{"id":3763,"date":"2025-08-19T15:41:58","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T22:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/?p=3763"},"modified":"2025-08-19T15:41:58","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T22:41:58","slug":"korean-pop-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/2025\/korean-pop-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Korean Pop Culture: Cuisine, Music, Film, Skincare, & More"},"content":{"rendered":"

Korean popular culture has made it into the hearts of people throughout the globe through music, food, film, television, skin care, art, technology, literature, and more\u2014 you’ve likely already interacted with the works of many Korean creators.<\/p>\n

Did you watch the 2019 movie Parasite<\/em> or the 2021 Netflix series Squid Games<\/em>, or have you tried bingsu (Korean shaved ice), tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), ramyeon (Korean noodles\/ramen), or bungeoppang (Korean fish-shaped pastries)? Maybe you haven’t stopped singing “Golden“, <\/em>“Soda Pop”, or “Your Idol” from the 2025 Netflix movie Kpop Demon Hunters,<\/em><\/a> songs that all made the Top 5 of the Billboard Global 200, or maybe you’re still singing 2024’s hit song “APT.” by Ros\u00e9 and Bruno Mars<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Check out the list below to continue exploring the next trend or grab an iced americano (a very popular drink choice in Korea) and begin your dive into the world of Korean pop culture. There’s a little bit of everything throughout this list, some available at our branches and others online on hoopla, take a look or a listen!<\/p>\n

Food<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The <\/span><\/span>Korean<\/span><\/span> K-drama <\/span>cookbook :<\/span> make the dishes seen in your favorite TV shows!<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>by Heejae Choi<\/a><\/p>\n

If you are anything like myself, the first thing you admire while watching a Korean drama is how tasty all the food looks, especially the Soondubu-jjigae or soft tofu soup. This book carries 61 delicious recipes for classic Korean dishes and side dishes including ones seen in the shows Crash Landing on You<\/em>, Hospital Playlist, Was It Love,\u00a0<\/em>and more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Eating Korea Reports on Culinary Renaissance \"Eating by Graham Holliday<\/a><\/p>\n

Continue exploring food in Holliday’s Eating Korea.\u00a0<\/em>Join Holliday on his food tour of South Korea’s in search of authentic, traditional, reinvented, and even newer modern dishes. At times, he even has to convince restaurant owners that he can handle the flavors for them to serve them to him.<\/p>\n

Style<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"K-POP<\/a>K-Pop style : fashion, skin-care, make-up, lifestyle, and more by Dianne Pineda-Kim<\/a><\/p>\n

Explore some of K-Pop’s slightly older styles, skin-care routines, make-up looks, and clothing trends. Since being published in 2019, styles have vastly changed, but it’s nice to look at the style of the eras leading up to today’s K-pop idols’ styles. This is an era of style that is often referenced in popular media and the skin-care routines are still relevant to today’s skin-care routine trends.<\/p>\n

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Books<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Love<\/a>Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park<\/a><\/p>\n

This book has now been adapted as a movie and tv show with the same title, Love in the Big City<\/em>.<\/p>\n

“Love in the Big City is the English-language debut of Sang Young Park, one of Korea’s most exciting young writers. A runaway bestseller, the novel hit the top five lists of all the major bookstores and went into nine printings. Love in the Big City is an energetic, joyful, and moving novel that depicts both the glittering nighttime world of Seoul and the bleary-eyed morning-after. Young is a cynical yet fun-loving Korean student who pinballs from home to class to the beds of recent Tinder matches. He and Jaehee, his female best friend and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their anxieties about their love lives, families, and money with rounds of soju and ice-cold Marlboro Reds that they keep in their freezer. Yet over time, even Jaehee leaves Young to settle down, leaving him alone to care for his ailing mother and to find companionship in his relationships with a series of men, including one whose handsomeness is matched by his coldness, and another who might end up being the great love of his life. A brilliantly written novel filled with humor and emotion, Love in the Big City is an exploration of millennial loneliness as well as the joys of queer life, that should appeal to readers of Sayaka Murata, Han Kang, and Cho Nam-Joo”– Provided by publisher.<\/p>\n

