Hallyu, or 'Korean wave' is the phenomenal expansion of Korean culture around the world

The South Korean government invests in K-pop, a strategy intended to expand the country's soft power around the world.

How Korea’s beauty industry is impacting its healthcare system

Hallyu, or the spread of Korean culture, has made South Korea a global leader in the beauty industry. People worldwide travel to the country, seeking aesthetic procedures like microneedling and noninvasive lifting. The $4B industry attracts many doctors seeking high profits. However, the result is a healthcare system facing a critical shortage of general practitioners and hospital physicians.

K-pop is defined by catchy music, synchronized dances, and devoted fans

Thanks to its eye-catching aesthetics and catchy music, South Korean pop has sparked a global industry. Both their sound and visuals are meant to be fun and addictive to consume.

How K-pop conquered the world

How did Korean musical acts go from unpopular and at times maligned to filling arenas and creating one of the most viral music videos of all time? This 25-minute audio documentary from BBC World Service explains how social networks, plastic surgery, and government tax breaks helped turn K-pop into the multibillion-dollar global juggernaut we know today.

K-pop is one of South Korea's biggest exports

Writer Vivian Yoon could never have imagined that the music she secretly loved as a kid growing up in Los Angeles’ Koreatown would become the phenomenon it is today. In this 14-part podcast, Yoon takes the deepest dive into the history of K-pop, a surprising journey that passes through the 1992 LA riots and a hip-hop club in Seoul once frequented by Black American GIs.

K-pop increased the visibility of Asians in American media

Yale sociologist Grace Kao speaks about the massive cultural impacts the world has received from K-pop’s success. The academic talks about the genres K-pop borrows from, the visibility that groups like BTS gave to the Asian community in the media. The resource also features an intro playlist curated by Kao for those interested in getting into the music.

South Koreans appear to be losing interest in K-pop

K-pop fandoms don’t seem to be losing steam in the US, but apparently, South Korean fans are less interested in their domestic music industry. A number of factors could be contributing to this dwindling passion, such as scandals with idols, BTS’ hiatus, and less dependency on media after COVID-19. Currently, there’s no panic that the industry is dying, but there is increasing concern that the future will not be quite as bright as the past.

There are roughly 7,000 Korean restaurants in the US

A generation ago, the average American had never heard of kimchi or bulgogi, but these days, Korean cuisine is booming in the United States. And it’s no accident. This one-minute explainer video from Morning Brew reveals what role the government played in boosting the popularity of Korean food abroad, and what it all has to do with foreign debt and soap operas.

The hypercompetitive world of becoming a K-pop star

K-pop, a global $8B industry, rose from its 1990s regional roots to worldwide fame thanks to hits like “Gangnam Style.” Trainees endure years of intense training in performance and media skills, with only 4% to 5% debuting.

An introduction to becoming a K-pop superfan

K-pop is not a genre but rather an ever-evolving industry. This resource breaks down the different eras of K-pop. Learn how the first generation, with bands like H.O.T., evolved into today’s fourth generation, where idols can train and debut outside South Korea. Find new groups to listen to, and appreciate the diversity of the different groups’ sounds.

PSY—GANGNAM STYLE

One of the first K-pop songs to reach a critical mass of fans in markets far outside of South Korea was 'Gangnam Style'—a lighthearted, catchy track from Korean rapper Psy that soon had fans around the world trying out the music video’s signature horse-riding dance. The video for the song, which was uploaded to YouTube in July 2012, was also the first on the platform to reach 1 billion views.

How Japanese Anime became a global phenomenon

Anime's popularity was once confined to Japan, but the art form has attracted a global audience in the 2020s due in large part to its availability on streaming and increased watch times during the COVID-19 pandemic. This Hollywood Reporter article explains how other factors—including several influential celebrities who consider themselves anime aficionados—have made the genre an international sensation.

Psy's 'Gangam Style' was the first music video to reach 1 billion views

Psy's "Gangnam Style" was the first music video to reach 1 billion views on YouTube. The song and video catalyzed the "Korean wave," bringing K-pop into the global mainstream. As of July 2025, it had over 5 billion views on the platform.

