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Assignment: Reflect on the phenomenon of music as an export and the legal
frameworks involved. Discuss the following points in your essay:
● Overview of Music as an Export: Provide an overview of the global music industry, focusing on the concept of music as an export commodity. Explore the significance of music exports in cultural and economic terms, with specific reference to the K-pop industry highlighted in the article.
● Impact of Globalization on Music: Analyze how globalization has facilitated the international expansion of music industries, leading to increased cross-cultural exchanges and market opportunities. Discuss how K-pop's success serves as a prime example of this phenomenon, breaking into markets beyond South Korea's borders.
● Economic Benefits and Challenges: Evaluate the economic benefits of music exports for both exporting and importing countries. Consider factors such as revenue generation, job creation, and cultural diplomacy. Additionally, discuss the challenges faced by music exporters, including market saturation, copyright infringement, and cultural adaptation.
● Legal Frameworks and Regulations: Explore the legal frameworks and regulations governing music exports, including intellectual property laws, copyright protections, and trade agreements. Assess their role in facilitating or hindering the international trade of music, with specific reference to how these laws impact the K-pop industry's global expansion.
● Cultural Implications: Reflect on the cultural implications of exporting music to diverse audiences worldwide. Consider how cultural values, norms, and identities are transmitted through music, and examine the role of music in shaping perceptions of national and global identity.
● Future Outlook: Finally, speculate on the future outlook for music exports in an increasingly globalized world. Consider potential trends, challenges, and opportunities, and propose strategies for stakeholders to navigate the evolving landscape of international music trade.
In your essay, draw upon relevant examples and insights from the above listed article, as well as additional research to support your arguments. Consider the interconnectedness of economic, legal, and cultural factors in shaping the dynamics of music exports, and provide a well-rounded analysis of the topic.
- Assignment: Reflect on the phenomenon of music as an export and the legal frameworks involved. Discuss the following points in your essay:
K-Pop_SouthKoreasSoftPowerisBigBusiness-TheWorldFinancialReview.pdf
4/8/25, 14:54K-Pop: South Korea’s Soft Power is Big Business - The World Financial Review
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K-Pop: South Korea’s Soft Power is Big Business November 2, 2023
The
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By Emil Bjerg, journalist and editor of The World Financial Review
The global influx of K-pop symbolizes South Korea’s new-found prosperity. But the exponential growth of the scene has also led to
the mental exhaustion of artists and fears of monopoly formation. We take a look at the phenomena and industry that’s fighting to
find a sustainable path ahead.
South Korea’s cultural moment has hit the epicenters of mainstream success in recent years. Today, most global culture consumers
participate in the ‘Hallyu’ economy, also known as ‘the Korean Wave’. In 2020, Parasite became the first non-American movie to win
an Oscar for Best Picture, and shortly after, Squid Game became the most watched series ever on Netflix. In music, BTS and
Blackpink have become household names selling out stadiums worldwide. Today, K-pop, along with other kinds of K-content, is a
solid contributor to South Korea’s GDP.
The rise of K-pop in numbers
If K-pop was a stock, it’s a stock you’d like to have invested in in the late 00s. According to Statista, the trend toward the billion-
dollar industry that K-pop is today starts around 2010. A few years later, in 2012, the chart-topper Gangnam Style, referencing a
posh Seoul neighborhood, was released. The song’s music video became the first video on YouTube to reach one billion views. The
growth has been exponential ever since.
From a political point of view, K-pop and other forms of K-content are considered South Korea’s ‘soft power’. But it’s a soft power
that easily translates to economic might. Take the boyband BTS as an example.
In 2021, the band sold around 1.35 million tickets to an online concert, grossing 71 million USD for a single show from viewers in
135 countries. In 2019, the band generated an impressive 4.65 billion USD for the South Korean economy. Statista states that’s 0.3
percent of the total South Korean GDP for that year.
According to Allie Market Industry, the global K-pop events market was valued at a staggering $8.1 billion in 2021. Add to that 220
million USD in album export. In 2031, the international K-pop events market is estimated to be a 20 billion USD industry. That’s the
equivalent of South Korea’s total GDP in 1974.
As if that’s not enough, K-pop has positive spillover effects on many industries.
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The Hallyu Lens: The Success of Korean Pop (K-Pop) Music as an
International Business Strategy
A Close Look At The Growth Of The Entertainment Industry Over
The Years
From Taylor Swift to BTS: Grammys 2021 Was a Much-needed
Spectacle of Artistic Glory
K-pop and spillover export effects
As Forbes writes, today, K-pop is a top sector in South Korea “alongside cars, IT, and semiconductors.” Cars and IT might generate
a higher part of Korea’s GDP, but the soft power of K-pop and K-content has priceless branding value. As noted in a podcast from
The Economist: “Soft power does matter in terms of raising awareness, opening the markets […], branding changes how people
think about you. K-pop, movies, and tv-shows have been really important in making Korea more interesting to people all over the
world.” South Korea’s soft power is big business.
