Prerequisites for the “Korean wave” phenomenon (late 1950s - early 1970s)

The relevance of the article is determined by the growth of scholarly interest in the rising popularity of Korean pop culture all over the world. This phenomenon known as the “Korean Wave” attracts researchers’ attention because of its positive impact on the economy and foreign policy of the Republic of Korea. The 1990s are considered to be the beginning of the “Korean Wave”. However, the first contact between Korean popular culture and western audience happened long before that. The article focuses on the South Korean singers who became popular in the USA and Europe in the late 1950s. Firstly, the author analyzes the situation in the music industry of the Republic of Korea during the first decade after the Korean War (1950-1953). Secondly, she describes the history of the creative growth of Kim Sisters, Korean Kittens and Patti Kim and the rise of their popularity in the West. The article pays a particular attention to how these artists’ performance presented the elements of Korean and East Asian cultures to the international audience. The author identifies the features of the Korean music industry development during the 1950s and the early 1970s manifested in the ambivalent American influence on Korean culture and the mixing of Western and East Asian cultures in the singers’ stage images.