘Fighting’ Posted by on May 22, 2008

Far from a battle cry, 화이팅 hwaiting is a commonly used word of encouragement, as well as a cheer. I’m told it made its way into Korean from its obvious English origin via the Japanese—and hence the unusual pronunciation. Language purists insist that it should be spelled 파이팅 paiting to reflect a closer approximation to…

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