Although South Korean writer Han Kang was not among the favorites for the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, her win fits into an ongoing trend of international recognition for the country's culture. Her breakthrough came in 2016 with the international "Man Booker" prize for her novel "The Vegetarian", which was first published in 2007.
Korean culture first conquered Asia, then the world
Other Korean authors who are emerging on the international literary scene include Bora Chung, Kim Yong-ha and Cho Nam-ju. But of course, the most visible export of South Korean pop culture reaches the Western world through music, films and TV series, most notably the hit Netflix series "Squid Game", K-pop groups such as BTS and Blackpink, and the "Oscar" winning film "Parasite".
South Korean pop culture has enjoyed steady success for several decades. The Chinese term "Halyu", which literally translates as "Korean Wave", is now used to describe the popularity and spread of contemporary South Korean culture. It was coined in the mid-1990s. The rise of satellite media during that decade allowed Korean television dramas and Korean cinema to begin to spread throughout East and Southeast Asia. The wave then quickly spread to other parts of the world.
"Hallee" quickly took over the Chinese market, but the industry has always looked to the American market. There, however, it encountered many setbacks," says Michael Furr, director of the Center for World Music at the University of Hildesheim.
Korean music - something different, but not completely unknown
The big breakthrough of South Korean music on the American market came in 2012 with the global hit "Gangnam Style" by rapper Park Jae-Sang, better known as Psy. The video for the song collected over a billion views in just a few months. According to Furr, Psy is a classic representative of the K-pop genre. "But he was the first to demonstrate that language was not such a barrier to international success".
The growing influence of YouTube and other streaming platforms changed the game - music companies no longer relied solely on radio and television. Fans could decide for themselves what to listen to. "K-pop fans are part of a large network - the fan culture is very binding and the industry knows exactly how to serve its needs," says Michael Furr.
The agencies that create K-pop groups consciously select group members with different character traits to make sure that as many young people as possible can identify with them. Groups are also required to have an active online presence that makes fans feel like they are part of their idols' lives, says Furr. And to create high-quality videos. "From a Western perspective, it's something new, but at the same time there's something familiar about it," says Michael Furr. He cites the influence of both Michael Jackson and bands like "Take Death" as examples.
K-pop groups are targeting an audience that has probably had enough of American pop stars and is looking for something "new and exciting, but not too strange", the expert believes.
Criticism of serious social problems
"Squid Game" became a global sensation in 2021. The series returns for a second season in late 2024. The colorful aesthetic of the Netflix series feels familiar to a younger audience accustomed to video games. For example, the symbols worn by the guards in the series - a circle, a square and a triangle - are similar to those found on PlayStation consoles.
The issues addressed in the series - including poverty, a culture of nepotism and the growing gap between rich and poor - are universal, says Fur. Here too, successful films and series offer a new look at long-standing social problems - the most striking examples being "Squid Game" and "Parasite".
Beyond the fictional universes, these stories also provide insight into South Korean society, showing how many people in the country live in poverty, in difficult conditions, often without electricity and water, like the story of the family in "Parasite". 40% of the elderly in South Korea live in deprivation, and more than half of young people in Seoul are threatened by poverty, according to various studies. However, these problems are not being addressed. "This is a society that is largely shaped by capitalist values," explains Michael Furr in this regard.
Resistance to violence
Stylistically, Han Kang's novels, of course, have little in common with the gritty style of "Squid Game" and other Korean thrillers, nor with K-pop stars. However, through her laconic and poetic style, she also reveals aspects of Korean society that people around the world can identify with.
Patriarchal oppression is evident in "The Vegetarian", in which a woman haunted by bloody dreams adopts vegetarianism as a form of resistance to gender-based violence. Grief, guilt, brutality and injustice are explored in the equally haunting "Human Acts", which takes as its starting point the brutal aftermath of the 1980 Gwangju uprising.
The author sees her novels as a form of resistance to violence, she said in a speech in 2023: "Examining the history of violence is a question of human nature. Even if scenes of violence are depicted, it is not for the sake of violence itself. It is an attempt to stand on the other side."
Authors: Elisabeth Grenier | Torsten Landsberg