The rise and rise of K-pop From BTS to Parasite to Squid Game

Seven-member South Korean K-pop boy band BTS performs at The Rose Bowl on May 4, 2019, in Pasadena, California. - Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/TNS

The K-pop fans are crazy for Korea. Over the past two years, 30-year-old media professional Yoomi Park has traveled to South Korea, Japan and Canada, making new friends in Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and around Europe â€" all because of a shared passion for a K-pop supergroup called Twice. Park, along with new multinational friends, are hallyu (Korean wave) fans â€" people dedicated to, or sometimes obsessed with, South Korean popular culture, including music, drama and film. An estimate released by the Korea Foundation figured there were about 105 million hallyu fans spread throughout 109 countries...

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