\"Crying<\/a><\/p>\n

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner<\/a><\/p>\n

“From the in<\/span>die rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker essay that shares the title of this book, an unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean-American, losing h<\/span>er mother, and forging h<\/span>er own identity. In<\/span> this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves h<\/span>erself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With h<\/span>umor and h<\/span>eart, she tells of growing up the only Asian-American kid at h<\/span>er school in<\/span> Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with h<\/span>er mother’s particular, h<\/span>igh expectations of h<\/span>er; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in<\/span> h<\/span>er grandmother’s tiny apartment in<\/span> Seoul, where she and h<\/span>er mother would bond, late at night, over h<\/span>eaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the east coast for college, finding work in<\/span> the restaurant in<\/span>dustry, performing gigs with h<\/span>er fledgling band–and meeting the man who would become h<\/span>er h<\/span>usband–h<\/span>er Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was h<\/span>er mother’s diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with h<\/span>er identity and brought h<\/span>er to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and h<\/span>istory h<\/span>er mother h<\/span>ad given h<\/span>er. Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and h<\/span>onest, Michelle Zauner’s voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with in<\/span>timate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying<\/span> in<\/span> H<\/span> Mart<\/span> is a book to cherish, share, and reread.”– Provided by publisher.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See<\/a><\/p>\n

“Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the<\/span> Korean island<\/span> of<\/span> Jeju, are best friends that come from very different backgrounds. When the<\/span>y are old enough, the<\/span>y begin working in the<\/span> sea<\/span> with the<\/span>ir village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. As the<\/span> girls take up the<\/span>ir positions as baby divers, the<\/span>y know the<\/span>y are beginning a life of<\/span> excitement and responsibility but also danger. Despite the<\/span>ir love for each other, Mi-ja and Young-sook’s differences are impossible to ignore. The<\/span> Island<\/span> of<\/span> Sea<\/span> Women<\/span> is an epoch set over many decades, beginning during a period of<\/span> Japanese colonialism in the<\/span> 1930s and 1940s, followed by World War II, the<\/span> Korean War and its aftermath, through the<\/span> era of<\/span> cell phones and wet suits for the<\/span> women<\/span> divers. Throughout this time, the<\/span> residents of<\/span> Jeju find the<\/span>mselves caught between warring empires. Mi-ja is the<\/span> daughter of<\/span> a Japanese collaborator, and she will forever be marked by this association. Young-sook was born into a long line of<\/span> haenyeo and will inherit her mother’s position leading the<\/span> divers in the<\/span>ir village. Little do the<\/span> two friends know that after surviving hundreds of<\/span> dives and developing the<\/span> closest of<\/span> bonds, forces outside the<\/span>ir control will push the<\/span>ir friendship to the<\/span> breaking point. This beautiful, thoughtful novel illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the<\/span> women<\/span> are in charge, engaging in dangerous physical work, and the<\/span> men take care of<\/span> the<\/span> children. A classic Lisa See story–one of<\/span> women<\/span>‘s friendships and the<\/span> larger forces that shape the<\/span>m–The<\/span> Island<\/span> of<\/span> Sea<\/span> Women<\/span> introduces readers to the<\/span> fierce and unforgettable female divers of<\/span> Jeju Island<\/span> and the<\/span> dramatic history that shaped the<\/span>ir lives”– Provided by publisher.<\/p>\n

Music<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Beyond<\/a>Beyond the story: 10-year record of BTS by Myeongseok Kang<\/a><\/p>\n

We can’t explore Korean pop culture without talking about BTS, who many believe paved the way to Korea’s popularity.<\/p>\n

“After taking their first step into the world on June 13, 2013, BTS will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their debut in June 2023. They have risen to the peak as an iconic global artist and during this meaningful time, they look back on their footsteps in the first official book. In doing so, BTS nurtures the power to build brighter days and they choose to take another step on a road that no one has gone before. BTS shares personal, behind-the-scenes stories of their journey so far through interviews and more than three years of in-depth coverage by Myeongseok Kang, who has written about K-pop and other Korean pop culture in various media. Presented chronologically in seven chapters from before the debut of BTS to the present, their vivid voices and opinions harmonize to tell a sincere, lively, and deep story. In individual interviews that have been conducted without a camera or makeup, they illuminate their musical journey from multiple angles and discuss its significance”– Provided by publisher.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"<\/a>Are<\/span> you<\/span> there<\/span>? [CD] Monsta X<\/a>\u00a0 (2018)<\/p>\n

