Does South Korea’s cultural clout make the country more powerful?

THE GLOBAL hype over “Squid Game”, a violent South Korean survival drama released on Netflix last month, has revived interest in the relationship between the success of South Korean pop culture and the influence of its government. Much of this analysis presents South Korea’s cultural success as an important tool of “soft power”—a state’s ability to wield influence in the world by getting other countries to align with its interests without coercion or threat. But does cultural appeal really beget political power?

Governments would like to think so. Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s president, is keen to use his country’s increasingly hip reputation for political purposes. In April 2018, Mr Moon took a group of K-pop stars to a concert in Pyongyang as part of an effort to improve relations with North Korea. In February 2020 he hosted a celebratory lunch for the director and cast of “Parasite”, which had just won the Oscar for best picture. More recently he appointed the members of BTS, the world’s biggest boy band, as “special presidential envoys for future generations and culture.” The stars appeared alongside him at the UN in September to promote covid-19 vaccination and sustainable development.