K-pop

And recently on MTV.com, the most viewed article on the site was actually about K-pop group Girls' Generation -- not Jay-Z, Kanye, or Robert Pattinson.

Linda Constant: K-pop: Soft Power for the Global Cool Linda Constant 2011

Distant Europe, South America, and the Middle East may be some of the genre's most surprising fan bases, but even last month's sold-out Madison Square Garden K-pop extravaganza in New York City is testament to this phenomenon.

Linda Constant: K-pop: Soft Power for the Global Cool Linda Constant 2011

Governmental cultural diplomacy can sometimes come off as forced or out-of-touch, but K-pop is an authentic reflection and spectacle of youth culture that is impressively close to the pulse of the "global cool."

Linda Constant: K-pop: Soft Power for the Global Cool Linda Constant 2011

While I do not believe that this is the sole result of K-pop music's popularity, the initial platform of these early dialogues are usually based upon either Korean pop music or Korean films quickly followed up by Korean food, education, and plastic surgery.

Linda Constant: K-pop: Soft Power for the Global Cool Linda Constant 2011

This large scale cultural appropriation is precisely what drives the already huge K-pop machine to continue its global expansion as well as share its benefits with other South Korean enterprises, such as the nation's tourism industry.

Linda Constant: K-pop: Soft Power for the Global Cool Linda Constant 2011

While I do not believe that this is the sole result of K-pop music's popularity, the initial platform of these early dialogues are usually based upon either Korean pop music or Korean films quickly followed up by Korean food, education, and plastic surgery.

Linda Constant: K-pop: Soft Power for the Global Cool Linda Constant 2011

Distant Europe, South America, and the Middle East may be some of the genre's most surprising fan bases, but even last month's sold-out Madison Square Garden K-pop extravaganza in New York City is testament to this phenomenon.

Linda Constant: K-pop: Soft Power for the Global Cool Linda Constant 2011

Bernie Cho , chief executive at DFSB Kollective, a Seoul-based company that was the first aggregator of Korean pop, or K-pop, for Apple 's iTunes, agrees that America is ready for an Asian band.

Homegrown Idols Jason Chow 2011

And recently on MTV.com, the most viewed article on the site was actually about K-pop group Girls' Generation -- not Jay-Z, Kanye, or Robert Pattinson.

Linda Constant: K-pop: Soft Power for the Global Cool Linda Constant 2011

But the era of questioning K-pop's relevance is ultimately in the past, whether you are a fan or not.

Linda Constant: K-pop: Soft Power for the Global Cool Linda Constant 2011