K-pop, K-beauty, K-whatever... Journey to the source of the rage for all things Korean

Opposite the YG Entertainment headquarters in Seoul, a sinuous mass of concrete and glass on the banks of the Han River, the label has a three-story cafe for fans to watch their idols cross the turnstiles from afar.

There are barely six teenagers and a screen with looping video clips.

The zero covid policy in China and travel restrictions in Southeast Asia have put a damper on many tourist landmarks in the South Korean capital.

This cafe is.

In the years before the pandemic, pop culture doubled visits to the country.

Among hundreds of objects, they sell a Blackpink Monopoly, the star group of the house.

Instead of streets, there are cities from his tour: Bangkok, Taipei, Los Angeles, Sydney... Reaching the finish line, you can buy Barcelona.

9,500 kilometers away, a wave of pink lights shakes the Palau Sant Jordi for the Blackpink to return to the stage.

They are the

of the group, each Korean pop band, K-pop, has its own, light sticks to wave in live performances, these shaped like a hammer of hearts.

"75 euros, plus two batteries," says the one from the stall.

Add to the entrance: from 150 to 900 euros (with VIP room, go to sound check).

Even so, the capacity has been full for days.

18,000 people, double the number that saw the Korean divas here in 2019, but not that many: in London they have filled a venue for 30,000 for two days.

The next day, December 6,

names them artists of the year.

The headline: “Blackpink, global superstars”.

K-pop fans show photos of their favorite singers in Madrid.Joseph Fox

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It is the latest coup of

, the Korean wave, a term inaugurated by the Chinese press in the late 1990s when the first Korean soap operas and

arrived in the country.

Twenty-five years later,

(2020) has four Oscars, including Best Picture;

(2021) is one of the most viewed series in Netflix history and boy group BTS has broken all Spotify and Billboard records, before announcing this summer that they are taking a break.

The oldest of its seven members — they have spoken before the UN — has to do military service.

"It's like the Beatles break up for you," says 16-year-old Maria, one of the group's 69 million Instagram followers.

In case anyone hasn't heard that this has been going on for two decades, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London opened an exhibition on the subject in September.

The economic translation: in 2020 the value of South Korean cultural exports reached 11.920 million euros according to the country's Ministry of Culture.

Double what they exported in 2015, and almost six times more than what Spain sells.

Fans of the Korean pop boy group Ateez —they call themselves 'atinys'— gather at a Madrid venue to celebrate the birthday of two of its members.

From left to right, Rocío, Dara, Edurne, Phaola and Miriam.Joseph Fox

The cultural conquest of a country of 51 million inhabitants and the size of Castilla y León is already global.

K-pop, K-dramas, K-beauty, K-fashion… K-everything

A brand so ubiquitous that some consider it outdated.

“It would be nice if Korean content was recognized simply as a good product rather than by the K-whatever label

my goal is to normalize it,” says producer Kyu C. Lee.

He knows what he's talking about, he was responsible 10 years ago, when

had already swept Asia, for its jump to America and Europe thanks to

by rapper PSY.

“K is a market label, it has nothing to do with sound,” says music journalist Kang Hae-ryun.

tool

self-imposed, it has an orientalist point”.

The exoticism of the other to sell abroad.

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Behind the Gran Vía in Madrid, the birthday of Hong Joong and Woo Young is celebrated.

You have to take out the dictionary to understand the concept: about thirty

fans of the boy group Ateez to which these two

meet in a

(tea bar with tapioca balls) after being summoned by networks.

The organizers (@atinyevent) have decorated the basement with balloons and posters.

With each drink they give away

(high-quality printed photos) of their

(favorites) and sell

(plastic envelopes to store them in) decorated with glitter.

on the tables ,

small albums where they keep the photos.

The most valuable are those that come on CDs, sometimes they buy several copies of the same disc so that they can get different stickers.

They all carry one on the back of their mobile, several have tattooed motivating letters from the group:

(it simply continues),

(we shine like the eternal sun).

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This devotion is born in a very particular industry.

In Seongsu-dong, an old industrial neighborhood, “the Brooklyn of Seoul”, is Cube Entertainment, one of the hundreds of South Korean music agencies.

