Opinion: Hollywood bends to Beijing, K-dramas go global — How South Korea beat China at soft power

China’s quest for soft power faces the CCP’s hurdle of tight control, while South Korea’s dramas connect across borders

By Dr Gunjan Singh

The story so far: Hallyu — which in Chinese means ‘Korean Wave’ — denotes the growth of Korean pop culture across the world since the 1990s. The popularity of Squid Game, Oscar-winning Parasite, BTS, among others, are examples of how the K-wave has swept across the world. As Joseph Nye, who coined the term soft power, argued, it is the ability to influence others without the use of coercive measures. Every country has its version of soft power, with varying degrees of success.

The idea and impact of South Korea’s soft power , especially with respect to China, is in the news again, given the recent Chinese reactions towards the dialogue in the K-d