South Korea’s influence on global popular culture is hard to miss. In fact, we are living in an era known to some as the Korean Wave, or Hallyu.
At the forefront of this wave is BTS, the iconic K-pop sensation with a worldwide ARMY (that’s the fandom name) of supporters.
Stunning films such as Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 dark comedy thriller “Parasite” and the Netflix streaming phenomenon “Squid Game” have broken into Western culture as cult classics and have influenced everything from Halloween costumes to demanding college waitlists for entry into Korean-language learning courses.
Props used for the TV series “Squid Game” are seen on display at the “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum in London Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP/File
The Gangnam district of Seoul is the heart of it all.
Most of the world became familiar with the cultural hub in the summer of 2012, when South Korean performer Park Jae-sang, whose stage name is Psy (pronounced “sigh”), released the global smash hit “Gangnam Style.”
That was the first time many people had heard of Gangnam.
National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek recently walked the streets of Gangnam. It’s the latest leg of his more than 11-year journey on foot, tracing the paths of our earliest ancestors from East Africa to the southernmost tip of the Americas, that’s being documented in a project called Out of Eden Walk.
He joined The World’s Host Carolyn Beeler to discuss his Hallyu experience.
Carolyn Beeler: Paul, I have heard and sung along to “Gangnam Style” so many times, but I do not know what Gangnam is like. You describe it as the “Beverly Hills of Seoul.” Can you tell me more about that neighborhood?
Paul Salopek: So, as you know, I’m walking through South Korea, and Seoul, of course, the capital, is obviously an important stop along my walking route. And Gangnam, within the capital, is legendary. It’s a district of the city that’s, like, the most exclusive neighborhood. It’s where elites hang out. It’s where the rich play, that’s full of clubs. It’s got exclusive shops. It’s glitzy, to say the least.
And what drew you to this neighborhood? Why did you choose that path through Seoul?
My project started in Africa years ago. I’ve walked with farmers, shepherds, factory hands and refugees. I thought I’d dip into a little bit of the stardust of K-culture, if you will, which, as you noted in your intro, is global now. It’s been hugely successful. I’m a writer. I’m a storyteller. I was curious to see firsthand this most popular global product of the 21st century coming out of South Korea.
So, you always walk with walking partners. And while walking through Gangnam, someone who you walked with was a South Korean film and TV actress, Lizzy Cho. Tell me about her.
Well, when I knew I was walking through South Korea, and because I’m interested in popular culture, I actually approached Psy, the [“Gangnam Style”] guy, to see if he’d be walking me through his home turf of Gangnam. He actually replied and said, “You know, I’d love to, but I’m on summer tour.” So, I tried to find another artist. And Lizzy was perfect, actually, better even than, I’d say, a superstar from the K-Pop world because she was more an embodiment of an everywoman. A young woman who’s trying to make a breakthrough in film. In her case, she’s an actress, as you noted. And I was able to talk to her about the struggles that young Korean artists face in a very, very difficult, bruising, competitive entertainment industry in South Korea.
South Korean singer Psy performs during his concert “Summer Swag 2023” at Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, June 30, 2023.Ahn Young-joon/AP/File photo
You wrote about the schedule of voice, dance and acting classes she took as a kid and as a teenager, stretching until midnight, you said. Now that she is well into her career, how does she feel about what it took to get her to this place? And as you said, she’s still trying to make it big.
Yeah, she’s still knocking on doors, right. So Lizzy‘s in her 30s, which, by cultural standards, as a youth-orientated culture, is quite mature. She’s an amazing, energetic, attractive, smart young woman. But the way she explained it, Carolyn, is that there’s such a kind of conventional standard of beauty that’s required both young men and young women going into the industry that if you’re not in her words, “perfect”, you don’t get the best roles. And so, she was struggling with that after spending her entire life [preparing] since she was in elementary school. So, she was conflicted. It was an interesting walk, kind of a sobering walk, actually, about the cost of fame.
Actress Jiseung “Lizzy” Cho walks past a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district, the heart of South Korea’s entertainment industry. Paul Salopek/National Geographic, Out of Eden Walk
So, K-Pop stars, as you have mentioned, have to look perfect based on a fairly narrow standard of beauty. Does Lizzy feel like that is what has been holding her back from big breakout roles that might launch her into the next level of her career?
Yeah, indeed. I mean, she has, as I mentioned, spent her entire life studying the craft of acting. She’s done sophisticated roles, but she feels that she doesn’t fit this precise kind of crystal picture of what feminine beauty should be in the entertainment industry. And she feels that directors praise her work but say, “You know, your face doesn’t fit the role of a leading lady.” So, she’s often typecast into a secondary role, supporting roles. She said even roles where she ends up being a villain, right, a feminine villain.
Actress Jiseung “Lizzy” Cho and walking partner Lee Junseok pass a building filled with plastic surgery clinics in the Gangnam district of Seoul, South Korea. Paul Salopek/National Geographic, Out of Eden Walk
So, we’ve discussed the challenging beauty standards that K-pop stars have to live up to. There’s also very controlling management that controls the lives of their K-Pop stars and fans. Fans are very enthusiastic but can also turn against stars if they do something they don’t like. Are those things that Lizzy has come up against?
Quite sobering, her stories. One of the things that you see walking through Gangnam, apart from these exclusive cafes and these Instagrammable 5-star restaurants where you sit in the garden, is a lot of plastic surgery clinics. In fact, entire buildings, multistory buildings. I counted one seven stories tall that was given over entirely to plastic surgery clinics. That tells you something about the pressures that these artists are under. To be absolutely perfect, right. In every way. And people forget that South Korea, at some level, remains kind of a conservative, Confucian society. So [what] Lizzy told me, is that in Hollywood, an actor, actress can have an affair, can get arrested for drunk driving, and still survive. In fact, it’s considered kind of like ordinary. In South Korea, one kind of mistake like that could actually kill your career. Not only do they kind of force these really inhumane levels of human beauty on you, but you’re supposed to be a saint at the same time. Tough. She said that in the past year, two of her actor friends had committed suicide. So, that tells you the kind of pressures they’re under.
Wow. So, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that looks different from the glitz and glamour we see when we consume K-Pop.
Yeah, kind of, you know, an invisible cost. Although it’s getting more and more visible. A lot has been written about. These management agencies … just to give you one other example: If a young person comes in with stars in their eyes, these management agencies put them through two years of training, voice lessons, dance lessons. They police their diets, they police the way they cut their hair, they police their makeup. It is like a boot camp.
Parts of this interview have been edited for length and clarity.
Writer and National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek has embarked on a 24,000-mile storytelling trek across the world called the “Out of Eden Walk.” The National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonders of our world, has funded Salopek and the project since 2013. Explore the project here. Follow the journey on X at @PaulSalopek, @outofedenwalk and also at @InsideNatGeo.
