The three Koreans on this year's Bloomberg 50 are Bang Si-hyuk (left), founder and head of the BTS management agency Hybe, Lee Hoe-sung, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Hwang Dong-hyuk, creator and director of the Netflix series "Squid Game." (Screen capture from Bloomberg)
By Yoon Hee Young
Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, director Hwang Dong-hyuk of "Squid Game" fame and Lee Hoe-sung, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), are the three Koreans named to this year's Bloomberg 50.
Bloomberg Businessweek, a magazine published by the U.S.-based business news service, on Dec. 1 released the list of "the people and ideas that defined global business in 2021," which included Bang and Hwang in entertainment and Lee in science and technology.
Calling Bang "the hitmaker behind BTS," Businessweek said he "engineered a USD 1 billion deal in April to combine Ithaca Holdings -- the agency that manages Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande -- with his Korean empire, bringing K-pop to the center of the U.S. music business."
On Hwang's "Squid Game," the magazine said, "More than 140 million people have watched the show, making it the most popular TV program in Netflix's history."
"Based on internal estimates viewed by Bloomberg News, the show is expected to generate almost USD 900 million for Netflix from attracting and retaining subscribers," it added. "The immediate global reach of a show from South Korea is unprecedented for any network."
The third Korean on the list is IPCC Chairman Lee.
Businessweek said he guided the IPCC's sixth climate assessment report released in August that "found humanity has raised the global temperature by 1.1C, making the planet hotter than it's been in 125,000 years."
hyyoon@korea.kr
