The ‘Korean Wave’ already crashed on Cuba

Even before South Korea and Cuba established bilateral relations earlier this year, K-pop had gained a following in the communist island.

The spread of K-pop worldwide is often characterized by the somewhat outdated term “Hallyu” or the "Korean Wave," crashing into audiences in countries where Korea, or its pop culture had previously not been on the mainstream radar. 

It was a term well suited for the early 2000s in South Korea’s neighboring Asian countries, and the post Gangnam-style 2010s in Europe and the Americas. 

But in the current era ruled by acts like BTS and NewJeans, it is reasonable to say that the wave has already crashed everywhere it possibly could have.

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When RFA Korean traveled to Cuba to gauge reactions to Seoul and Havana redefining their relationship, they also found that K-pop had already made inroads into the Americas’ socialist stronghold.

With no official relations between the two countries, the fanbases in Cuba developed organically, owing in large part to the open internet policy enjoyed by Cuban citizens and the government’s less stringent control over what the people can watch or listen to, a stark contrast to South Korea’s rival, socialist North Korea.

Pyongyang has often touted its relationship with Havana as that of two socialist brethren bound by an ongoing struggle against U.S. imperialism. 

Though Cuba’s new relationship with South Korea may have North Korean officials bristling, many in Cuba welcome warmer ties with the South and like the crash of the Korean Wave years ago, they see it as a completely natural development.