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Why North Korea isn’t happy about South Korea’s pop culture soft power

GZERO World Clips

Why North Korea isn’t happy about South Korea’s pop culture soft power

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."

Why did the 2018 summits with North Korea fail?

GZERO World Clips

Why did the 2018 summits with North Korea fail?

In 2018, Donald Trump thought he could bring peace between the Koreas, and denuclearize the North, all by himself. He failed, and now the North Koreans have more and better nukes. Veteran Korea correspondent Jean Lee is not surprised because she knew that "behind all the theater and drama of the summits," the North Koreans would not hit the pause button. What's more, she was concerned they were fooling everyone into believing we would all be safer. Watch a clip from her interview with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

The Korean Peninsula from K-Pop to Kim Jong-un

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

The Korean Peninsula from K-Pop to Kim Jong-un

On GZERO World, a tale of two very different Koreas. From K-Pop supergroup BTS to Oscar-winner Parasite to Netflix global sensation Squid Game, South Korea seems to be churning out one massive cultural hit after another. And North Korea is taking notice. As South Korea's cultural cachet continues to climb, so does Little Rocket Man's anger. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called the K-Pop invasion a "vicious cancer" and sees the South's soft power as a direct threat to his rule. Jean Lee, former AP Pyongyang bureau chief and veteran Korea correspondent, speaks with Ian Bremmer.