Here’s what a Korean boy band can teach us about globalisation 4.0
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By Peter Vanham, Deputy Head of Media, World Economic Forum Geneva
For the readers of America’s TIME Magazine, it was clear: Korean boy band BTS should be 2018 Person of the Year. After a worldwide online poll, they held onto their early lead to beat candidates like Planet Earth and US President Donald Trump.
But who is BTS? Well, unless you’ve been living under a rock this past year (like me), you wouldn’t ask that question. The K-pop sensation scored two number one albums in the Billboard Top 200, beat Justin Bieber to become Top Social Artist of 2018, and are the most talked about artists in the world.
In their global success, though, one peculiarity stands out. Their songs are mostly sung in Korean, not English. They are not alone in this phenomenon. Latin artists like Fonsi (Despacito) and Enrique Iglesias, or fellow Korean artists like Psy (Gangnam Style), are showing that the globalisation of culture no longer only coincides with Americanisation. Will we see a more diverse g...
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