How South Korea Became a Cultural Juggernaut

PAJU, South Korea — In a new Korean drama being filmed outside of Seoul, a detective chases down a man cursed to live for 600 years. Pistol shots crack. A hush follows. Then, a woman screams: “I told you not to shoot him in the heart!”

The scene is from “Bulgasal: Immortal Souls,” a new show scheduled to be released on Netflix in December. Jang Young-woo, the director, hopes it will be the latest South Korean phenomenon to captivate an international audience.

For decades the country’s reputation was defined by its cars and cellphones from companies like Hyundai and LG, while its movies, TV shows and music were mostly consumed by a regional audience. Now K-pop stars like Blackpink, the dystopian drama “Squid Game” and award-winning films such as “Parasite” appear as ubiquitous as any

Samsung smartphone.

Once streaming services like Netflix tore down geographical barriers, directors and producers say, the country transformed from a consumer of Western culture into an entertainment juggernaut and major cultural exporter in its own right. Netflix has introduced 80 Korean movies and TV shows in the last few years. Four of the 10 most popular TV shows on Netflix as of November 22 were South Korean.

The explosive success didn’t happen overnight. Long before “Squid Game” became the most watched TV show on Netflix or the boy band BTS performed at the United Nations, Korean TV shows like “Winter Sonata” and bands like Bigbang and Girls’ Generation had conquered markets in Asia. But they were unable to achieve a global reach.

It wasn’t until last year when “Parasite,” a film highlighting the yawning gap between rich and poor, won the Academy Award for best picture that international audiences truly began to pay attention.

Scenes often overflow with emotionally rich interactions, or “sinpa.” Heroes are usually deeply flawed, ordinary people trapped in impossible situations, clinging to shared values such as love, family and caring for others. Directors and producers say they deliberately want all of their characters to “smell like humans.”

As South Korea emerged from the vortex of war, dictatorship, democratization and rapid economic growth, its creators developed a keen nose for what people wanted to watch and hear. It often had to do with social change. Most screen blockbusters have story lines based on issues that speak to common people, such as income inequality and class conflict. And K-pop music has loomed large in South Korea’s lively protest culture.

“One dominating feature of Korean content is its combativeness,” said Lim Myeong-mook, author of a book about Korean youth culture. “It channels the people’s frustrated desire for upward mobility, their anger and their motivation for mass activism.”

And with many people trying to manage the enormous angst caused by the pandemic, global audiences may be more receptive to those themes.

With “Bulgasal,” Mr. Jang has created a uniquely Korean tragedy centered on “eopbo,” a belief among Koreans that both good and bad deeds affect a person in the afterlife.

Mr. Jang said he hopes viewers will flock to the new series. “The takeaway is: what sells in South Korea sells globally,” he said.

From cars and smartphones to ‘Parasite’ and BTS.