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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol meets with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos during a news conference in Washington, DC.
“Squid Game” diplomacy
When US President Joe Biden hosts South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House on Wednesday, the two leaders will have a lot to talk about.
Biden hopes to reassure Yoon that America would defend South Korea from a North Korean nuclear attack amid rumblings that Seoul wants its own nukes because it fears the US might not respond fast enough if Kim Jong Un pushes the red button. For his part, Yoon needs something from Biden that he can sell as a win back home, where Yoon's approval rating has tanked following the Pentagon leak that suggested the US was snooping on its ally.
Biden agreeing to ease US export controls on South Korean firms or IRA tax credits for South Korean-made electric vehicles would do the trick. But that's about as likely as Seoul doing what Biden wants: supplying weapons to Ukraine.
So far, what Yoon is getting from his almost week-long state visit is a windfall of investments by US companies in South Korea, starting with $2.5 billion from Netflix. The streaming giant is bullish on America’s appetite for South Korean pop culture, which in recent years has turned the nation into a global soft-power heavyweight.
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."
Watch this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer: The Korean Peninsula from K-Pop to Kim Jong-un
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South Korea's pop culture moment
First it was Parasite at the Oscars. Then BTS dazzling young people worldwide. Now everyone's glued to Squid Game. What will South Korea come up with next? For veteran Korea correspondent Jean Lee, the country is definitely punching above its (geographical) weight on soft power. She says South Korea has the potential to shape global culture like England did in its heyday. Watch a clip from her interview with Ian Bremmer on the upcoming episode of GZERO World.
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