Korean wave is a puppet on strings
The global phenomenon of Korean wave is growing a massive fanbase all over the world, thanks to huge names like BTS, Blackpink, the movie Parasite, and TV series Squid Game. This Korean wave (Hallyu) alone contributes to a surge of international tourists across the globe coming to South Korea, which benefits the country’s economy. Kim Kwang-Soo, Director of Tourism at Gangnam District Office, said in an interview with BBC that Hallyu is “culturally beneficial to the nation interests, so the state provide full support.”
In the late 1990s when Asia was going through a financial crisis, the South Korean government made use of Hallyu to create cultural influence and maintain its nation’s image. In his 1998 inaugural address, President Kim Dae-jung instructed the government to globalize Korean culture. Later in 2010, one of K-pop boyband pioneers, 2PM, released a song called Fly To Seoul (Boom Boom Boom) to promote Seoul tourism. Fast forward to present time, Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has a devoted department for Korean wave, Hallyu Content Cooperation Division, which conducts in-depth research of Hallyu and its business environment, as well as assisting Hallyu contents’ export regulation. All of these prove that the South Korean government have always played a strategic part in Hallyu to reap its huge success by constantly polishing its cultural production and consumption’s policies.
According to statistics in 2021, sales in performing arts increased 78.5% to 307,216 billion won, number of audience who went to see musical performance rose 70.6% to 7,106,170 people, and total market value of digital contents was up 127% to 39.4699 trillion won. Even during the pandemic, results show that more people enjoyed Hallyu with an average of 27.4%. In sum, South Korea’s economic survival owes a lot to the globalization of Korean culture.
Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has six main projects this year to help Hallyu contents shine more while nurturing more talents in the field. In their business plan, the Ministry will cultivate 10,000 content talents, expand content firms to 15 overseas locations, as well as support for exports of related industries through a K-brand promotion hall or K-expo. In addition to that, Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)’s supports for the cultural production include engaging in planning, creative production, distribution, overseas expansion, fostering companies, talent training, research and development of culture technology, financial support, and policy research for the contents.
Exports of Hallyu such as K-pop, K-dramas, and Korean movies have also contributed to the growth of South Korea’s economy, tourism, and global presence. Moreover, content exports have positively influenced other Korean products’ sales as well, namely beauty and fashion products, as well as food and beverages. These strategies further establish the fact that Hallyu has developed into becoming South Korea’s soft power by utilizing its positive and appealing cultural attractions to boost cultural consumption.
To conclude, the popularity of Korean wave (Hallyu) brings a lot of benefits to South Korea. Through Hallyu, South Korea is able to promote its culture and values to the world, as well as increase its economy. This makes Hallyu a puppet on strings, in the best way possible, played by the South Korean government.
