At one time, you might have been hard-pressed to think of any names of Korean descent in Hollywood aside from Margaret Cho. Over the past few years, numerous Koreans and Korean Americans have been popping up all over the place on North American screens.

South Korean actor and pop phenomenon Rain made his Hollywood debut in Speed Racer as a rival driver, and will star in the upcoming Hollywood action flick Ninja Assassin alongside Korean American actors Sung Kang and Rick Yune (Snow Falling on Cedars).

Eurasian American Daniel Henney starred as Agent Zero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. South Korean actor Yunjin Kim made a successful transition to an American career by snagging a role in the primetime TV series Lost, in which she costars with Daniel Dae Kim (Crash). Korean American John Cho of the Harold and Kumar series most recently starred as Lt. Sulu in the Star Trek prequel.

What's more, a number of South Korean blockbusters like Bong Joon-ho's The Host and Hansel & Gretel by Yim Pil-sung have made a splash on this side of the Pacific. Park Chan-wook's Thirst won the 2009 Cannes Jury Prize and is set for release on August 7 here in Vancouver.

One contributing factor is Hallyu, or the Korean Wave. As the South Korean government took measures to develop and protect its culture, such as instituting screen quotas in the late 1990s to support its film industry, the popularity of its cultural products soon overtook much of Asia and its impact is spreading worldwide.

One of the country's first disaster flicks, the $13-million special effects extravaganza Haeundae topped Korean box offices, and is set for wide release throughout Asia.

Such commercial power has forced Hollywood to take note. American studios have tapped into that strength by including Korean actors in Hollywood films, thereby attracting Asian fanbases and developing potential for regional marketing strategies.

One such example is Byung-hun Lee, whose Hollywood debut as Storm Shadow in the forthcoming blockbuster G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra has attracted Asian media attention.

While careers for Asian and Asian American stars in Hollywood have been traditionally limited, the inroads that these numerous examples have been making are signs of promising changes in the industry.