How life ranks in South Korea

As South Korea developed over the last half of the 20th century, quality of life soared. The country now outperforms the world average when it comes to education, health, and civic engagement, according to the OECD’s Better Life Index. In this dashboard, you can see where South Korea ranks in terms of housing, jobs, income, and more, and compare it against other developed countries.

South Koreans grew roughly 7 inches in a century on average

A hundred years ago, the average Korean woman was only 4’7”. Today, she stands nearly eight inches taller than her great-grandmother did, the largest jump of any country on earth. This video from Vox tries to explain why. Turns out, South Korea’s increasing postwar quality of life gave its people a (literal) leg up.

Wealthy, 'chaebol' families rule South Korea's economy

A handful of huge family-run conglomerates, or chaebol, are the engines of South Korea’s economy, with Samsung alone representing 20% of the country’s GDP. This gives the chaebol (literally “wealth group”) outsized power, often leading to corruption, labor violations, and anticompetitive practices. One economist interviewed in this Vice documentary says the chaebol have replaced Korean democracy with corporatocracy.

Trot: Korea's melancholic pop that came before K-pop

Following the end of the Japanese occupation, Koreans shared their complex emotions through a musical genre called trot. Blending sorrowful lyrics with upbeat music, trot was used to dance the pain away after a difficult period.

A critic on what BTS' return from military service means

Sarah A. Son, a lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield, argues that K-pop icons now recognize how intertwined their band's identity is with that of their country. In her review of Netflix's documentary "BTS: The Return," Son suggests the group, after serving in the military, is more attuned to the pressures of such a specific kind of stardom.

Seo Taiji and the Boys are considered the first 'true' K-pop idols

This article explains how the success of a rebellious '90s boy band inclined an industry to capitalize on that success and meticulously craft new generations of stars. While BTS exhibits major talent and charm, their rise may partially result from a formula for mass appeal that music executives cultivated.

Superfans of K-pop group BTS gamed the Billboard chart

In 2021, the boy band scored a number one hit with “Butter,” its second English-language track. As Stereogum writer Tom Breihan points out, though, it rose to the top of the charts without actually being the most popular song in the country. Other songs were considerably more popular on streaming platforms, but BTS’ hyperdevoted fanbase realized that purchasing digital downloads weighed more heavily in Billboard’s methodology. Recognizing an opportunity, BTS dropped the price of a download to 69 cents, securing their place on the top of the charts.

BTS was the 2020 Time Entertainer of the Year

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a lot of good fortune to BTS, who were able to reach audiences worldwide with their talent, appearance, and messaging. This Time profile of the group reflects on the epoch-defining group and how they stood out from other musical acts by being more socially progressive and uplifting. Their success is recognized as a triumph for Asian representation and the boundless popularity of K-pop idols.

The K-pop industry's Big Four are facing declining stock prices

The major players of the K-pop industry—SM, JYP, YG, and HYBE—are publicly listed companies. Despite huge financial successes, these corporations have recently dealt with plunging stock prices, losing between 29% and 56% of their market cap by late 2024. While there’s no one reason for the recent devaluation, there are signs of slowing enthusiasm and less action from the major players—BTS and Blackpink.

Netflix's 'KPop Demon Hunters' is the streamer's most-watched original movie

The 2025 film, which combines K-pop music and Korean mythology, became a big hit on the streaming platform. It was equally successful in its limited theatrical release, shooting to the top of the box office rankings.

K-pop band BTS released their fifth album, 'Arirang,' after a four-year hiatus

The album reflects the identity and roots of one of the world's most popular boy bands. Alongside a new single and free concert, the release kicked off BTS's 82‑date world tour through 2027. The free concert at Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square drew tens of thousands of attendees and was livestreamed on Netflix.

