E122 英文朗读 ｜COVID-19 couldn’t stop K-pop’s global rise

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PHOTOGRAPH BY CHALINEE THIRASUPA, REUTERS
Images of K-pop stars decorate tuk-tuks in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2019 BTS launched a campaign called “Love Myself,” which encouraged fans to post positive messages about themselves.

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COVID-19 couldn’t stop K-pop’s global rise

00:09①South Korean officials had been expecting some 20 million visitors in 2020, a rush of foreigners no doubt lured in by the stunning rise of Korean culture on the world stage across the last decade.

00:24②The media had long ago identified this trend, dubbed hallyu, or the Korean Wave. But as the pandemic closed borders and canceled events, tourism fell to a 32-year low of just 2.5 million people. Now even 2021 appears to be a wash.

00:47③However, during quarantine, the Korean wave became a tsunami—notably in the West. 

00:56④After George Floyd’s death in 2020, the wildly popular band BTS and its management donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement, only to watch the band’s legion of fans match that donation in just 25 hours.

01:16⑤MGM, the company behind reality TV hits like The Voice, Survivor, and Shark Tank, recently announced plans for a new reality show, where U.S.-based singers would fly to Seoul to train at a K-pop boot camp run by SM Entertainment while competing to form a new boy band. 

01:39⑥As quarantine stretched on, everyone in America suddenly seemed to be discovering K-dramas on Netflix. 

01:48⑦Meanwhile, two of the highest-rated shows on U.S. television were based on Korean TV shows. 

01:56⑧That’s pretty wild, considering South Korea had just two broadcast TV networks in 1987.

原文链接

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/covid-19-couldnt-stop-kpop-global-rise