The six components of Lightsum, its last group —from 18 to 20 years old, although they look younger—, explain how the system works together with various representatives of the company: the agencies are record labels, recording studios, event managers and talent scouts.

In massive auditions they choose their future artists and train them.

Lightsum debuted in 2021, has nine songs and has been on TV (there are entire channels dedicated to it), but has not given a concert yet.

They have lived together for two years in a residence in Cube.

Juhjun, the most proficient in English, has been at the agency since she was 10. They have daily singing, dancing,

languages, interpretation, management of social networks... "What we are looking for is potential, the rest can be taught," says Jae Heo, public relations.

The training is not charged, but if the trainee leaves the label, she "pays compensation for the investment".

“We work hard, but the effort is worth it,” says Sang Ah, the blonde in the group.

"Fulfilling your dreams fills you with positive energy."

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The green funds of KoVac, a center for the development of metaverse and augmented reality projects in Seoul.Tim Franco

“As a mother, I was prejudiced too,” admits Lee Chong-ae, whose 17-year-old daughter is preparing to join an agency.

"They train them for what their business needs, yes, but they also train them as professionals," she says, "and the new generations no longer admit to being puppets."

Because with success also came scrutiny of the system.

Headlines about the dark side behind the facade of K-pop: leonine contracts, salary gaps, workplace, sexual and network harassment... Suicides for the demand for perfection (South Korea has one of the highest rates in the world) and lawsuits between artists and labels

The response from the industry (especially from the big four: SM, Hybe, YG and JYP) is secrecy.

“Access is complicated, they want to control the message, they are uncomfortable with how they can be represented, but they are beginning to open up,

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To look for young people in Seoul, the place is Hongdae, the university neighborhood, where there are as many bars as

places with photo booths and accessories to take group portraits.

In malls,

Korean manga (although most read it as

on mobile), are more crowded than K-pop stores.

The fanciful and sexy looks of the groups do not have a great reflection on the street, where muted tones and the minimalism of Uniqlo or Muji prevail.

It's hard to find examples of that new androgynous and sweet masculinity that has fallen in love with fans from half the world.

K-pop appears in the music threads and on the subway and bus billboards from which the

Sang Ah, one of the members of the girl group Lightsum, at the Cube Entertainment record label in Seoul.Tim Franco

“Fan clubs, most of them foreigners, pay for the ads, tens of thousands of euros!” says Cecilia Soojeong Ji, an independent music promoter.

At the same time that the first generation of groups was born in the agencies (we are going for the fifth), in the gambling dens of this neighborhood a movement “of not so prefabricated music” was being forged.

Both benefited from a law that since 1997 injects resources into the arts (the latest Culture and Sports budget is 3,900 million, almost double that of Spain).

"At first all kinds of music played on radio and TV, but when K-pop began to succeed in Asia, it ended up monopolizing the spaces," says the promoter.

“A lot of people are already saturated.”

According to travel guides, it's easy to find

Dancing in the street.

But for a week, there is no way to find them.

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In Madrid, dozens of them gather in Azca, the back of the financial district, to practice the choreographies they have learned on YouTube using the shop windows and office facades as mirrors.

Ana Domínguez, from the Wonder Magnet group, who has won the dance contest organized by the Korean Cultural Center, is 25 years old and considers herself "a veteran": "When I started we were four

now this is full of kids who don't I have never seen and there are more and more events”.

It is hard to decide on the same weekend: two Asian-themed night parties are held in Madrid, a festival in a social center with a debate on

and Korean games (including the “squid game”) and two birthday parties for

Several young people practice K-pop choreography in the financial district of Azca, in Madrid.Joseph Fox

After talking with dozens of Spanish fans (many creators of content on networks and

Some clues to his fascination appear.

The catchy music, the positive message ("they connect with that part of you that believes that life is worth it and difficulties can be overcome"), the careful aesthetics and the search for perfection through effort ("I give it to you" are seducing. They work a lot").

Also a certain whiteness in the speech ("it's not about tits, asses and money like reggaeton") and romanticism ("in the series, relationships evolve very slowly").

