Marketplace All-in-One The economics behind the rise of BTS and Korean culture
Mar 20, 2026
Michelle Cho, a University of Toronto researcher of East Asian pop cultures, traces K-culture’s rise as decades of policy and industry strategy. She discusses Korea’s post-1997 cultural investment, intensive K-pop training systems, streaming’s role in global visibility, shifting diasporic representation, mental health pressures, and the economic reach from music to beauty and tourism.
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Government Built Hallyu As An Export Strategy
- The Korean wave began as a deliberate export strategy in the mid-1990s driven by government interest in cultural IP.
- South Korea pivoted after the 1997–98 Asian financial crisis, investing in low-resource cultural goods to boost economic resilience.
Cultural Hits Offer Outsized Economic Returns
- A single cultural hit can yield outsized returns compared with manufacturing, which motivated public and private investment.
- The Jurassic Park anecdote convinced policymakers that film and media profits could rival major industrial revenues.
K-pop Is A Hybrid Of Black American And Japanese Models
- K-pop's production model is a hybrid that borrows from Black American music and the Japanese idol system.
- Labels combine R&B, hip hop influences with Japanese-style training and single-gender group formats to create K-pop acts.