South Korea is separated from North Korea by a demilitarized zone

There’s a lot of symbolism going on in the South Korean flag: a red-and-blue yin-yang represents the harmony created by opposing forces, and the white background represents peace and purity. The four black trigrams symbolize the four elements. The CIA World Factbook has more info on this country of 52 million, including where it ranks globally on obesity rates, energy consumption, and more.

Korean barbecue uses thin slices of marinated beef

Korean food, and specifically Korean barbecue, jumped across the Pacific to become one of the fastest-growing international cuisines in the United States. In Korean restaurants, dishes like bulgogi (thin slices of marinated beef) are grilled at the table and accompanied by a wide variety of side dishes.

Samsung makes much more than smartphones

Samsung is best known for its highly popular smartphones and related consumer electronics. But the business, first created in 1938, is a conglomerate invested in container shipping, tank building, and even real estate construction like the Burj Khalifa. Its annual $200B in revenue comprises 20% of South Korea's gross domestic product. Watch this video for more on this diverse, enormous company.

Cold War soft power helped sell the space race to the American public

The fear of Soviet dominance prompted the US to invest heavily in space, but public support was also crucial. This video shows how marketing, media, and "soft power" framed spaceflight as peaceful, aspirational, and worth the cost—helping sustain the space race at home.

Why South Korean women are having fewer babies

For decades, Asian countries have been combating dwindling birth rates by basically bribing families into having more children: offering government-subsidized housing, free IVF treatments, and even straight-up cash handouts. It hasn’t worked. In this BBC video, a TV producer, a cartoonist, and a private-school teacher explain their views on having children in 21st-century Korea.

BTS' 2026 Seoul concert turned the city into a distributed sound system

The K-pop band's first show after six years turned Gwanghwamun Square into a large open-air venue. Scientists present measured sound levels and noted that the music carried well across vast distances, thanks to good design of the sound system.

An archive of Korean film

If Bong Joon Ho’s 2020 Oscar-winning film Parasite whet your appetite for Korean cinema, check out the Korean Film Archive’s YouTube channel, which has more than a hundred full-length classic films available to stream for free, some dating back as far as 1930. Many of the titles are remastered and feature subtitles in multiple languages. Start with “Mandala” (1981) and “Aimless Bullet” (1961).

TikTok explained: how the app became a global phenomenon

Since 2018, the short-form, video-sharing app TikTok has gone from launching in the US to becoming a habit-forming cultural force that’s signed up more than half of the country's population as users.

K-pop idols have reduced rights due to their contracts

In 2024, the South Korean government ruled that celebrities are not entitled to the same rights as workers. This decision was made in response to the band NewJeans, whose members raised concerns about workplace harassment. The South Korean labor ministry instead found that the content of their contracts indicates that they do not hold the same legal status as other workers in the country. The dispute highlights the ongoing debate about the entertainment industry's treatment of idols.

Listening to K-pop in North Korea is punishable by execution

As far as we know, North Koreans are instead listening to music that serves as public service announcements or some catchy electronic music for dancing.

A digital archive of the Korean War

The Korean War largely shaped the evolution of the Cold War in Asia. Explore the Wilson Center’s digital collection of primary sources—including essays, profiles, popular documents, and a timeline—to learn about the Korean War. In 1945, the...

See South Korea's nighttime light usage, which far surpasses that of North Korea.

You can tell a lot about a place by looking at satellite imagery of the earth at night. Economists use such images to study poverty and inequality, especially about secretive countries where it can be difficult to get information any other way. An image from NASA's Earth Observatory shows the difference in electrification between North and South Korea (and the lights illuminating the DMZ are visible from space).

How TikTok ate the internet

TikTok is now deeply integrated into American culture, thanks to the app’s powerful algorithm and focus on entertainment which have influenced popular trends and social media content consumption in the US. This immersive piece highlights TikTok’s role in helping shape everything from music to fashion and even politics in the US—while its connection to China has also drawn scrutiny and raised national security concerns.

US defense spending peaked during the Korean War at 13% of GDP

In 1953, during the Korean War, US defense spending reached 13.58% of GDP—more than three times today’s level. That peak marked the most militarized moment of the Cold War, and spending has never returned to that level since.

