"The Squid Game", number one series in 94 countries 1:07
(CNN Spanish) -
The South Korean entertainment industry did it again.
While the English-speaking world continues to dominate music, movies, and television and
streaming series
, there has been one notable change: a steady increase in the influence of South Korea.
When the catchy song "Gangnam Style" by flamboyant South Korean rapper PSY became the first video to be viewed over a billion times on YouTube, little did we know about what was to come.
South Korean pop groups BTS and Blackpink have shown us action-packed, big-budget music videos, breaking records on YouTube and other social platforms.
While "Parasite" was the first foreign film to win an Academy Award for best picture and now, the series "The Squid Game" could become Netflix's number one show.
The director of "The Squid Game" on season 2: "There are things that I have not explained"
Koreans use the term "hallyu" to describe the phenomenon that refers to the "Korean wave" of entertainment that has spread to all countries in the region, and further and further.
That is why we see South Korean artists more and more frequently in programs with a global reach.
The cast of “The Squid Game” did an interview - mostly in Korean - on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in early October, as did “Parasite” director Bong Joon-ho in 2019. For his part , BTS members have been invited to several of the highest rated shows in the US
BTS's
carpool
with James Corden is one of the most viewed on YouTube with over 89 million views.
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BTS achieves millions of views of new video at the UN 0:42
But how did South Korean pop culture get to the west?
Jung-Sun Park, professor and coordinator of Asia-Pacific studies at California State University at Dominguez Hills, said that social media and the internet have "totally transformed the transnational flows of pop culture."
"The various social media platforms have revolutionized the ways that people find and consume pop culture and have greatly diversified the routes of pop culture flows and influences," he told CNN. In the past, media platforms Traditional like radio and television stations have controlled what we see and hear.
East Asian pop culture also offers something else: diversity.
Susanna Lim, a professor of Asian studies at the University of Oregon, told CNN that Western fans demand more diversity than in the past.
She sets K-pop fans as an example, noting that many come from diverse backgrounds and may also feel marginalized by mainstream American culture.
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"The growing interest in East Asian pop culture reflects these changing demographics and cultural awareness in the US and the West," he said. K-pop is full of Western influences, so it can be familiar and unfamiliar to the user. Western public, Lim added.
For its part, Netflix indicated that its investments in content that is not in English is growing.
The streaming giant indicated in its most recent financial report for July that "great stories can come from anywhere and be loved everywhere", something that was said before the launch of "The Squid Game", but certainly confirms it.
"Squid Game is definitely our biggest other language show in the world, hands down. It's only been on for 9 days and there's a good chance it will be our most successful show," said Ted Sarandos, co-CEO and head of content at Netflix, during Vox's Code Media 2021 conference in late September.
The series ranks first on Netflix's top 10 lists in 94 countries around the world and is the platform's first Korean series to reach number one in the US.
Whether it is the search for more diverse content, the great impact of social networks or an excellent content strategy by the industry, it seems that finally the words of Bong Joon-ho, director of "Parasite" are being materialized
"Once you get past the one-inch high subtitle barrier, you will be presented with many more amazing movies," said Bong Joon-ho, who at the Golden Globes used a translator to deliver his acceptance speech primarily in Korean.
CNN's Julia Hollingsworth contributed to this report.
BTSSouth KoreaK-popNetflixParasite
