Hallyu! The Korean Wave exhibition at SF’s Asian Art Museum this fall

The art exhibition ”Hallyu! The Korean Wave,” offering a multimedia view of South Korea’s globally popular pop culture, moves to San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum in September.

This is the exhibition’s third incarnation, having opened at London’s V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) in London in 2022, and then travelled to the MFA Boston earlier this year.

Hallyu! will be on display at the Asian Art Museum from Sept. 27, 2024, to Jan. 6, 2025.

“At the Asian Art Museum, Hallyu! brings together close to 200 objects and artworks animating and illustrating Hallyu’s many dimensions, complemented by dynamic digital displays and interactive experiences,” the museum said in a news release.

Hallyu, which means Korean Wave, originated in the late 1990s and has come to include TV dramas, movies, pop music, fashion and beauty, allowing South Korea to cast itself as a 21st century pop culture powerhouse.

“By bringing movie sets and interactive experiences into the museum, we invite audiences to jump into the shoes of K-drama and K-pop stars — and their extremely creative fans,” said Yoon-Jee Choi, the museum’s assistant curator of Korean art, in the release. “Audiences will come away with a renewed appreciation for the artistry underlying their favorite exports, as well as an understanding of the specific cultural circumstances that have catalyzed this social movement over the last 30 years.”

Click here for more information, including a video introduction by Choi and a Spotify playlist of essential K-pop listening curated in partnership with fans at SarangHello, San Francisco’s first K-pop store.