Opinion | Don’t mistake Korean culture’s soft power for an actual strategy

When Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite made history at the Oscars in 2020, the global media fixated on one question: how did a Korean-language social satire manage to resonate so powerfully across the world?

The same question arose when Squid Game broke viewership records on Netflix and when BTS performed at the United Nations with the gravitas of a diplomatic delegation. More recently, KPop Demon Hunters stormed to success.

What is it about Korean pop culture that so effectively captures the imagination of people around the world? Part of the answer lies in South Korea’s uncanny knack for synthesis. Korean creators have long absorbed the cultural grammar of global trends and reassembled them into stories that feel both uniquely Korean and universally relatable.

The self-reflexivity of American cinema, the idol system of J-pop, the aesthetics of French cinematography – all these influences swirl inside Korea’s cultural Petri dish. But rather than copying them, Korea retools and repackages them with cutting-edge polish and a distinctly Korean sensibility.

The result? K-pop concerts in Saudi Arabia, K-dramas topping Netflix charts in Latin America, KPop Demon Hunters energising global Gen Z audiences and Korean beauty trends redefining consumer expectations from Berlin to Bangkok. What was once a niche fascination for East Asia aficionados has now become a global cultural currency. According to the Korea Foundation, Korean cultural content exports surpassed US$13 billion in 2022, with ripple effects for fashion, food, tech and tourism.

But the real story here is as much geopolitical as economic. The Korean wave, or hallyu, is Seoul’s greatest soft power asset. It is South Korea’s version of McDonald’s and Marvel – cultural powerhouses that helped embed American values across the globe. Just as they helped make the United States synonymous with aspiration, Korea’s cultural exports now make it synonymous with style, sophistication and emotional resonance.