Thanks to the networks, they feel close to their idols (agencies promote constant contact with fans).

There is a certain countercultural rebellion (“this is about whores and fagots, liberal, weird, open-minded people, capable of liking something in a language we don't understand”).

The fans are no strangers to the commerciality or voracity of the industry (“here,

many agencies would be ganged up on by unions, and rightly so, it's savage capitalism.”

And they are tremendous when they come together: in the United States they trolled a

contrary to the Black Lives Matter movement and they blew up a Trump act;

In Spain, far-right accounts have been flooded with videos of his favorite singers.

“This is not just about music or series”, sums up Edurne Salgado, one of the attendees at the Ateez party, “it is a cultural underworld and provides a sense of community, of belonging”.

Collection of photos of a fan of the group Ateez.Joseph Fox

Some girls dance near the Royal Palace of Madrid.Joseph Fox

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“No other genre arouses so much unconditional love, or generates such multi-product artists,” says Luis Zósimo, of SOK Entertainment, a Madrid-based music producer and promoter who organizes festivals (recently with Los 40 Principales) and brings Korean Hyemin, “ the first K-pop singer from Spain”.

“It's still a niche market here, but it's opening up,” he says.

Other small companies slip through that crack.

Sisters Teresa and Marta Moreno, ages 21 and 23, opened Mad Kpop, a record and

His clients range from “girls who have broken their piggy banks to tourists who drop hundreds of euros at once”.

“Business is complicated”, admits Marta: expensive customs, a lot of bureaucracy, a huge time difference and the “special” English of the suppliers.

Dance academies are also monetizing the interest.

At Studio 11, Andrea del Pozo teaches as she learned in Seoul: "They take it very seriously, they train thousands of hours, but also those who want to be a doctor or a teacher kill themselves to study."

“Koreans are overkill for everything,” says Sunny Cho, a partner at Koss, which started as an

of Korean cosmetics four years ago and after opening a store in Barcelona, ​​she opened a branch in Madrid, where everything is prepared “for the

"Her beauty canon is also marked by the unattainable perfection of flawless skin, but we want to get out of there, each one is beautiful in her own way, what matters is enjoying taking care of herself," says Cho, who was born in Madrid, daughter of the first batch of immigrants, almost all dedicated to taekwondo or acupuncture like his father.

"They are a bit obsessed," she says, citing that it is common to give girls double eyelid surgery to enlarge their eyes when they finish high school.

Billboards of K-pop stars in the Hongdae university district of Seoul.

Tim Franco

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The varied and affordable Korean cosmetics (at Koss prices range from 3 euros for a mask to 40 for a ginseng

) has multiplied its foreign sales by eight in a decade, becoming the third largest exporter in the world, behind France and the United States.

Leading the sector are the brands of Amore Pacific (from the luxurious Sulwhasoo to Innisfree, which is sold at Sephora), whose headquarters in Seoul are housed in an impressive white building, designed by the British architect David Chipperfield, inspired by the traditional vases of Moon.

“It symbolizes the clean and simple beauty that Korean culture aspires to,” says a company spokeswoman on the spectacular rooftop where a sheet of water floods the interior with light.

To achieve a luminous and natural skin (made up, without showing it), the brand focuses on innovation.

Its bestseller is a "compact color control pad that offers flawless coverage."

A computer system analyzes the clients' skin to offer the exact makeup base.

There are 150 shades:

a skin considered fair in Spain is in the middle of the spectrum.

The lightest makeup is porcelain white.

A woman tries on a foundation at the Amore Pacific building in Seoul.Tim Franco

Part of the success of the Korean Wave is feedback from its sectors: singers and actors promote cosmetics (BTS has a range of lip masks with Amore Pacific) and, increasingly, Korean fashion.

“Public interest affects us positively,” says Kim A-Young, a Cahiers designer who has dressed several celebrities in her flowing models.

However, she explains, Korean fashion is made up of designers with small companies and limited distribution channels.

"Even so, we know how to read trends very quickly and we have the ability to reinterpret them with originality,

has potential."

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Outside day.