K-pop spills over to tourism, for one. A 2019 survey from the Korean Tourism Organization showed that Hallyu-related tourism
made up 7.4 percent of all inbound tourism – more than a million visitors. South Korean fashion and cosmetic products are also
seeing an increase in export as die-hard K-pop fans try to emulate the looks of their favorite artists. The cosmetics industry in
South Korea reached a value of almost 16 billion USD and is expected to reach 21.5 billion USD by 2027.
Crafted popstars, engineered popularity
The success of K Pop and other cultural products from South Korea is far from coincidental. Most famous K-pop artists are released
through one of the ‘Big 4’ labels, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and HYBE Labels.
The Big 4 have meticulously crafted a formula for success, combining irresistible hooks with eye-catching visuals. These
entertainment powerhouses engineer not just hits but also the pop stars themselves, carefully selecting and mentoring young
talents through rigorous training regimens. In doing so, they create an eye-catching blend of artistry and marketability that has
helped K-pop’s meteoric rise on the global stage.
The popular boyband NCT 127, released by SM Entertainment, serves as a great example of the creative entrepreneurship within
the K-pop industry. Since the group can only be in one place at a time, NCT 127 replica bands have emerged in China, with plans to
expand the franchise even further. Another group, the girl band Aespa, has four real, human members and four avatar members.
Ambitious pop policies
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While entrepreneurial labels have engineered the scale of commercial success, the Korean state has played a central part in
supporting creative talents.
As fears of a South Korean brain drain spread during the Asian economic crisis in 1998, the Ministry for Sports and Culture was
established with a specific focus on supporting music along with fashion, movies, and music. Already then, an intention of making
South Korea a cultural superpower was prevalent.
In 2022, the South Koreas Ministry of Economy and Finance prioritized 696 billion won, or 585 million USD, a rise of 43 percent
from the 2021 budget.
The ambitious cultural policies have worked – probably more than the most visionary Korean politician in the 90s would have
imagined. A recent report by the Ministry of Culture and Sports called K-content “a relief pitcher on the export front”. The report
promises continuous state promotion of K-content with the ambition of elevating the cultural industry of Korea to the global top 4.
If anyone is looking for proof that state investment in culture is a good investment, look to South Korea.
K-pop – a symbol of the rise of a country (and its new challenges)
Today, K-pop is a shiny symbol of Korea’s quick rise to prosperity and a highly competitive economy. From a poor agricultural
country to a competitive economy, the Korean cultural scene has also gone from local relevance to international glamour.
But K-pop is also a symbol of something darker: the stress and pressure that’s a part of daily life for many South Koreans.
On average, South Koreans work 240 hours more than Americans each year. As Quartz writes: “If there was a prize for the most
stressed-out nation in the world, South Korea would make a good contender.” A playful public culture with K-pop, karaoke, and
heavy drinking has emerged as a way to release stress from expectations and long working days.
But K-pop is often produced under the same stressful conditions that it’s used as a relief for. K-pop stars undergo a stressful
combination of dance, vocal, and instrument training while also having their fitness and weight under close scrutiny. They receive
media training and learn several languages to communicate with a global fan base. As Chris Lee, the chief executive of the label SM
Culture recently told The Guardian: “We teach them how to have good personalities.”
Add to that the pressure of being a global celebrity in the age of social media. In recent years, a dark undercurrent of eating
disorders and suicides resulting from intense pressure has tarnished the glittering image of the industry. The “rise and rise of
Korean Culture” is the tragic downfall of some of its best ambassadors.
On April 20, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism passed an amendment to protect K-pop artists and K-pop
talent. The new rules mandate more transparent financial terms. Besides that, for younger performers, working hours are now
limited to 25, 30, or 35 hours per week, depending on age, with protection for underage performers’ education. This change aims
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to prevent the tragic consequences of intense pressure and maintain the industry’s reputation.
Parallel to that, worries over monopoly formation are spreading. HYBE Entertainment, one of the Big 4 K-pop labels, is currently
trying to become the majority shareholder in SM Entertainment, another Big 4 label. HYBE and SM combined could potentially
dominate the industry. Combined, they make 66 percent of the industry’s total revenue and 89 percent of the income from
performances.
Fans fear a monopoly could increase prices on everything from albums to merchandise to concert tickets. Furthermore, as K-pop
expands towards an even bigger billion-dollar industry, original fans worry about the ‘whitewashing’ of their beloved music. With a
rise in popularity and the entrance to Western markets, lyrics are increasingly written in English, making fans feel the distinct sound
of K-pop is threatened.
Squeezed between entrepreneurial labels, ambitious politicians, mentally exhausted artists, and increasing global demand, K-pop
struggles to find balance, but the Hallyu economy shows no signs of slowing down.
This article was originally published on 07 May 2023.
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