(Yonhap)

Korean culture holds a unique and important position in 21st-century civilization, a German scholar who has extensively studied the subject said Monday.

Ute Fendler, whose research for the past two years has centered on "hallyu," or the worldwide popularity of Korean culture, said Korean culture has been "extremely influential" all over the world, gaining fans not just in Europe but also in South America, the Middle East and even parts of Africa.

"I think its influence will continue to grow," she told Yonhap News Agency in an interview.

The 49-year-old who teaches at the University of Bayreuth pointed out that while music videos have been vanishing in Europe due to their low return on investment, K-pop has persistently created new ones.

"It's very likely that K-pop music videos will become their own cultural genre in the future," she said.

Fendler said her interest in hallyu was inspired by her daughter, who has been studying abroad in South Korea since 2013 after falling in love with the culture.

"I learned about hallyu from my daughter, but I've watched at least 10 times more Korean dramas, movies and music videos than she has," she said, laughing. She said her favorite K-pop artists are G-Dragon and Block B.

Fendler is set to present her dissertations on K-pop at the Third World Congress for Hallyu in Dubai this November and the Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference in Seattle in March. (Yonhap)