Korean Soft Power and the Hallyu Wave

Photo by Shawn on Unsplash.

Development of the Hallyu Wave

The Hallyu Industry Support Development Plan was initially announced by South Korean Kim Dae-jung’s government in 1998, with the aim of supporting the South Korean cultural industry. Ten years later, the Lee Myung-bak government altered the direction of the policies from economic-focused to branding and competitiveness-focused, with Part 5 of the 2010 Diplomatic White Paper citing the increasingly important value of soft power in the global environment. Cultural diplomacy was now crucial for the country, with the Hallyu Wave (aka Korean Wave) being seen as an opportunity to capitalise on exports and tourism. The Hallyu Wave has been developed in three distinct phases, all strategically centered around the prevalent media avenues of the time, in order to distribute Korean culture as widely as possible. These waves are:

KOREAN WAVE 1.0 (1997 – mid-2000s) focused on visual content such as TV dramas, movies, and the first generation of K-pop. It mainly focused on Korea’s standing in the Asian region, and used TV and the internet to distribute media.

KOREAN WAVE 2.0 (mid-2000s – early 2010s) focused on diffusing the Korean Wave and increasing the global reach of K-pop, as well as public and arts culture. It increased Korean soft power in Asia, parts of Europe, and the Americas, and distributed media via video websites such as YouTube, and social media.

KOREAN WAVE 3.0 (early 2010s-present) focused on expanding the Hallyu Wave to include more diverse exports such as online games, beauty products, and fashion. This increased the global popularity of K-culture, including lifestyle, traditional culture, arts and popular culture trends, distributed using all media types including OTT (over-the-top) entertainment such as Netflix. Korean culture is now highly popular worldwide.

A potential fourth Korean Wave focused on ‘K-ubiquity’, including strategic partnerships with local governments and institutions particularly in China and Southeast Asia, in order to localise and increase consumption of diverse Hallyu content, is considered to be on the cards. 

It is safe to say that Hallyu culture is still rising in prevalence. In 2019, Korean film and K-dramas became a global sensation, while the growth of the gaming industry appeared to be slowing. Korean literature, Webtoons, and OTT broadcasts are areas which Hallyu experts intended to push. However, exports of cultural content products decreased by 7.2% from 2020, likely due to the COVIDovid-19 pandemic. As of 2021, the content industry revenue had increased 6% on the previous year, with the total export value also increasing – seemingly, Hallyu culture is having a post-pandemic rebound.

Hallyu Today: South Korea’s Position in the Global Community

K-beauty brands like Laneige raise demand for South Korean exports in global markets. Photo by Shawn on Unsplash.

The rising popularity of Korean of the Korean culture has emboldened South Korea to attempt to further solidify its soft power. In 2022, K-Content (Hallyu) rose in popularity across the US, UK, Australia and South Africa, with these countries also seeing an increase in Hallyu content diversity. According to the 2022 Overseas Hallyu Survey, perceptions of Korean culture changes when people experience Hallyu content. Positive rates are especially high in South and Southeast Asian countries, which indicates the strong influence South Korea has over its regional neighbours.

At present, South Korea is a middle-ranking power in global affairs. South Korea has had a difficult history solidifying its power, due to its geographical position between China, Japan, and Russia. In 1960, it matched Ghana’s economic value, but over the next 50 years, it became the world’s 11th largest economy, joining the OECD and G-20. By 2009, South Korea ranked 9th in hard power resources, but less strongly in soft power – it was believed that for the hard power components to ensure growth and prosperity, they needed to be backed by efficient, sophisticated soft power. 

Increased interest in South Korean culture improves its diplomatic capabilities, as it is able to attract and influence nations as a means of securing and maintaining a heightened status and role in the global community, as opposed to using military and economic power to force influence. Culture has become an indispensable asset in the global environment. Subsequently, The Hallyu Wave was quickly adopted as a crucial source of income through diverse exports and tourism. Korea currently ranks at number 7 globally in cultural influence, demonstrating its ability to shape international public opinion. The success of the Hallyu Wave can be credited to the overlap of politics, economics and culture. The country achieved stable democratisation and rapid economic growth, and its rapid modernisation allowed its culture to mix traditional, modern and global values, causing its creative content to appeal to a wide international audience. Advancements in digital technology also enable Hallyu content to spread rapidly across geographical boundaries.

Joseph Nye, one of the leading theorists on soft power, explained that South Korea broadening its foreign policy agenda beyond security to climate change, human rights, and a strong pandemic response, would allow it to become a more powerful global leader. This can help it to improve its bilateral relations, and combat challenges at the regional and global levels. For instance, the heightened global interest in South Korean soft power has led to public perspectives shifting in North Korea. Global public goods have strong value; for instance, when BTS delivered a speech on the SDGs at the UN General Assembly, with an online audience of over 1 million, and Blackpink spoke at the UN COP26 summit, this showed that Korean artists’ voices are internationally influential. Overall, soft power can complement hard power, and improve its diplomatic and foreign policy standing, as these positions are driven by geopolitical factors and co-operation.

Case Study: BTS’ Power in the Korean Economy

So, how exactly did one boy band come to have so much power over an entire economy? Why will this impact the development of the Hallyu Wave?

Since their debut in 2013, BTS have solidified their position as one of the most powerful bastions of Korean culture, and by extension, are key to their nation’s economy. As stated by BTS’ second-oldest member, rapper SUGA, “I didn’t mean to make South Korea proud.” The group’s humble beginnings in nearly bankrupt Big Hit Entertainment meant that they, and no one else for that matter, ever expected them to become global superstars. They spent years building a loyal fandom through meaningful self-composed music & innovative technology, such as livestreams, subtitled variety shows and behind-the-scenes content, which are publicly available on YouTube. They were also one of the first K-pop groups to have English subtitles on their music videos, and one of the first groups on X (formerly Twitter), helping them gain more Western fans.

