Imagine walking into a store in SoHo, NYC. Amid the Western pop songs playing on the speakers, a few K-pop songs are mixed in. This would have been unimaginable a decade ago, since few people outside of Asia knew much about Korea. Now, the situation is vastly different: Korean culture is recognized and actively enjoyed worldwide.
How did Korean content rise to worldwide popularity? Many point to the unique way Korean content blends traditional aspects with modern-day characteristics. At times, idols would perform in “hanbok,” the traditional Korean outfit, and films would incorporate characteristics of Korean traditions or society. Rather than abandoning its roots to chase modern trends and international appeal, much of Korean content blends old with the new, reinventing traditional motifs in modern forms.
A notable illustration of this cultural fusion is the recent global hit KPop Demon Hunters, an animated film by Sony Pictures Animation. The film incorporates Korea’s heritage by reusing traditional elements along with the rising K-pop theme. The antagonists, “Saja Boys,” are modeled after “Jeoseung Saja,” grim reapers from Korean folklore, while the heroines’ costumes have norigae, a traditional accessory for women’s hanbok. There is even a tiger character with ties to Jak-hodo, traditional paintings of magpies and tigers. The use of such traditional motifs helped it stand out among other animated films, leading to its success with its main OST, Golden, charting at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard.
Another factor behind the international popularity of Korean content is that it resonates with a wide audience while feeling “new” for overseas viewers. Parasite (2019), chosen as the top movie of the 21st century by the New York Times, is a thriller film that portrays income inequality, a rift in Korean society that deepened due to rapid development. The universality of this theme helped international audiences connect with the film, while its Korean setting gave it a fresh perspective.
Squid Game (2021), which ranks in the top 10 non-English shows on Netflix, is an example that meets both points. The dystopian thriller TV series centers around a contest in which participants must win traditional childhood games, such as “ddakji” and “red light, green light,” in order to survive. For Koreans, these games stir up nostalgia; for foreign viewers, they offer a sense of novelty. The characters’ motives behind joining the contest stem from universal issues—poverty and hustle culture, and the disparity between rich and poor—making the story relatable for viewers. Squid Game was nominated for multiple honors, and won several awards at the Gold Derby Awards.
Together, these successes are reflective of Korea’s broader cultural export strategy, “Hallyu,” also known as the Korean Wave, which seeks to enhance the country’s cultural influence on the global stage. It can be traced back not only to Korea’s rapid modernization after the Korean War but also to deliberate efforts in the late 20th century to promote cultural industries abroad. In the late 1990s, the government started prioritizing funding contemporary forms of Korean culture and exporting cultural products. Then the rise of the internet, social media, and YouTube in the 2000s helped the Korean Wave rapidly gain traction.
Professor Jung-Ah Woo of the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences commented that K-culture is not just a temporary trend; rather, she views it as a sign of global cultural restructuring through both the long-existent Western urge to find a “fascinating new other” and the rapid development of the media environment in the 21st century. She emphasized that culture is ever-changing and that fluidity and hybridity are the spirit of Korean culture, stating “Koreanness” must remain flexible in order for Korean culture to continue holding meaning in the world.
Much of Korean content stands out by weaving tradition into modernity and using topics that resonate with people around the world. By embracing culture and embedding societal concerns within global storytelling, Korean creators are producing works that become popular worldwide, from SoHo storefronts to Netflix screens. What helps Korean culture flourish is not its fixed identity, but the ability to shift, change, and reconnect in new contexts.
