it would really baffle people in the 1980s and '90s to think that Korea would be a major cultural force in the future, like, Korea? the country that makes shitty cars and electronics? that Korea? in what world could Korean pop stars and soap operas suddenly become popular outside of Korea itself they would naturally ask.

even at the peak of the Japanese economic boom there weren't too many people predicting a Japanese cultural wave to follow the inevitable global economic dominance, and for once they were right! but then the Korean thing comes completely out of nowhere.

it does suggest one meaningful difference between "hard power" and "soft power" though: cultural exports are as good as oil and gas exports in terms of the dollars they bring in, but it's a lot easier for a competitor to cut off your cultural exports without suffering any negative consequences themselves, it's not like they'll go cold and hungry in the winter if they can't buy your idol crap any more.

did you forget about anime again