Today, Big Hit, which had 4 employees in 2007, has transitioned into a subsidiary of a 1000+ employee, multinational stock-listed conglomerate, HYBE Corporation. In 2019, before their renewed explosion in popularity as a top global artist, after the release of their smash-hit English trio, Dynamite, Butter and Permission to Dance, BTS were generating an estimated amount of ₩ (Korean Won) 5.56 trillion (~A (Australian Dollar) $6.5 billion) per year in economic value, more than flagship airline Korean Air. As of 2017, 1 in 13 tourists came to South Korea because of their interest in BTS. Their 10-year economic impact was projected to be ~ A$66.2 billion, more than the Pyeongchang Olympics. Dynamite was projected to generate ₩1.7 trillion (A$1.97b) of economic activity, including nearly 8,000 new jobs, and ₩371.7b in increased exports for cosmetics, food, and drinks. BTS have wider economic standing other than their music sales and position as the faces of K-pop. BTS’ promotion of K-culture is critical to their economic impact. For instance, leader RM’s interest in Korean art has led to thousands of fans around the world flocking to the galleries he visits, as well as Korean books he reads being translated to English for the first time due to the interest of his fans. BTS’ brand endorsement for products like Jin Ramen, Hyundai and Samsung draws people to try Korean food and technology.

Image credit: Statista (2018).

South Korea stands to lose billions as a result of BTS’ military enlistment. After years of their government debating on whether or not to exempt them, BTS announced that they would be terminating their special postponement (which they were given due to being awarded the President’s Order of Cultural Merit). A crisis was immediately afoot. HYBE stocks immediately plummeted – BTS is, expectedly, the most popular group in the company. In June 2022, when BTS initially announced a group hiatus, government officials and industry representatives alike pleaded for them to reconsider, citing expected negative effects on the Hallyu Wave. It must be noted that K-pop’s overall popularity can be attributed to BTS, as many overseas fans are introduced to the genre through them.

K-pop’s contribution to the Hallyu Wave and soft power is at risk. Seemingly, the diversification of Hallyu Wave 4.0 could help offset the damage – keeping in mind that overall, compared to other more influential economic contributors, BTS currently make up just under 1% of the South Korean GDP.

North Korean Power Politics, Compared

Children line up in front of a propagandist mural of Kim Il-Sung in Pyongyang. Photo by Thomas Evans on Unsplash.

Contrary to its southern counterpart, the Democratic Republic of North Korea focuses its power politics on hard power. It has been a long-time brandisher of nuclear power as a leverage for negotiation. Where the nation lacks in absolute military and economic power, it dominates in asymmetric power, with its nuclear stockpile rendering it a significant threat to the global community, particularly in South Korea and the wider Asia-Pacific sphere. The rest of the world fears North Korea’s ability to start a nuclear war, and therefore does not risk provoking the isolated nation.

However, North Korea’s hard power focus does not stop its citizens from being drawn to the culture of its prosperous neighbours. The phenomenon of smuggling in Hallyu products is a vast underground market in North Korea, with products like K-beauty and K-pop CDs being popular items. This cultural influence has not gone unnoticed by the North Korean government. Despite publicly punishing citizens who enjoy South Korean culture, since the Pyeongchang Olympics, North Korea has begun to shift to a soft power approach to international relations. It attempts to censor the influence of outside culture in order to foster solidarity among its people, as capitalist cultures are considered enemies. As opposed to the behaviour-based soft power that Nye uses to describe South Korea, North Korea relies on resources such as diplomacy, agenda-setting, images and propaganda. During the Pyeongchang Olympics and the 2018 Asian games, North and South Korea formed a unified team, demonstrating that the nations are able to co-operate through non-political areas and signalling they may be able to co-operate politically in the future.

Conclusion

Between 2012 and 2022, the number of global Hallyu fans reported by the Global Hallyu Status multiplied over 17 times. South Korean soft power relies heavily on the Hallyu Wave, which allows it to gain significant global influence. The foremost representatives of this wave are BTS, who personify the Korean spirit of hard work and growth that the nation wishes to promote. South Korea’s soft power aids it politically and diplomatically, contributing to shifting North Korean attitudes. The success of South Korea’s approach to soft power diplomacy has been mimicked by nations around the world, who are fascinated by the nation’s growing prestige. Barely 50 years ago, South Korea was struggling and desolate as it recovered from a war that resulted in a forced split from its neighbour. Due to unique innovation born out of the necessity that came with the Asian Financial Crisis, with regular exports failing, it became one of the most powerful economies, with cultural outputs that are household names around the world. K-pop has inspired the rise of P-Pop stars in the Philippines, and in the UK, girl groups and boy groups are having a resurgence. The American music industry is following K-pop’s lead, debuting groups like Katseye and Boys World. With BTS set to return from military service this June, it appears that the Hallyu Wave and the soft power influence it brings is unfaltering.

If the Korean government continues to embrace its cultural relevance, the small country may become more than an entertainment and technological giant, instead, a hub of Asian development. However, Korean politics have been fraught with leadership changes and parliamentary gridlock, much to the North Korean regime’s delight, and the nation’s overall economic growth appears to be slowing, in part due to low birth rates and an exhausted workforce. Only time will tell if South Korea will overcome these challenges and be a key player to watch in the Asian Century.