BTS, K-Pop and the Hallyu: Creating Waves Softly

In May 2021, the South Korean boy band BTS beat out other international musicians for all four of the <i>Billboard</i> Music Awards for which they had been nominated. “Dynamite,” BTS’s top-selling song, was the band’s first song in English. BTS and other K-pop groups had been able to achieve a high level of global success, especially since 2013, despite singing in a language that was foreign to many listeners. K-pop and other elements of Korea’s creative economy represented Hallyu or “Korean Wave” of globally popular Korean entertainment and culture. Hallyu had contributed to the South Korean economy since 1999. Were Hallyu and its constituents serendipitous? How did BTS, K-pop, and Korea’s creative economy act as Korea’s secret weapon? Were there limits to the use of Hallyu?

This case is suitable for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses on international business, international marketing, advanced macroeconomics, developmental models, or developmental economics. It looks at the export-led development model of Korea, which has been based on promoting exports from Korea’s cultural sector. Initiated in the late 1990s to help Korea escape the ill effects of the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the strategy has been used to cultivate Korea’s soft power. The case explores the limits to the use of the Hallyu as a means of economic success and soft power. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<br><br/><ul><li>Describe and explain the far-reaching impact of government policies in fostering unconventional development models, for example, through promoting a creative economy.</li><li>Analyze the role of a creative economy in promoting development.</li><li>Identify the elements of soft power and the means of propagating soft power.</li><li>Assess the limits of using the creative economy as a means of development.</li><li>Compare the drivers of long-term economic growth to those driving short-term growth, and evaluate the potential for long-term growth in an economy.</li></ul>

• international business
• K-pop
• music
• arts
• international
• policy
• economy
• international marketing
• South Korea