How South Korea Took Over World Entertainment Under Constant Threat of War

The South Korean chief executive tasked with driving a miraculous campaign to export entertainment overseas. Newsweek It’s a recipe for success for a nation that remains divided nearly 80 years later.

This phenomenon is called “K waves” or Korean The Korean language first began to emerge in East Asia in the late 1990s, a time when South Korea, emerging from a regional financial crisis and a rigid military-led system of leadership, saw an explosion of cultural expression. Today, a vibrant, democratic South Korea is synonymous with the most popular music, TV series and films in homes around the world, and is home to mega-star performers like BTS and Squid Game and the internationally acclaimed film ParasitesIt is the only foreign film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

For Japan, an emerging soft power, this outsized impact comes despite the threat of nuclear weapons from neighboring North Korea arising from an unresolved conflict that is now intensifying due to rising geopolitical frictions.

“The war is not over yet. It is on hiatus,” said Yoo In-cheon, South Korea’s Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Newsweek “So, some people might be thinking, ‘So does that mean it’s dangerous?'” he said in an exclusive interview at the grand opening of the eight-story New York Korea Center.

“Yes, it’s true that there is a tension that you have to be constantly aware of,” the famous actor-turned-politician said, “but if you’re an artist, people will get over it and use it as another way of expressing their creativity.”

Turning crisis into opportunity

In fact, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which has divided the Korean Peninsula since a post-World War II agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1945, is one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations. The South Korean side of the border is home to restaurants and amusement park rides, and a peace-themed film festival is held annually across one of the most heavily guarded borders on earth.

“I understand that tensions have risen recently with the nuclear issue and so on, but I don’t think tourists have really noticed that,” Yu said. “If anything, the number of tourists has increased in recent years.”

“The same is true in the arts and culture,” he added. “They have tried a lot to overcome divisions and have made progress in doing so.”

The conflict has inspired some of South Korea’s most iconic works, including the award-winning thriller film. Joint Security Area 2000 and Steel Rain The hit romantic comedy series of 2017 and 2019 Crash Landing on YouNot only did it become the highest-rated program on Korea’s tvN network, it also received overwhelming support from overseas viewers in countries such as China, Japan, and the United States.

On the sporting side, the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, served as the basis for ambitious peace talks between the rival North and South Korea, with a unification flag marching in the opening ceremony. With tensions on the Korean peninsula flaring up again in recent years, South Korean activists are now trying to influence North Korea from within by sending USB drives containing K-pop music in balloons across the border.

But for most South Koreans, especially as hope for peace has faded in recent years, the conflict on their doorstep is far from their most pressing concern, nor is it seen as the most important factor for their success.

What really makes Korea different

Yoo spoke about some of the more unique aspects of Korean culture that he believes give the country a major advantage in competing with much larger neighbors China and Japan, which have long eclipsed the entertainment industry in this country of 52 million people.

“Korean people have a diverse view of artists and we appreciate that diversity,” Yoo says. “We don’t repeat the same thing over and over again. It’s always changing. It’s not repetitive, it’s more and more diverse. It has certain characteristics that make it different from other countries in the world.”

“So it’s a bit dynamic,” he added.

While Yu acknowledged that Korean arts and culture have similarities to those of other Asian countries that have invested in global entertainment, he felt that Korea has a unique way of dealing with the influx of influences.

“To me, one of the greatest and most unique things about the Korean cultural industry is that it takes foreign cultural influences and doesn’t just appropriate them, but mixes them with our own culture, ferments them, recreates them and gives them a different feel,” Yu said.

Just as South Korea has excelled in its rich fermented foods and wines for centuries and is now garnering international attention as part of the “K-Wave,” Koreans today are successfully absorbing a variety of outside ingredients to create even more delicious products.

For example, Yu points out that many artists have started using Western instruments to perform traditional Korean music. Newsweek Wearing a dress in a style that dates back centuries, Hanbok Along with the modern sneakers, he pointed to a nearby patchwork piece sewn in traditional Korean fashion, but featuring a colorful representation of a horse, rather than a look reminiscent of traditional Korean artwork.

