Sociolinguistics of the Korean Wave

Samosir and Wee examine how the immensely popular Korean Wave ('K-wave') also known as Hallyu is wielded as soft power through the use of communication for persuasion and attraction on the global stage.

Nora Samosir is a professional theatre practitioner, having acted in more than 100 stage productions and also in films. Since 2018, she has been part of the duo Wandering Women with Bharatanatyam dancer Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara creating stage performances as part of their practice-as-research project based on the lives of Draupadi and Mary Magdalene. Her other research strand, combining her undergraduate training in linguistics with her postgraduate interest in the performance of popular culture, is in Hallyu - Korean pop music, serialised dramas and films. Currently at LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore, she teaches Voice in the BA Acting and BA Musical Theatre programmes of the School of Dance and Theatre.
Lionel Wee is a Provost's Chair Professor and linguist in the Department of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies, National University of Singapore. He is interested in language policy (especially in Southeast Asia), the grammar of Singapore English, metaphorical discourse, and general issues in sociolinguistics and pragmatics. He sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics, International Journal of the Sociology of Language, Elements: World Englishes and Advances in World Englishes, among others. His recent books include Language, Space and Cultural Play: Theorizing Affect in the Semiotic Landscape (with Robbie Goh), and The Singlish Controversy: Language, Identity and Culture in a Globalizing World.