August 17, 2021
From Ethnic Nationalism to Social Media: How North Korea Leverages Its Soft Power Abroad
While highly unlikely to attain the global success of South Korean pop culture, North Korea continues to find creative ways to soften its negative image abroad through propaganda. This raises concerns of a global disinformation campaign, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently instructed the country’s propagandists to improve overseas messaging efforts, signaling a vested national interest in strengthening the country’s soft power.
North Korea is not ignorant to the financial success and global impact of South Korean pop culture. Often referred to as the Hallyu (한류/韓流) or “Korean Wave” in English, South Korea has profited tremendously from streamlining Korean dramas and pop music to a global audience, a trend that started in the late 1990s during the Asian financial crisis. According to a 2019 study by The Korea Foundation, the overseas market for the South Korean pop culture industry doubled from $5.7 billion in 2015 to $10 billion in 2019, indicating a steady increase in global consumption of South Korean media and drawing a stark comparison to the North Korean economy.
North Korea continues to find creative ways to soften its negative image abroad through propaganda
The Bank of Korea estimated North Korea’s GDP at approximately $28.7 billion (32.9 trillion Korean won) in 2019, meaning that the Hallyu’s overseas market alone generated funds equal to around 35 percent of North Korea’s GDP that year. Although this number doesn’t include revenue Pyongyang obtained from illicit sanctions evasion tactics such as cyber-enabled financial crime, it accurately depicts the disparity between the licit economies of North and South Korea. It was only a matter of time until Pyongyang began to craft its own version of Hallyu, but with a North Korean twist” the Choryu (조류/朝流). Whereas the Hal in Hallyu refers to South Korea in the South’s dialect of the Korean language, Cho in Choryu refers to Choson, the name of North Korea in its respective dialect.
Read the full article from The Diplomat.
More from CNAS
-
Why China's Rare Earths Grip Is Hard to Break
Video
China's near-total control of the rare earths industry has become one of its most potent geopolitical levers. Chris Kennedy, who leads economic statecraft analysis at Bloomber...
By Chris Kennedy
-
Who Will Make Money on AI?
Reports
The private sector is playing a leading role in advancing the frontier of artificial intelligence (AI). As a result, commercial incentives are likely to have a significant imp...
By Geoffrey Gertz & Emily Kilcrease
-
USTR Hearing on Section 301 Investigations into Structural Excess Capacity
Congressional Testimony
On May 5, 2026 Emily Kilcrease, Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at CNAS testified at the Office of the United States Trade Representa...
By Emily Kilcrease
-
The UAE Wants a Dollar Lifeline
Podcast
Rachel Ziemba joins The Indicator to discuss the relationship between the U.S. and the UAE in terms of investment. Listen to the full interview on The Indicator | Planet Money...
By Rachel Ziemba
