Pedestrians walk past the monument for the 40th anniversary of King Gojong's enthronement, built in 1902, in the Gwanghwamun district of Seoul on November 7, 2025. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)
Korea’s reputation as a conformist, hierarchical society has long raised questions about its creative potential. How could a country often described as rigid and rule-bound become a global cultural powerhouse, producing works likes "Squid Game," "Parasite" and the worldwide phenomenon of K-pop?
For American sociologist Sam Richards, a professor at Pennsylvania State University, the answer lies in the paradox: Korean hierarchy and conformity that have often been criticized as stifling creativity have given Korea’s cultural exports their distinctive and globally recognizable form.
“I think the hierarchy that is here actually created a very specific type of culture — like music culture, movies and dramas. They are very similar, which is what makes them appealing,” Richards said in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Nov. 3. "The hierarchy is what allows Korea to do that."
He visited Seoul for a Konkuk University edition of his Sociology 119, which is the largest race and ethnic relations class in the US and one of the more recognizable classrooms in the world.
The professor elaborated that without such structural consistency, the country’s creative output would be far more fragmented.
“Otherwise people would just be going in every direction and there would be nothing that we could really call Korean,” he said.
“On top of that, it’s a very industrious culture. So you produce so much cultural content. There’s so much. It’s just like one thing after another. It’s like Korea has flooded the world with content.”
That “flood,” Richards noted, is what has allowed people across continents to instantly recognize and consume something as “Korean.” In contrast, he pointed out, Western countries such as the United States or France lack that kind of singular cultural identity.
Paradox of ‘lack of creativity’
Richards said the tendency to view Korean culture as uncreative misses the point. The shared conventions and repeated formulas that some see as limiting have, in his view, generated a coherent identity that audiences can easily connect with.
“The lack of creativity — to some degree that’s true that there’s a Korean way and you have to do it the Korean way,” he said. “But paradoxically, that actually leads to the 'Koreanness' — things that are culturally Korean that everybody in the world can see and be like, oh, that’s Korean, that’s like a K-drama, that’s K-pop.”
For outsiders, this “Korean way” becomes a cultural brand of its own. “If you have to identify what is Korean,” he explained, “you can do that here.”
Asked whether Korea’s cultural success is owed to individual brilliance or collective discipline rooted in Confucian tradition, Richards was unequivocal.
“I think it’s mostly collective contributions,” he said. “There are individuals who play a certain role, but you take BTS for example — BTS is not that different from other groups.”
To many non-Korean audiences, he said, distinctions between idol groups are minimal.
“For somebody on the outside, for people who don’t speak Korean and who don’t really understand Korean culture, there’s no difference between Blackpink and NewJeans,” he said, referring to two major girl groups.
“It’s just wave after wave of Korea crashing down — like, another band, another group, another food, another cosmetic product, another drama. And that’s a good thing because it allows us to really understand what Korea is; experience Korea.”
Another factor behind Korea’s cultural resonance, Richards said, lies in conservatism that aligns with storytelling.
“The stories (here) are really simple — lots of love stories. There are some that are not. But so many are these friendship and love stories,” he said.
The appeal, he added, lies in emotional accessibility.
“The storylines are just absurd, but they’re nice, they’re fun, they’re likable and I think people really appreciate that,” he said. “It’s like two people — the viewer knows they’re supposed to be in love, you’re rooting for them — those kinds of stories are really appealing, very emotional, they draw you in.”
Has Korean Wave peaked? Not yet, says Richards
Despite recurring predictions that the K-pop boom has reached its limit, Richards disagrees.
“People have been saying that K-pop has peaked for a long time,” he said. “People thought that BTS would be like the final group, the pinnacle … I don’t think so.”
New generations of fans, he said, keep the wave alive.
“There are places all over the world that have really not become fans of K-pop,” he said. “There are new generations of young people coming along, so I don’t see the peaking happening, (although) some people will get tired of certain formulas.”
He also addressed the growing global partnerships between Korean creators and global platforms.
“Those connections are essential for the greater penetration of K-content into places around the world,” he said. “Netflix has been amazing for K-dramas — that’s where people find them.”
Collaborations, he emphasized, have enhanced rather than weakened K-culture’s identity.
“Artists from around the world want to collaborate with K-pop artists, but they want to do K-pop,” he said. “They don’t say, ‘I want them to do my music.’ People want to do K-pop — they want to dance, they want to sing, they want to engage. It’s very exciting.”
