After decades of the Cold War separation of the Korean peninsula, there are many differences between the polar nations. South Korea is now a country of global influences with a fast growing economy. Contrarily, North Korea is isolated, impoverished, and heavily armed. Putting aside economic political systems of the two starkly different countries, it was only years prior that South Korea was in a destitute position. So what was the determining factor in which South Korea went from a conflict ridden American proxy state into the country with the eleventh greatest economy in the modern era? I believe that one of the main reasons South Korea is able to develop and rise from its economic hardships was the South Korean government’s decision in liberalization of its cultural output.
For the majority of the popular culture landscape, Korean entertainment was completely overshadowed by Japanese culture in all manners. However, during the 1990s with the U.S’ increasing pop culture influences with regard to hip hop and Hollywood cinema began to surface into South Korea’s bubble did Japanese influences begun to decrease. At this time, the South Korean government also abolished many censorship laws which gave a rise to greater artistic freedom to artists who then greatly promoted a wide range of subject matter to discuss. As a result, in the 1990s, the world experienced Hallyu, or Korean wave, interpreted by Lee, Hye-Kyung as
“A transnational demand for, and passionate consumption of South Korean popular culture,” with K-Pop being a primary cultural export (Lee, Hye-Kyung, 185).
The government witnessed the success of South Korean music and cinema overseas, thus furthered the removal of censorship policy and additionally began to double down on its cultural exports by announcing it as a top priority to fund cultural institutions.
The government’s decision on the staying power of Korean popular culture was successful. However, nowadays, South Korea has such an attraction toward the global popularity that thousands of people are willing to travel, study, and even relocate there. For example, in the case Paulina Bonnevier, a 22 year old Swedish student currently studying at the Seoul National University, she stated that she would have never even thought about getting to know South Korean let along study there if it won’t for K-Pop. For her, and many others who are influenced by K-Pop, K-Pop was the key that opened a door to unique experiences of South Korean music, language, and culture. According to Martin Roll in his article, Korean Wave (Hallyu) – Rise of Korea’s Cultural Economy and Pop Culture, as result the of the Korean cultural Wave, it was projected that Korea had earned “USD 15.2 billion from tourism, attracting a total of 13.2 million tourists,” and it is seems to only continue growing with the rise of social media platforms (Roll). Today, there are at least 115 active K-pop groups, all equipped with online presences, particularly the explosively popular boy band BTS. According to a report by the Korean Foundation, there were 35 million hallyu fans in 86 countries in 2015. Most of whom, are not only buying their favorite K Pop band’s music and merchandise, but is beginning to investigate in South Korean cultures and traditions such as foods, and language. According to a K-pop fan from Malaysia, “K-pop and dramas have definitely motivated me to learn Korean” and he is now able to read and write basic korean and appreciate the Korean culture more (Lee, Sangjoon, 7).
Not only does the increase in cultural popularity increase Korea’s cultural profits, but many other industries are able to gain from the benefits of a rising Korean culture. For instance, with the international tourist numbers “hitting 1.1 billion in 2014 and international tourist growth forecasted at an annualized rate of 3.3% to hit around 1.8 billion by 2030” (Roll). South Korea, in a sense, utilized its culture not only as a means to spread its culture, but to also attract international consumers into buying Korean goods, practicing Korean traditions, and travel to or even potentially work in Korea. All factors of which are wholly beneficial to the economy of Korea, making South Korea not only the one of the countries with the strongest or fastest growing economy but also one of the most interesting as well.
The Politics of K-Pop 