Track list: 1.Intro: Are You There? 2. Underwater 3. Shoot Out 4. Heart Attack 5. “\ub110\ud558\ub2e4” (I Do Love U) 6. “\uc5b4\ub514\uc11c \ubb50\ud574” (Mohae) 7. Oh My! 8. Myself! 9. By My Side 10. Spotlight (Korean version)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Map<\/a>Map of the soul [CD] : persona by BTS <\/a>\u00a0(2019)<\/p>\n

Track list: 1. Intro: Persona 2. Boy with Luv 3. “Mikrokosmos” (\uc18c\uc6b0\uc8fc;\u00a0Souju<\/i>) 4. Make it Right 5. HOME 6. Jamais Vu 7. Dionysus<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>The Star Chapter: TOGETHER by Tomorrow by Together (TXT)<\/a> (2025) Available digitally on hoopla.<\/p>\n

Track list: 1. Upside Down Kiss 2. Beautiful Strangers 3. Ghost Girl 4. Sunday Driver 5. Dance With You 6. Take My Half 7. Bird of Night 8. Song of the Stars<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Film<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Exhuma\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Exhuma [DVD]<\/a> (2024) Director Jang Jae-hyun<\/p>\n

Hired by a wealthy family to investigate the cause of a disturbing supernatural illness, a team of paranormal experts trace the affliction’s origin to a long-hidden family grave, but the process of exhuming the remains unleashes deadly consequences buried underneath.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Parasite<\/a>Parasite<\/span> [DVD]<\/a> (2019) Director Bong Joon Ho<\/p>\n

Kim Ki-teak’s family are all unemployed and living in a squalid basement. When his son gets a tutoring job at the lavish home of the Park family, the Kim family’s luck changes. One by one they gradually infiltrate the wealthy Parks’ home, attempting to take over their affluent lifestyle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Train<\/a>Train to Busan [DVD]<\/a> (2016) Director Yeon Sang-ho<\/p>\n

When a zombie-virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to<\/span> stay alive on the train<\/span> from Seoul to<\/span> Busan<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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\"Past<\/a>Past lives [DVD]<\/a> (2023) Director Celine Song<\/p>\n

Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

\"Okja\"<\/a>Okja [DVD]<\/a> (2017) Director Bong Joon Ho<\/p>\n

Mija is a South Korean girl growing up on an Edenic mountainside with her grandfather and best friend: Okja<\/span>, a giant, empathetic “super pig” created as part of a secret GMO experiment. When Okja<\/span> is abruptly torn away from her, Mija embarks on a perilous rescue mission that places her at the center of a sinister corporate conspiracy. While Bong’s trademark virtuosic set-pieces dazzle, Okja<\/span>‘s beating heart is the connection between a girl and her super pig, made all the more poignant by the brilliant special effects that bring the animal star to unforgettable life.<\/div>\n
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Language<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

If you would like to learn Korean, check out some of our online learning options like Transparent Language<\/a> where you can learn Korean for 5 or more minutes each day. Or check out Pimsleur available as a series of CDs with a series of 30 minute lessons meant to be taken once per day everyday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Pimsleur<\/a>Pimsleur – Korean<\/span> 1 [CD]\u00a0<\/a> (Also available hoopla<\/a>)<\/div>\n
\n

Pimsleur courses use a scientifically-proven method that puts you in control of your learning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Korean popular culture has made it into the hearts of people throughout the globe through music, food, film, television, skin care, art, technology, literature, and more\u2014 you’ve likely already interacted […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":3795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"Layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,238,222,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","author-karlal","post-3763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-book-lists","category-film","category-music","category-recipes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/11\/files\/sites\/11\/2025\/08\/Korean-Culture.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p71KTL-YH","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3763"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3803,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3763\/revisions\/3803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}