GZERO World Clips
Why North Korea isn’t happy about South Korea’s pop culture soft power
Why North Korea Isn’t Happy About South Korea’s Pop-culture Soft Power | GZERO World
November 18, 2021
South Korea is having a global pop culture moment. Right now Squid Game is top show on Netflix. Parasite was the first non-English language film to win Best Picture at the 2020 Oscars. And then there's BTS, breaking records with their songs and even making a splash at the UN, further proof of K-pop's influence beyond music along with online fans ruining a Trump rally in Oklahoma. As South Korea expands its soft power, Kim Jong Un sees it as a growing threat to his rule over North Korea, and says K-pop is a "vicious cancer."
Watch this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer: The Korean Peninsula from K-Pop to Kim Jong-un
Subscribe to GZERO on YouTube to be the first to see new episodes of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer: https://bit.ly/2TxCVnY
From Your Site Articles
- South Korea's pop culture moment - GZERO Media ›
- What We're Watching: North Korean bluster, EU aid for Afghanistan ... ›
- Kim Jong-un will not be ignored!! | PUPPET REGIME - GZERO Media ›
- Hard Numbers: BTS make UNGA go viral, many virtual speeches ... ›
- Hard Numbers: China vs K-pop fans, French terror trial, Americans ... ›
- Russia struggles in Ukraine, Putin escalates - GZERO Media ›
More For You
Students and their supporters take part in a protest demanding snap parliamentary elections, continuing an anti-corruption movement sparked by a deadly railway station collapse in Novi Sad in November 2024, in Belgrade, Serbia, May 10, 2026.
REUTERS/Djordje Kojadinovic
Student protesters are set to take to the streets in Serbia this weekend in the first major demonstrations of the year against President Aleksandar Vučić, as frustration mounts over democratic backsliding and corruption.
Most Popular
Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.
GZERO Media is back on the podium at the 47th Annual Telly Awards, adding six more trophies to our shelf — including three in Gold! We’re so grateful to be recognized for our groundbreaking work in global analysis and… *checks notes*... geopolitical puppetry.
Ukraine is increasingly finding vulnerabilities in Russia’s defenses, piling further pressure on President Vladimir Putin.
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.