“I was still the weirdo but now cool”: the impact of Hallyu on affective experiences of racialization among Chileans of Korean descent

South Koreans arrived in Santiago, Chile in the 1970s to establish businesses in textile manufacturing, apparel retail, and general merchandise. This paper examines how the arrival of Hallyu (Korean Wave) impacted the affective experiences of racialization of their adult children as Chileans of Korean descent. Drawing on twelve semi-structured interviews and participant observation, we describe how they narrate their shifting experiences of racialization with the rising popularity of K-pop and K-drama in Chile. In their own words, although they remained the “weirdos,” they were now also “cool.” We highlight the ambivalent ways they responded to and rationalized earlier experiences of racism considering the recent successful commercialization of “Koreanness.” Through the framework of racialized emotions, we show that they welcome Hallyu's positive effects while expressing resentment and skepticism about its possibility of restructuring racial hierarchies. Emphasizing racial emotions highlights multidimensional challenges of addressing structural and everyday racism in increasingly diverse societies.