The communist island, a political ally of North Korea, is now a fan of South Korean culture. Cuban youth are increasingly attracted to K-pop
In Cuba, more and more teenagers are passionate about K-pop, even though the island does not have diplomatic relations with Seoul. In her house in the Playa neighborhood of Havana, where she lives with her grandmother, Samyla Trujillo, 14, regularly transforms the living room into a dance floor. Passionate about K-pop since she was ten, she tirelessly repeats the steps of new choreographies that she downloads from the internet.
She discovered K-pop thanks to friends who introduced her to BTS, the iconic South Korean boy band with global success, and its female counterpart, Blackpink. “When I saw BTS, I was like, their music was amazing and the way they were dancing, I was like, ‘I want to dance like them!‘“, says the teenager, black outfit and red highlights. “When they showed me Blackpink, I said to myself ‘Ooh they’re girls, I want to be like them!’ “
K-pop, “a new experience”
Clothes, makeup, posters, Samyla, who danced as a child in a traditional Caribbean dance company, dreams of being the first “idol” Cuban K-pop. In Cuba, where salsa and reggaeton are kings, young fans of K-pop have little by little formed groups to share their passion, rehearsing in the streets or parks, at the time of the internet, and especially its arrival in 2018 on mobile phones, has facilitated access to this globalized culture.
“Cubans are always used to the same rhythm, the same routine, (K-pop) it’s a totally new experience”, says Alejandro Achin, 21, who in 2019 realized his dream of dancing in Seoul after winning with his group an amateur K-pop festival organized in Havana. Since 2021, the Diamond association has offered young people a place to improve their choreography and organizes events around K-Pop. “There are a lot of young people who like this kind of music (…) we wanted to create a specific space” for them, says Tania Abreu, one of the managers, during a monthly competition organized on a square in the center of Havana.
Cultural diplomacy
K-pop, and more generally “Hallyu”, the “wave” of South Korean pop culture which swept the planet from the 2000s, affects Cuba, even though the communist island, historical ally of the North Korea does not have diplomatic relations with Seoul. This did not prevent a small Korean language study center from emerging in Havana in 2014. Since 2022, a “Cultural Center and Korean Language School” moved to new premises, with the support of the South Korean embassy in Mexico for school materials. The center now accommodates 150 students, and has to refuse requests.
Hohyun Joung, the South Korean director of the center, who teaches alongside four Cuban teachers, is delighted with this “love of Cubans” for the language and culture of his country, despite very different traditions. If she notes that the success of K-pop songs can be explained by their ability to address “to the concerns of young people”she still can’t believe that the Cubans, who “are the first in the world for dancing”are passionate about this matter for their country.