Small houses with oriental roofs, a field of Chinese cabbage and a greenhouse with cucumbers ready to make

the ubiquitous pickle of the local gastronomy.

As in all the towns of the world, a dog barks.

“Action!” says the director in English.

An attractive couple gets into an ambulance: “Are you okay?

Wake up!”, they rebuke someone off-screen in Korean.

"Cut!" Shouts the director, short for anyone who has been on a shoot in Spain.

The rest is pretty much the same: people in black in cargo pants, makeup artists with brushes, valets with rolls of duct tape.

We are in Paju, an hour from Seoul and only 15 kilometers from North Korea, but we could be in California.

Filming of the series 'Missing' of Dragon Studio, in Paju, near North Korea.Tim Franco

It is the filming of the second season of

a series about missing persons and paranormal phenomena from Dragon Studio, producer of

or the idiosyncratic

in which a wealthy South Korean heiress crashes with a paraglider in North Korea and ends up falling in love with a communist soldier.

Both are on Netflix in Spain, where the

that have performed best this year are

(zombie outbreak in a high school) and

(an autistic lawyer).

They are not always the same as in Korea —

it triumphed earlier and more outside than inside—, now the one that is most seen there is the historic

This year Netflix released its first Korean films in Spain: two action films,

and

and the romantic comedy with sadomasochistic

based on a

and starring Seohyun, singer of Girls' Generation.

None of the titles fit the stereotype of a film library and festival of South Korean cinema, whose success and global prestige pre-existed Netflix and

Still, the platforms have “made the world so much smaller” and the Oscars “have increased opportunities to showcase Korean talent in international markets,” admits Kyu C. Lee, who produces

(premiering in Spain on January 4), a

about the tension between the two Koreas in the eighties and directorial debut by Lee Jung-jae, protagonist of

To the fans of the Korean audiovisual we must add many who don't even know they are.

At animation studio Pinkfong, a custom YouTube trophy celebrates 50 million subscribers: it's a wavy, translucent blue block, with a yellow fin peeking out of it…

a pop version of a camp song, went viral in 2017. "The fever started when Indonesian users uploaded their videos dancing to it," says Gemma Joo, a company manager who flew to Indonesia wearing a costume the day after seeing the metrics. of the corporate mascot to appear on local television.

“In digital content, the attention window is getting shorter, you need to be agile and base your decisions on data to catch the wave.”

They didn't even need the K-whatever tag, just the catchy

Pinkfong started with three people in 2010 creating educational content;

today there are 350, they have series and licenses for toys, cereals and theater shows in half the world.

And in 2023 the yellow shark premieres a movie.

He is not the only patriotic child icon.

In Seoul, there are several brand-new

but none are as crowded as the low-key animation center, where you can cuddle with

planes,

or Pororo penguin.

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Korean video games don't get as many covers as K-pop, but the numbers are staggering: the industry exported $8.2 billion worth of products in 2020, far exceeding TV shows, music, and movies combined. .

At the IVEX stadium, on the outskirts of Seoul, the fans are showing.

About 300 people spend the afternoon watching eight kids play

(it's a minor event, the Korean league of

summoned 10,000 attendees this summer in the Gangneung Olympic park).

On a 30-meter screen, eight colored cars accelerate while four cameras focus on the opponents, a crane takes shots of the public that cheers with enthusiasm and three announcers narrate the matter as if it were the Champions League final.

In Seoul's ubiquitous arcades, called 'pc bangs', young Koreans gather as part of their social life.

The success of video games is also felt in the professional 'e-sports' leagues, which attract thousands of spectators.Tim Franco

Fans who want to play instead of watch head to one of the city's ubiquitous

, an evolution of Europe's long-defunct internet cafes.

In the LoL Park there is no room for Yu Min and the two friends with whom he came to play FIFA.

“This is where you hang out when you're young,” explains the 21-year-old student.

To kill time, he stops by the adjoining exhibition, where people take photos with portraits of famous players.

Wolf, Madlife, Mata..., champions who look defiantly behind their glasses and their look of good boys.

Purple-haired student Choi Hye-jin's favorite is Faker.