“I believe Korean culture is the result of a fusion of old traditional elements and modern elements,” Lee said, “so art today is based on tradition, but it’s fused with modern elements and we’re finding new ways to express ourselves artistically.”

How much influence is too much?

The unprecedented availability of Korean entertainment to billions of people around the world has focused extraordinary attention on a country with isolationist dynastic traditions that earned it the nickname “the Hermit Kingdom” among Westerners in the 19th century.

This process is further fuelled by a nationwide obsession with the latest technology: South Korea ranks among the world’s highest in terms of internet users, smartphone ownership and social media penetration.

If tradition is a key element of South Korea’s winning strategy, then the proliferation of access to outside cultures could pose a risk.

“In Korea, especially the younger generation, there is a strong appreciation for foreign culture,” Yoo said. “Many people are as fond of American culture as they are of jazz, Coca-Cola, Hollywood, and video games, and different cultures are communicating and influencing each other.”

“But cultures that interact and are influenced by each other also evolve and change,” he added, “so there are a lot of changes happening in the way people live their daily lives in Korea.”

But Yu is confident that what he calls the core cultural values ​​that Koreans continue to hold dear will remain the same.

“At the same time, basic Korean cultural concepts like filial piety and obligation have not changed because Korea is family-centered,” Yu said. “So parents are expected to make sacrifices for their children, and in return, the children will have reverent feelings towards their parents. So the foundation of the culture is the same, but the difference is that today it is expressed in more diverse ways.”

“Some people may be worried that Korea will lose or weaken its traditional culture, but I think that’s always been the case,” he added. “People have always been worried, but they got used to it, they adapted, and that’s how they preserved their culture.”

Addressing inequality within the home

But as Korean culture evolves at a rapid pace with modern development and intercultural exchange, deep divisions have emerged within the country’s society, widening rifts on key issues between men and women, young and old, conservatives and progressives and other groups.

But here too, Yu saw an opportunity for his “hot” country to seize its disadvantage and incorporate it into broader progress.

“From the outside, there’s always something going on, and it’s a problem,” Yu said, “but as we go through these conflicts, rather than letting them affect us or bring us down, we move forward and use them as a stepping stone for progress and progress.”

“Few countries have experienced as much change as South Korea,” Yoo noted. The onset of the Cold War not only divided the Korean peninsula, but also brought a devastating war that claimed millions of lives and destroyed cities, including Seoul, which is now a pale shadow of its former self, with its bustling life, towering skyscrapers, and a city that is frequently ranked as one of the safest capitals in the world.

Whether North Korean missiles are flying overhead or protests are breaking out in the streets, “life goes on,” Yu said.

“In fact, Korea has developed in the midst of countless conflicts, whether on one side or the other,” Yu said. “That is the fundamental force and driving force of Korean culture.”

The freedom, even the enthusiasm, to disagree, often passionately, is the cornerstone of what Yoo identifies as the dynamism of Korean culture.

“It may seem unstable, chaotic and disorganized,” Yu said, “but it’s exactly what allows the country and the culture to progress.”

What’s next?

Today, South Korea has the world’s attention, but few know what tomorrow will bring, not even Yu.

Faced with these uncertainties, Yu has assembled a team solely tasked with preparing for the future to ensure K-Wave remains dominant.

“We have a committee in place to prepare for these changes, but things are changing so fast that we don’t even know how to predict the future,” Yu said. “But what we want to do as policymakers is to provide a platform for creators to actually realize what they envision.”

The effort involves support from both the government and the private sector and draws on parallel campaigns in science and technology.

However, in line with South Korea’s eagerness to embrace and refine a variety of outside influences, Yoo also stressed that the country is focused on diversifying its entertainment portfolio to create new kinds of art that blend local and international material.

“We’re no longer just concerned with promoting Korean culture to the world,” Yu said. “We want to take a leading role in developing this new global culture that can take what works from this intermingling of cultures and use our creativity to create something that can then be shared with the world.”