When I saw the K-pop sensations BTS taking centre stage at the United Nations headquarters in New York ahead of the General Assembly last month, I was surprised by the cheerful mood of the world-renowned boy band from Asia.
Amid the clutches of a pandemic, the conflict in Afghanistan and deadly storms exacerbated by climate change, up to a million people globally watched a livestream broadcast by the first K-pop band to address the UN. They talked about topics that have an impact on youth, ranging from self-love and acceptance to embracing changes in the post-Covid world.
Accompanied by President Moon Jae-in, who has designated them as special presidential envoys for future generations and culture, the group then presented a video of their hit song Permission to Dance, showing the seven members singing and dancing through the halls where big global decisions are made, and out into the gardens.
It was not the first time that BTS has worked with the UN. In 2018 it helped Unicef promote Generation Unlimited, a campaign dedicated to educating young people and providing vocational training.
Not long after the visit by BTS to the UN, the world witnessed another smash hit from South Korea. Squid Game, a dystopian drama on Netflix, is now the top-ranked show in the US and is on its way to becoming one of the most-watched shows in the history of the streaming service.
As of last Wednesday, Netflix said Squid Game had attracted 111 million views since its release on Sept 17, easily surpassing the previous record holder, the UK costume drama Bridgerton, which hit 82 million households in its first 28 days.
The nine-part thriller, in which desperate, debt-ridden contestants play childhood games with deadly consequences in a bid to win 45.6 billion won (US$38 million), has become the top show on the service in 70 countries, according to Netflix.
Like The Hunger Games books and movies, Squid Game holds its audience with its violent tone, cynical plot and -- spoiler alert -- a willingness to kill off fan-favourite characters. But it has also tapped a sense familiar to people in South Korea and elsewhere that prosperity in nominally rich countries has become increasingly difficult to achieve.
The Squid Game premise -- twisting children's games into horrifying and deadly challenges -- builds a level of anxiety and fear within viewers. People worldwide relate to the simplicity of the rules and the childlike settings and revert to that feeling of helplessness we only feel as children, basic in our emotions and dependent on those around us.
K-dramas have been hugely popular with Asian television audiences for years, and K-pop has developed huge fan bases around the world, but now Korean movies and TV shows are finding a global audience as well, helped by the best-picture Oscar for Parasite in 2019.
Despite the success of Parasite, Korean drama still commands a niche audience. But Squid Game has changed that with its global appeal. Weird and at times whimsical, it shocks us with its graphic violence, keeps us on the edge of our seats and even makes us cry at times.
At its core, Squid Game taps into the deep feelings of inequality and ebbing opportunities in the country where it originated, much like Parasite did, albeit in a different way. But the show's themes and its critique of the ills of capitalism are relevant everywhere -- doubly so with the pandemic exacerbating global inequalities.
The world's 12th largest economy, South Korea has boomed in recent decades but wealth disparity has worsened. Household debt exceeds 100% of GDP -- the highest in Asia. The top 20% of earners have a net worth 166 times that of the bottom 20%, a disparity that has increased by half since 2017.
South Korea ranks 11th using the Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, among members of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development group of rich nations. Other economies are experiencing many of the same challenges.
Squid Game brutally reminds its global audience that those who succeed often do so at the expense of those who failed by way of weakness, discrimination, poor judgement, or just bad luck.
On the other hand, I think South Korea and other Asian countries including Thailand have much to offer in terms of rich culture and stunning landscapes. Asia has potential to make many more movies or series that appeal to global audiences and they don't have to be as brutal as Squid Game.