Korea Europe Review: an interdisciplinary journal of politics, society, and economics

Korean popular culture (Hallyu) has evolved into a major force in global entertainment, challenging Western cultural dominance and achieving worldwide recognition through landmark successes such as Parasite, Squid Game, and recent achievements in film, television, and musical theater. This special issue situates the global rise of K-content within the structural conditions of platform capitalism and aesthetic capitalism, examining how digital platforms enable the rapid circulation and consumption of cultural difference as aesthetic value. Moving beyond audience-centered reception studies, the issue foregrounds production-side perspectives that remain underexplored in Hallyu scholarship. It brings together analyses of creative labor, studio systems, organizational cultures, and production strategies that shape Korean cultural content for global markets. By focusing on how K-content is produced, structured, and strategically positioned within contemporary digital media environments, this issue offers new insights into the sources of its sustained global appeal and competitiveness.