sourced story
1998 - presentReputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Hallyu, the Korean Wave, Becomes a Deliberate Instrument of National Power

A government cultural fund that started at $14 million becomes BTS at the United Nations

On the timeline · around 1998 - present · A Divided PeninsulaA Divided PeninsulaHallyu, the Korean Wave, Becomes a Deliberate Instrument of National Power19651970197519801985199019952000

Quick facts

Policy launched
1998, Hallyu Industry Support Development Plan
Initial vs. 2001 cultural budget
$14 million to $84 million
2023 cultural export support
790 billion won (c. $622.5 million)
Notable global exports
BTS, Parasite, Squid Game

What happened

In 1998, in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, President Kim Dae-jung's government launched the Hallyu Industry Support Development Plan, increasing government spending on culture from $14 million in 1998 to $84 million by 2001, a deliberate bet that Korean cultural exports could drive economic recovery. What began in the 1990s as regional popularity for Korean dramas and music, hallyu, the Korean Wave, grew over the following two decades into a global phenomenon: BTS, Psy's "Gangnam Style," the Oscar-winning film Parasite, and Netflix's Squid Game each drew worldwide attention to Korean culture in turn. The government treats hallyu as an explicit foreign policy tool: President Moon Jae-in appointed BTS as a "Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture," leading to a BTS address at the United Nations on the Sustainable Development Goals, and by 2023 the government was allocating some 790 billion won, about $622.5 million, annually to support cultural export industries. The Victoria and Albert Museum's touring Hallyu! exhibition, drawing roughly 200 to 250 objects from K-pop costumes to K-drama props, documents the Wave's rise from the late 1990s to its current global reach.

Why it matters

Hallyu turned South Korean government cultural investment into one of the country's most effective instruments of international influence, converting entertainment exports into tourism revenue, diplomatic goodwill, and a form of soft power that a country of South Korea's size could not otherwise project, a striking final act in a national story that began the 20th century as a colonized territory.

How we know

Government cultural spending figures and the 1998 policy origin are documented by the South Korean government's own budget records, discussed in detail in U.S. Army War College analysis of Hallyu as national strategy; the cultural content and international reach of the movement are independently documented through major museum exhibitions including the V&A's Hallyu! The Korean Wave.

Sources

See something wrong? . Corrections with a source get fixed fastest.

Part of a timelineHistory of Korea31 events · A bear who became a woman, a peninsula fought over by every dynasty in East Asia, and an alphabet built to make everyone literate in a matter of daysView all →
Hallyu, the Korean Wave, Becomes a Deliberate Instrument of National Power · History of Korea · SourcedStory