The US and South Korea have a robust, if delicate, alliance

The deep ties between South Korea and the United States go back decades, but the relationship hasn’t always been frictionless. When two off-duty American servicemen accidentally killed two South Korean middle-school girls in 2002, it set off anti-American protests that led South Korea to seek a more balanced relationship. The Council on Foreign Relations traces key moments in the two countries’ seven-decade history.

See an anamorphic illusion of a massive crashing wave in South Korea

An enormous aquarium with perpetually crashing waves has popped up amidst an urban landscape in South Korea, but don’t expect to hear the water sloshing around if you walk by. Designed by District, the elevated tank is actually a massive anamorphic illusion. The digital media company created the pub

The 1980s neo-pop movement put pop art back in the zeitgeist

Pop art’s legacy is perhaps best exemplified in its longevity. Long after the end of pop art’s classical phase, a neo-pop revival ushered in a new cohort of artists like Murakami, Hirst, and Koons who brought pop once again to the top. To this day, contemporary pop artists—young and seasoned—command high prices on the open market.

The iPhone reshaped culture, media, and communication through innovation

Cultural moments, such as Ellen's viral Oscars selfie and Taylor Swift's iPhone Notes statement, have demonstrated how deeply integrated the device has become into society. The film "Tangerine" and Kendrick Lamar's "Pride" were created with the iPhone, underscoring its use in media creation.

'Gangnam Style' isn't really about anything, according to its creator

When "Gangnam Style" by PSY became a global hit, the song inspired a slurry of think pieces about its subject matter. PSY insists there is no deeper message, and he just wanted to create an eccentric and funny pop song about the wealthy Gangnam District in Seoul. Peruse the 2012 song’s ridiculous lyrics, translated in this article, and revisit the wild music video when you’re done.

HBO's business model is based on driving the cultural conversation

HBO CEO Casey Bloys steered the network’s programming to critical acclaim and cultural relevance with hits like “Succession” and “The White Lotus.” Bloys discusses how the network’s programming evolved as it shifted toward streaming—and how the success of shows like “House of the Dragon” informs HBO’s future.

Blackpink are the most followed female group on Spotify

The widespread popularity of the four-piece girl group Blackpink has built a large community of fans—called Blink—and proven the success of unconventional marketing strategies. Instead of producing a wealth of content and new material, Blackpink releases albums slowly, building tension for their fans. During their musical breaks, the women continue to build on their icon status, working with luxury brands like Chanel or even guest-starring in major American TV shows like “The Idol.”

South Korea's decades long effort to build a new capital

South Korea has spent decades trying to ease overcrowding in Seoul by developing Sejong City as a new administrative hub. Named after the king who created Hangul, Sejong was designed to decentralize government functions—but slow population growth and limited transit have complicated the plan.

Most of Netflix's subscribers are outside the US

Accordingly, each year, Netflix releases an expansive slate of international shows and movies to subscribers worldwide, including hits that crossed over to the US, like "Squid Game."

Big Ocean is breaking barriers as the world's first deaf K-pop boy band

The three-person boy band—whose members have different levels of hearing loss—use light systems, vibrations, and a mix of Korean and American Sign Languages, as well as International Sign (which isn't a whole language), to communicate and keep their dance routines in sync. In this interview, a band member with partial hearing describes their challenges.

Imagining the reunification of the Koreas

The idea of reunifying North and South Korea has been a geopolitical dream for years, though one that feels perpetually out of reach. That hasn’t kept some from imagining it, though. Reddit user Aofen created a set of maps that postulate what effect a hypothetical reunification would have on population numbers, birth rates, median income, political affiliation, and more.

Danish cookies became a treasured Lunar New Year gift, thanks to their unique tin container

Hong Kong experienced an economic boom in the 1970s, which led to snacking, including on Western foods, becoming a cultural norm. Kjeldsens butter cookies became a popular treat, and their packaging, a distinct tin container, presented them as more refined than a simple snack. Instead, they were considered a worthwhile present for Lunar New Year.