How can boybands and video games make a country powerful?
If you were an early 2000s child, you may have grown up playing Pokemon, or remember when everyone at school was talking about the Gangnam Style music video on YouTube.
East Asian pop culture, particularly Japanese and South Korean, has steadily grown in popularity in the West since the 90s. In recent years, however, its relevance has surged.
Squid Game is one of the most-watched shows on Netflix, and K-pop boy group, BTS, is the most streamed group of all time on Spotify, with 16.3 billion plays. Sanrio, the company that created Hello Kitty, make more than $1 billion dollars in sales of merchandise every year and over 100 million households globally watched at least 1 anime title on Netflix in 2020.
These are two separate countries with their own cultures and customs, but have both cracked the code of gaining soft power through the appeal of their pop culture and media.
Soft power, coined by political scientist Joseph Nye, is the concept of co-opting others to get the outcomes you want. Nye believes there are three ways a country can gain soft power – its culture, its political values, and its foreign policies. Japan and South Korea have used their culture to gain global recognition and relevance, boosting their economies. For example, BTS brings an estimated $5 billion to the South Korean economy every year. This would not be possible without their global reach.
“Idols are not just performers, but also influencers and cultural ambassadors.”
The V&A museum is holding an exhibition called Hallyu! The Korean Wave, celebrating pop culture from South Korea. The exhibition includes film, television, K-pop, K-beauty, and fashion. The existence of the exhibition is evidence enough of South Korea’s influence in the West, bringing up interesting points on the soft power South Korea gains through this popularity.
The K-pop section of the exhibition displays music videos and costumes worn by K-pop groups. K-pop group members, known as “idols,” are not just performers, but also influencers and cultural ambassadors. In recent years, K-pop has lead to opportunities such as girl groups, Blackpink and aespa, performing at music festival, Coachella, in 2019 and 2022 respectively.
The exhibition mentions that K-pop idols’ reach “extends from in-flight safety videos to meetings with world leaders, all while exemplarily dressed.” In May of 2022, BTS visited the White House to meet with President Joe Biden for a press conference on standing against anti-Asian hate crimes. Using idols to exemplify South Korean culture strengthens South Korea’s appearance on the world stage, as they are more desirable to a younger audience than listening to a world leader.
In addition to South Korea’s soaring appreciation, Japan has also had cultural relevance in the West since the 90s. Successful video game franchises such as Pokemon, Mario Bros, and Tetris have become wildly popular globally, along with anime series such as Attack On Titan, My Hero Academia and Death Note, the latter receiving an English, live-action film.
To gain insight into Japan’s cultural influence on the UK, I spoke to gyaru fashion blogger, Lizzie Bee. Gyaru, literally translating to ‘gal’, is a Japanese fashion subculture originating from 90s Shibuya, recognisable for tanned skin, dramatic eye makeup, highly decorated nails and phone cases, and bleached hair.
“The UK gyaru community has grown tremendously since lockdown.”
Lizzie Bee is British and dresses in gyaru style every day. Lizzie explained, “gyaru, for me, is a huge confidence boost. I also love the way gyaru carry themselves; even if they wear clothes that are similar to those in the West, there’s just something about them that makes it different.” Although, Lizzie did mention that wearing gyaru fashion in public isn’t always positive. “If I’m doing a substyle like agejo, I would receive more negative attention.” Agejo is a more glamorous and sexy style of gyaru.
Lizzie also spoke to me about the UK gyaru community. She said “the UK gyaru community is ever-changing. Years went by when there were a maximum of 5 of us, but it has grown tremendously since lockdown.” Lizzie thinks the reason why lockdown made the gyaru community grow so much is “because we weren’t allowed to go out, so that gave people the freedom to experiment without worrying about public opinion.”
The Internet is a major factor in how media from all over the world gets shared. This would explain a rise in popularity of Japanese and South Korean pop culture during lockdown, as thanks to Netflix, YouTube, and communities on social media such as TikTok and Twitter, subcultures like gyaru find a Western audience.
“In 2019, Japan made $49.21 billion from tourism.”
Lizzie also said East Asian culture could have such a big fan base in the West because “East Asian culture is just so different from Western culture. Japanese street fashion in particular is so inspiring in the way that they’re not afraid to express themselves.”
Engaging with another country’s pop culture is a form of escapism, and as Japanese culture can often be very different to Western, people romanticise a different way of life. This fascination with the unknown is what appeals to us as foreigners, and benefits Japan as a country as we buy into it. In 2019, Japan made $49.21 billion from tourism, as fans of Japanese culture travel to popular destinations like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hokkaido.
South Korea and Japan continue to appear in the media today. ‘Parasite‘, directed by Bong Joon Ho, swept the Oscars in 2020, winning not only Best International Feature Film but Best Picture. The Royal Shakespeare Company have adapted Studio Ghibli film, ‘My Neighbour Totoro‘, at the Barbican Centre. East Asian visibility through the soft power of South Korea and Japan contribute to celebrating different Asian cultures and their economies.
Feature photo by Molly Wilson