Document Type : Original Article
Author
PhD Candidate in Spiritual Health, Imam Reza (AS) Institute of Higher Education; Member of the Academic Group for the Critique of Emerging Spiritualities, Qom Seminary
Abstract
The Korean Wave (Hallyu), as one of the manifestations of the cultural globalization of South Korea, has exerted profound influences on the identity, lifestyle, mindset, and behavior of audiences—particularly adolescents and young adults—through the use of new media and artistic productions such as K-pop music, television dramas, animation, beauty and fashion styles, clothing design, mukbang, and practices of self-aestheticization and mental self-fashioning. The research method is based on qualitative content analysis with a descriptive–analytical and critical approach, supplemented by field observations and interviews. By categorizing the challenges within cultural, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions, the study seeks to present a systematic depiction of the threats and harms associated with the Korean Wave. The findings indicate that, beyond the superficial transmission of cultural elements in an attractive form, the Korean Wave conveys deviant spiritual themes, promotes a consumerist and luxury-oriented lifestyle, disrupts national and religious identity, and encourages sectarian tendencies, self-alienation, crises of sexual identity, and celebrity worship. The analyses suggest that this phenomenon is not merely a form of entertainment, but rather an instrument for the fundamental transformation of the values and beliefs of the future generation.
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