If you’re a fan of Korean pop music like BTS or BLACKPINK or cinema and dramas like Parasite and Squid Game, you won’t want to miss the first major exhibition to focus on South Korean pop culture and its worldwide influence.
"Hallyu! The Korean Wave" exhibit is ready to give people an up-close look at the phenomenon that Korean culture has become.
“It is multisensory, it is immersive. We want to use this story to tell how Korea is a country of resilience, a country of resilience and a country of reinventing itself.” Christina Yu Yu, the chair of Art of Asia at the MFA Boston, said.
Hallyu is a term that when translated literally means Korean Wave. It was first coined in the early 2000s.
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The exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston will feature around 250 artifacts like costumes, art and pop culture memorabilia, including the bathroom from the movie Parasite and the uniforms worn in the drama Squid Game.
“You’ll see different costumes worn by K-Pop bands like BTS and BLACKPINK. There are many different stories to tell, so we do that through contemporary artists who are local, and also family photos from one our very own MFA staff," Yu Yu said.
“It’s just kind of amazing to see my family photographs in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.”
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For Julia Kim this exhibition is personal.
She says having the opportunity to show a little bit of her Harabeoji and her Halmeoni - grandfather and grandmother - is something that fills her with pride and she knows people will resonate with their story.
“Just talking about the immigrant experience of like my family. They were displaced from their homes, Kim said.
President of the Korean Cultural Society of Boston Byung Kim tells us this will be an opportunity for people to really get to know positive the impacts this community has had on the world.
“Bostonians can get together and taste the Korean culture and enjoy along with the Korean community,” Byung Kim said.
This exhibit will open for the public this weekend Sunday, March 24 and will run until the end of July.
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