BLACKPINK at Buckingham: What does K-Pop do for South Korea's soft power?
Photo Courtesy: David Skinner
On November 21st, the South Korean girl group BLACKPINK attended a state banquet at Buckingham Palace alongside South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. The girl group became true K-pop royalty when invested with honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by King Charles for their outstanding efforts in highlighting climate change. They joined an elite list of honorees, which includes iconic figures such as The Beatles (1965) and Adele (2013). BLACKPINK’s historic achievement as the first and sole non-British music act to receive this honor highlights their global sway.
South Korean cultural prowess has been omnipresent in recent years. Beyond music sensations like BLACKPINK and BTS; films like the Oscar-winning “Parasite” and the hit Netflix television series “Squid Game” demonstrate that South Korea’s popular culture has reached a new pinnacle, captivating audiences worldwide.
Over the past few decades, the term ‘Hallyu’, which translates to “Korean Wave”, has made its way to the global stage. The soaring growth of the Hallyu market owes its success to meticulously crafted domestic cultural strategies and unwavering government support. Following the Asian financial crisis in 1997, President Kim Dae-jung envisioned a national cultural strategy to revive the economy. Since then, South Korea’s cultural industry has been on an upward trajectory. Amongst the latest ranking of most-subscribed-to YouTube accounts, BLACKPINK secures the global top spot of artists, followed by BTS in second place and Justin Bieber in third place. The exportation of cultural industries vividly showcases the escalating influence of Hallyu, now a trump card for South Korea in bolstering its soft power.
BLACKPINK’s recent presence at Buckingham Palace is not the first time South Korean idol groups have stepped onto the diplomatic stage. Thanks to the immense fan base and influence of these groups, they have become a common sight before foreign affairs visits and leader summits. Back in May 2022, BTS held an audience with US President Joe Biden at the White House, discussing matters concerning anti-Asian hate and racial discrimination. According to the ‘2021 National Image Survey’ by the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, a striking 80.5% of foreigners positively evaluated South Korea’s national image. Undoubtedly, the Hallyu wave molds South Korea’s national image on their political and cultural fronts.
The influence of language is another essential aspect in assessing a country’s soft power. From 2016 to 2020, enrollment in Korean language courses at American universities surged by 25%. As of April 2022, the number of international students in South Korean universities is approximately 160,000, nearly double the count in 2010.
Moreover, the cultural industry has been a catalyst for the growth of related economies. Despite the pandemic, the ‘2020 Korean Content Industry Survey’ revealed a cultural industry export exceeding 14 trillion South Korean won (about $119.2 billion). Remarkably, BTS’s three concerts held in Seoul in October 2019 attracted around 189,000 foreign tourists, estimated to have contributed approximately 9.229 trillion South Korean won (about $81.3 billion) to the country’s economy.
The roaring success of South Korea’s cultural industry on the global stage has lured significant foreign investments. Netflix, for instance, post ‘Squid Game’ triumph, announced a $2.5 billion investment in South Korea over the next four years. However, many in South Korea have expressed concerns. They claim that Netflix’s dominance, driven by American values, significant capital injection, and precise algorithms, has tightly controlled the supply chain in the cultural domain. This has led to the outflow of South Korean intellectual property. There is a looming risk that South Korea might become a base for outsourced production under company contracts. Furthermore, there is a noticeable trend of content, influenced by American values, as well as adopting narrative styles closer to American dramas. South Korea, known for exporting its culture worldwide, now faces an indirect cultural invasion from the States.
The question looms: Can South Korea’s cultural exports maintain their prosperity amidst these changes? As of now, there’s no definitive answer.