K-Pop goes the world: What Canada can learn from South Korea’s red

K-pop goes the world

How South Korea turned culture into a booming export (and what Canada can learn from it) Hannah Sung The Globe and Mail Published 6 minutes ago

Illustration by Matthew Billington

Growing up in Toronto in the 1980s, I was often asked by my classmates, “Are you Chinese or Japanese?”

“I’m Korean,” I would reply.

“What’s that?”

I think they know now. The wild success of Korean pop culture is the kimchi slap heard around the world. Audiences are binging South Korean shows on Netflix, second only in minutes watched to American shows. Social media is filled with Korean food, K-pop dance challenges and K-beauty tutorials. The ascendance of Korean pop culture has a business aspect (huge) and cultural influence (also huge).

If you’re surprised by this success, imagin