Taiwanese wave

(Redirected from Taiwanese Wave)

Taiwanese wave (Japanese: 台流, romanizedTairyū) is a neologism originally coined in Japan to refer to the increase in the popularity of Taiwanese popular culture in the country (including: actors, dramas, music, fashion, films), and to distinguish it from the Korean wave (Korean한류; RRHallyu) co-existing in Japan.[1] Many Taiwanese dramas, songs as well as idol actors, singers, bands or groups have become popular throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia.[2]

Poster of Fahrenheit's Wu Chun inside the Circulation Department of Vietnam College Student - Hoa Học Trò Magazine

History edit

 
The Four Asian Tigers

Towards the turn of the 21st century, there was a noticeable growth in cultural imports from Taiwan, one of the Four Asian Tigers. The spread of Taiwanese popular culture occurred before the Korean wave was known in Asia.

In 2001, the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden (an adaptation of the Japanese manga series Boys Over Flowers by Yoko Kamio) was released and soon attracted audiences from all over the region. It became the most-watched drama series in Philippine television history,[3][better source needed] garnered over 10 million daily viewers in Manila alone,[4][better source needed] and catapulted the male protagonists from the Taiwanese boyband F4 to overnight fame.[5] Their popularity spread throughout Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines. With their success, many other Taiwanese boy bands emerged around this time, such as 5566, 183 Club and Fahrenheit. In 2002, a BBC journalist described the members of F4 as previously unknown actors who have "provoked hysteria across Asia" as a result of the success of Meteor Garden.[6]

 
At the launch of the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (文化內容策進院) on 8 November 2019, President Tsai Ing-wen said that "A Taiwanese cultural wave should set the world alight", and the agency should form a bridge between government and the private sector, support creatives, foster cultural development, and help the world see the country’s creative content.[7]

The popularity of "Meteor Garden" can be attributed to the explicit attention to female sexual desires—departing from conventional dramas that tend to eroticize the female body, "Meteor Garden" markets the sexual attraction of the male actors (as played out by the Taiwanese idol group F4), giving women a certain freedom of sexual expression.[8][9]

Since 2002, television programming trends in Southeast Asia began to undergo a drastic change as TV series from Taiwan filled the slot originally reserved for Hollywood movies during prime time.[3] Much of Asia still have their eyes focused on Taiwanese bands such as F4, S.H.E and Fahrenheit.

In Japan edit

K-pop is one of two popular trends occurring in Japan, the other being Taiwanese pop (sung in Mandarin Chinese). This phenomenon is called 台流 (pronounced Tairyū) in Japanese, which literally means the influx of Taiwanese pop culture in Japan. This trend has been prevalent in Japan for at least twenty years, with Taiwanese idol dramas like Meteor Garden, It Started with a Kiss, Hot Shot, and soon Autumn's Concerto making waves in Japan, and Japanese artists like Gackt making frequent visits to Taiwan for pleasure.[1]

Up to now, Taiwanese male singer Show Lo has been regarded as leading the Taiwanese wave in Japan.[10] On 15 February 2012, he made his foray into the Japanese music scene, with the release of his first Japanese single Dante. The single peaked at number 10 on the Oricon chart within the first week of its release. He is the second Taiwanese singer to make it into the Oricon chart in the past 25 years after the veteran singer Teresa Teng, and the first Taiwanese male singer to make it into the top 10 positions on the chart.[11]

In Vietnam edit

At the end of 2010, Hoa Học Trò Magazine [vi] proclaimed a list of the top 5 C-pop boybands of the 2000s decade, all are from Taiwan. They are: F4, 183 Club, 5566, Fahrenheit (Fei Lun Hai), and Lollipop (Bang Bang Tang).[12]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Pauli (2 February 2010). "Rainie Yang releases Japanese version of "Youth Bucket" that fans do want". CpopAccess. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2013. The English-based Kpop blogosphere has made it known to western fans of the huge popularity of Kpop over in Japan, but what has not been reported is that Kpop is actually only one of two popular trends going on over in the land of the rising sun. The other trend, of course, is Taiwanese pop. We kid you not, and there's even a word for it Japanese called 台流 (pronounced Tairyū), which literally means the influx of Taiwanese pop culture in Japan.
  2. ^ Hoài, Phạm (21 April 2014). ""HÀN HÓA" – KỲ TÍCH TỪ CỔ TÍCH DÀNH CHO NGƯỜI LỚN" ["Coreanization" – Miracle in fairy targeting to adults]. Đẹp Magazine. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  3. ^ a b Celdran, David. "It's Hip to Be Asian". PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM. Archived from the original on 23 December 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  4. ^ Celdran, David. "It's Hip to Be Asian". PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM. Archived from the original on 28 June 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2013.[dead link]
  5. ^ Kee-yun, Tan. "Welcome back pretty boys". Asiaone. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  6. ^ Hewitt, Duncan (20 May 2002). "Taiwan 'boy band' rocks China". BBC. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  7. ^ Strong, Matthew (8 November 2019). "Taiwan cultural wave to set the world alight: President Tsai". Taiwan News. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  8. ^ Ying Zhu (2009). TV China. Indiana University Press. p. 100.
  9. ^ Heryanto, Ariel (2008). Popular Culture in Indonesia: Fluid Identities in Post-Authoritarian Politics. Routledge. p. 105.
  10. ^ "小豬台流驅颱 征日抱人潮-東京首場粉絲會 1500名櫻花妹傘海迎偶像". Yahoo! Taiwan. 29 May 2011. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  11. ^ "Show Lo makes debut in Japan". xinmsn. 24 February 2012. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  12. ^ Hằng Moon (2010). "Nghệ sĩ của thập niên: 5 nhóm nhạc nam C-POP đình đám nhất" [Artist of the decade: Top 5 C-POP boybands]. Hoa Học Trò Magazine (in Vietnamese). Vol. 875. Vietnam. Retrieved 6 August 2022.

External links edit