India, Oct. 7 -- After checking into my hotel in the trendy district of Myeongdong in Seoul, the first walk to a nearby restaurant carried a strange sense of vu. When the staff greeted me with a cheerful eoseo oseyo (welcome), my instinctive reply of gamsahamnida (thank you) felt oddly natural. Inside, the scene was instantly recognisable-copper-coloured exhaust pipes dangling over tabletop grills, green soju bottles paired with tiny shot glasses, and an array of side dishes I'd seen countless times on screen. For the first time, I felt like I had slipped seamlessly into a puzzle I already knew by heart.

Falling For Hallyu At Home Until the pandemic, the Korean Wave, known as Hallyu, hadn't quite reached Indian shores. While a small circ...