The leading U.K. weekly The Economist has analyzed the factors behind Korea becoming Asia’s foremost trendsetter in its August 9 article, “South Korea’s soft power: Soap, sparkle and pop.”


The piece began by saying, “From ‘Gangnam Style’ and competitive electronic sports to kimchi-flavoured pot noodles, South Korea’s cultural exports are eagerly consumed around the world.” Then, it brought up the book, “The Birth of Korean Cool: How one nation is conquering the world through pop culture,” penned by Korean-American journalist Euny Hong.

According to the article, Hong witnessed the swiftest part of the country’s economic development over the six years after she arrived in Seoul in 1985, when the nation transformed itself from one of the poorest in the world into an economic powerhouse. The author also interviewed superstars, chefs and culture critics to discover how the once uncool country became the tastemaker of Asia.

As a result, she found that, “Korean cool is a side-effect of the culture-exporting machine that was created at the end of the 20th century and has been nurtured by the government ever since.”

Hong argued that in 1997, as a financial crisis swept across the nation, tax incentives and government funding for start-ups pepped up the IT and content industries, and that such efforts helped create a Korean cultural wave, or hallyu, that has since been rolling across Asia for the past decade and a half.

Hong also described Korea’s approach to culture as, “a full-on amphibious attack,” mentioning some of those who have worked behind the scenes at such things as organizing flash-mobs around France to demand a K-pop concert. The “attack,” the article said, has worked because, “Korean pop culture is more palatable to other Asians than that of Japan or China.”

It also pointed out that Korean dramas are so popular in the Philippines that they have inspired local remakes in Tagalog. “Winter Sonata,” a famous soap opera, was a hit in Iraq and Uzbekistan, too.

The article concluded by emphasizing that, “Psy, the rapper behind 'Gangnam Style,' was not part of the national strategy, as it mocks the effeteness of a generation of Korean nouveaux-riches.” However, “Its success shows the world’s readiness to revel in Korea’s cultural charms,” it said.

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
jiae5853@korea.kr