Why K-Pop Took Off When C-Pop Didn’t

It’s not often that an 18th century folk song can be said to be the inspiration for a pop concert. But those who attended the finale of BTS’ “ARIRANG” North American concert tour at Los Angeles’ giant SoFi Stadium earlier this month will long remember the tens of thousands of fans who waved South Korean flags and sang along to the traditional Korean melody. The four-night run in LA was the finale to a tour of 31 sold-out shows, with combined attendance of approximately 1.92 million, according to figures released by the band’s agency. For comparison, Beyoncé’s 2023 Renaissance tour sold about 1.73 million tickets across 35 North American shows. Those performances and prizes will have brought smiles to the faces in Seoul’s foreign-policy circles, where there is a keen appreciation for the soft power that K-Pop brings South Korea. In Beijing, it will have led to much gnashing of teeth.For more than a decade, China has looked on with undisguised envy as its Korean neighbor has accumulated soft power through cultural exports. As far back as the 2014 National People’s Congress, the Communist Party heavyweight Wang Qishan marveled at the reach of Korean culture, citing popular TV dramas l...