From racialization to fetishization: the effects of Hallyu (한류) on Korean migrants’ children in Europe

This thesis explores how 1.5- and second-generation Koreans in Europe negotiate their racial and cultural identities in the age of Hallyu, the Korean Wave. While South Korean popular culture has become a powerful global soft power tool, its impact on the Korean diaspora remains understudied, especially in European contexts. Drawing on qualitative interviews with young Korean Europeans, this study examines the tension between historical marginalisation, model minority stereotyping, and the new hyper-visibility created by the global popularity of Korean culture. By combining diaspora studies, Orientalism, racialisation, and cultural studies, the thesis argues that Hallyu can function both as a resource for self-affirmation and as a source of new forms of fetishisation and objectification. The research highlights how Korean diasporic youth in Europe navigate belonging, visibility, and identity within White-dominant societies.