“I follow him the same as I would follow a pop star or a soccer player”, she answers, surprised by the question of why she is here.

The Korean electronic sports federation, Kespa, has 86 teams (414 people) and its function is to give "stability to the players and ensure their salary," according to Kim Ji-hoom, a spokesman for the organization.

“They perform better when they can focus on their career and they are so young that they need to be represented,” he adds.

"Korea is the cradle of

and they have it set up much better," explains Alesander Alxshow Robleño, 32, who retired as a professional player at 23 and wants to return to the sector "but in a suit."

talent agency ",

he seeks to get decent contracts for Spanish players and a second chance for Koreans.

“Many retire after military service;

but here they could work for more years, like when Xavi left Barça to go to Qatar”.

The rage for

in Korea "is a cocktail," he says: they are technological leaders, education is very competitive, gaming is normalized, and "the government invested before anyone else."

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The next frontier of the Korean wave is the metaverse.

The Ministry of Science and Technology announced this year an ambitious

digital

In the futuristic setting of the Digital Media City subway stop, where scenes from

the ministry has a virtual reality studio (KoVac) with huge green funds available to companies for free.

The jewel in the crown is the volumetric capture room.

The makers show an avatar of rapper Song Min-ho rocking a fluffy pink coat.

"This is not a 3D animation, it is a real capture of the artist, who was here, it has another value, like an NFT," says agency spokesman Lee Jin-seo, who also shows the educational uses of the tool (such as a leg in which to learn to stick acupuncture needles).

“Think what can be done in the field of entertainment: virtual stadiums,

with whom you can relate directly…”, he explains.

And it's not hard to imagine how the industry will capitalize on a universe created to consume that they are reaching before anyone else.

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The audience at Palau Sant Jordi fervently waves the official wands of the Blackpink group during their performance in Barcelona on the 5th, a day before Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo and Rosé were named artists of the year by 'Time' magazine.Blackpink

“Korean culture has globalized and diversified in an unimaginable way,” concludes Ramón Pacheco Pardo, author of

(Hurst, 2022), the chronicle of how the country went “from shrimp to whale” —from rural and poor to buoyant and sophisticated—in a few decades, when others take centuries.

His geopolitics classes at King's College London are attended by students whose interest was sparked by

In the United States,

students increased by 78% between 2009 and 2016 and at the Korean Cultural Center in Madrid, one of 33 around the world, the courses are full to understand the songs and the series.

“When they arrive, the only thing they know how to say is

love”, jokes the teacher.

Korea is the poster girl for

the soft power that gains influence without threats of war or economics.

A feat influenced by the openness to integrate the foreign, according to the expert.

The talent to learn, innovate, perfect.

And the desire to assert itself and prosper as a nation, after decades of war, occupation and dictatorship.

"The revenue of the

is evident, economically and above all image," says Pacheco Pardo.

“Before, people thought of North Korea or MASH;

Today, in an advanced country,

Kids don't know what the Korean War was, but they can list the members of BTS or Blackpink”.

Jennie, Lisa, Rosé and Jisoo return to the Palau Sant Jordi stage as their fans, the

Miniskirts, natural make-up, extremely thin thighs and childish gestures: heart, victory, wink, pout.

They dance with a lot of arm, so that it is easy to replicate their steps.

Surrounded by lasers and flames, they rap and sing, professionally, without fanfare, rhythms that adhere to the cortex, while 18,000 people give it their all chanting in Korean.

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Parade of Blackpink fans in Barcelona

Nayra, 25, poses in line for the Blackpink concert in Barcelona.Joseph Fox

Tania.Joseph Fox

Yang, Luo and Chang, on a trip to EuropeJoseph Fox

Annia's pink bow.Joseph Fox

Daniel, with the lightstick of the groupJoseph Fox

Jorge and Samie.

Joseph Fox

Italian Stefano Joseph Fox

The group formed by Dermis, Emma, ​​Julia, Gaby, Bianca and LorenaJoseph Fox

Ryosuke, from Japan.Joseph Fox

IreneJoseph Fox

Jaime's Chain.Joseph Fox

A fan wearing the official sweatshirt of the tour.Joseph Fox

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