Soft Power of Korean Entertainment Industry: Hallyu Consumption, Cultural Exposure and Country-of-Origin Perception among Indian Youth

Abstract

The Korean Wave or Hallyu is a cultural phenomenon characterised by popularity of Korean culture through the entertainment medium of music and cinema. The recognition for Korean entertainment has swept beyond South Korean boundaries and have captured the attention of people across continents. Today, it is one of the most successful entertainment industries in the world. As such, it has a crucial role to play in terms of soft power for the Korean economy. This paper seeks to highlight the power of cultural diplomacy in the field of international business. The research focuses on the presence and impact of Korean entertainment on Indian youth. The study explores the relationship between Korean entertainment media (Hallyu) consumption, exposure to Korean culture and Country-of-origin perception of South Korea among young Indians. For this purpose, the researcher has collected the relevant information through primary and secondary sources. The secondary sources include e-newspaper articles, academic journal articles, government documents and market intelligence reports. The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey among high school and college level students of North East India. To study the dynamics among the variables, a model was framed and PLS-SEM was performed using SmartPLS 4.0 software. The results indicate that the direct relationship between Hallyu consumption and Country of Origin perception is moderately significant. However, cultural exposure plays a strong mediating role. It can be concluded that Korean entertainment content has significant impact on consumer behaviour across different product categories in the Indian market.