Judith, nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you too. - My pleasure. Thanks for your help. Can you introduce yourself to our Coursera students? Where are you from and why you came to Korea? - Hi, my name is Judith, I'm from Salvador and I came to Korea almost four years ago, I came to study. Right now I am currently an undergrad student so... - And what do you study? - Industrial engineering. - Something very technical. - Yes, a little. - Let's chat a bit about the music here in Asia. What kind of music do you like? - Of course I like K-pop. [LAUGH] - Of course. [LAUGH] - Sure. Yes, above all I'm a Super Junior fan. And I started to follow it. - Who do you like among Super Junior? - Siwon. [LAUGHTER] Choi Siwon. - He is also an actor. - Yes, and very good, very good, yes. - Very handsome. - Very handsome too. - Here in Korea they are considered idols, they are idols, right? I really liked 21. [LAUGH] - Very good, very good, it's a pity that they slipt up - Yes, it's a pity, yes, yes. Can you talk about the tourists that come here to Korea, from all over the world? I even imagine even from El Salvador, because of the idols? - Most of all I think that K-Pop has become something global nowadays due to the internet. - Yes - Because everyone has access. - Yes - Easily to music, to the new groups that are emerging, then people feel more interested and more identified. Because K-Pop is something totally different from what we are or used in America. American singers are like, the lyrics are totally different, even the dances and the choreographies are totally different. - Yes - In Korea the choreography is super, super nice and coordinated and I think that people are motivated and feel more excited. - Yes - They want to know more about it. - Yes, yes. - I think that for Korea that has been a boom, K-Pop has made a lot to foreigners to come, it helped tourism. - Yes After Especially Gangnam Style, right? - Sure, sure. Who has not heard about Gangnam Style? - Yes, yes. - That was a worldwide success and I think from that moment, K-Pop became more global. - Yes, an explosion. - Exactly. - Yes. And are there any differences between Korean, Japanese and Chinese music? - Yes, K-Pop and J-Pop are totally different, but there are still like boy bands, so I think that's what attracts foreign audiences the most. - Yes - Because generally in America there are not so many boy bands. - No, no, not now. - Yes, not now, there used to be one or two. - Yes - But now... - There was something from Puerto Rico, Ricky Martin. - Ricky Martin. - Yes - But it's just one person. In Asia there are groups, with several people. - Yes - And maybe that's what makes people more interested. - Yes, yes, yes. And they are very popular of course in El Salvador and in other countries, why? Because it's a very different culture, they sing in Korean... - But I think that people feel identified because nowadays, although the song is in Korean, there are subtitles in Spanish or in English on the internet, then we can understand the meaning. The ballads and the melodies are a little different. - Yes - And of course we can not ignore the fact that the guys who make their debut are very handsome. - Yes, yes. [LAUGHTER] And the girls as well. - Yes, yes, the girls too. So that contributes a lot to the interest of the public and to make it more demanding. - Yes, yes, yes. And have you learned Korean to understand more K-Pop? - Yes. - That's good! - That was in my beginnings, before coming here because as I started to follow Super Junior, because Choi Siwon was acting in a drama. - Yes, yes, yes. "Drama Wang"? - No, "Oh! My Lady". - "Oh! My lady". - "Oh! My lady". He used to sing there and I would see him, that is, I liked him as an actor because he looked very handsome. And then I found out that he was a singer, and I started searching on the internet and found out that he belonged to a group, and that's how I started to discover more of them, I started downloading the songs and trying to learn them. And that was how... - Then trough K-Pop, you can use this as a diplomatic power, right? - Yes, maybe. - To export your culture. - Sure, I think basically K-Pop helps to integrate Korean culture with American culture. - Yes - Because basically they are two totally different cultures and through K-Pop and dramas that door opens and the space is smaller, that is, we can understand a little more about how Korean culture is and why it is like that and I think it's a good thing. - And you also know a lot about the agencies like SM, YC Entertainment, JYP? Because K-Pop is a business. - Yes, and a very profitable one. - They earn a lot of money. - Sure, sure. But for that you have to invest also. I think that the ultimate goal of these companies is to promote and attract more public so that they can carry out tours around the world. - Yes, yes. - In which they can... - Even in South America? - Sure, the big boy bands are very popular. - In El Salvador too? - Not in El Salvador, they almost always go to Mexico. - Argentina. - Argentina, Brazil, Chile. - Yes - Because those countries are bigger, so people have to travel to these countries to go see the concerts. - Yes - But it's a company that makes a lot of money. - And finally do you think there will be possibilities of export more music from South America to Asia? Because dancing is very popular, right? In Brazil. - Right, yes. It is very popular. - Samba, etc. - Salsa, merengue, yes, it's very popular, and now I do not know if you have heard of the song "Despacito". - Yes - That has become a worldwide hit. Then I feel like little by little it can be introduced because the types of music are totally different, so maybe the Asian public can also feel interested. - Yes - To learn, either the lyrics, the language or the dances. - Sure. - Because it's totally different from what they're used to. - Yes, yes. - Then I think that... - Little by little. [LAUGH] - Little by little, of course, of course. - Nice to meet you Thank you.