While South Korea accounts for just 0.6% of the world’s population, its cultural exports, from K-pop to K-beauty to K-dramas, shape global tastes in music, fashion, and beyond. Yet inside the country, youth culture is more layered and diverse, reflecting a wide range of interests and shifting values.
That’s the focus of recent research from Inner Chapter, a strategy and creative agency that blends social science with brand strategy to explore how culture and commerce intersect.
The study examines how South Korean youth are reshaping music, lifestyle, and travel, with findings that highlight evolving tastes in music and media, the blurring of subcultures and the mainstream, the rise of analogue nostalgia, and shifting patterns in mobility and cultural exchange.
To explore themes further, we spoke with Jun Bae, Studio Lead at Inner Chapter Seoul (이너 챕터 서울), about the research and its implications. She shares insights on Korea’s hyper-connected society and the speed at which trends take root, the interplay between K-pop idols and emerging indie scenes, how travel is shifting from prestige destinations to everyday escapes, and why authenticity is essential for brands hoping to resonate with young Korean consumers.
The Inner-Chapter Webinar noted that South Korea makes up just 0.6% of the world’s population, yet carries an enormous amount of influence. What is it about its offerings that resonates so strongly with so many people?
South Korea’s small population and geographical size mean that everything is interconnected. A quarter of the entire population lives in the Seoul metropolitan area (Seoul and Gyeonggi Province). About 59% of the nation resides in apartments, with that number rising to 88.7% when including other multi-family housing units. This creates immense physical density.
Compounding this is an extremely high level of digital literacy. The influence of social media has forged what can only be described as a hyper-connected society. As a result, everything moves quickly. Koreans value speed, efficiency, and the rapid improvement of all things. This is a nation that swiftly adopts and adapts trends and social issues to fit its own context. (Foreigners who have lived in Korea, even for a short while, say the thing they notice most after leaving is the speed of public administration, haha).
Because the country is small, its people are inherently outward-looking. They are constantly thinking: How do other countries do this? What are other people doing? How can I take this business to another country? How can I expand my visibility beyond Seoul and Korea to places like the United States?
The key is the speed at which Koreans remix global trends while retaining and maintaining a uniquely Korean essence. This results in a flavor that is both universal and exotic, which is what makes it so interesting.
I believe that this sensitivity to the outside world, combined with a culture of rapid efficiency born from a hyper-connected society, creates a consumption and enjoyment of culture that can appear incredibly trendy and fascinating. The key is the speed at which Koreans remix global trends while retaining and maintaining a uniquely Korean essence. This results in a flavor that is both universal and exotic, which is what makes it so interesting.
In Korea, the music scene is actually quite diverse, but most brand collaborations still focus on K-pop idols. Is this gap narrowing, and what might it take for brands to engage more meaningfully with emerging scenes?
Brands that are already in the know don’t limit their collaborations to just K-pop idols. While they do work with idols, they also partner with indie artists, or with artists that K-pop idols themselves recommend, listen to frequently, and post about on Instagram.
Many people think of K-pop as factory-produced music, but those who have listened more deeply or are more familiar with the scene know this isn’t true. For instance, the producer behind the sensational group NewJeans is 250, a unique artist known for making ppongjjak (a Korean trot music genre). As BTS’s RM ramped up his solo activities, he did work for an album by Balming Tiger, a Korean music collective. The band Silica Gel has done so many brand collaborations that it’s hard to count.
There is no sense of exclusion in the Korean music scene. There’s a strong feeling of mutual respect, of growing together, and of having fun. I want people to understand this. It’s an undeniable truth that beautiful and radiant K-pop idols possess immense sales power and aspirational appeal.
Many people think of K-pop as factory-produced music, but those who have listened more deeply or are more familiar with the scene know this isn’t true.
But instead of just looking at their business ecosystem, it would be beneficial to look at their musical ecosystem. Who are their producers? Their choreographers? It would be great to collaborate with the people you can only discover by reading the actual credits and looking deep into the scene. These figures are often the “idols’ idols,” the “celebrities’ celebrity,” and can bring an even greater level of aspiration.
You found that cross-cultural collaborations are rooted in a mutual fascination from Korean artists to remix global aesthetics with a homegrown sensibility. Can you talk more about that and how these collaborations shape what resonates with Korean youth today?
What young Koreans trust and feel most deeply is the “here and now.” Origins and roots are interesting elements, but what they see and feel in the present moment is most important. For example, BLACKPINK Jennie’s song “Like Jennie” was produced not only by world-renowned artist Diplo but also by Korean hip-hop artist ZICO.
Her music video features a mix of Korean local street brands, Chinese brands, Korean artisan brands, and global designer clothes. The large-scale choreography might look like a massive American production, but it was created by Korean choreographers. Her lyrics aren’t just in English; they include playful wordplay using Korean.
If it all comes together in a way that is harmonious, fun, and good, they like it. Young Koreans are open-minded and know to enjoy themselves. The key is to play along with them and help them express that. They always want to evolve, change, and upgrade. They are ready to be surprised and want to be surprised.
The webinar also covered travel trends, noting that more Koreans are opting for frequent local travel over high-prestige destinations. What does this shift reveal about lifestyle priorities, and what does it mean for brands looking to connect?
Young Koreans travel frequently. Budget is a factor, but more importantly, they want to experience things firsthand. They want to live it and feel it. With English being a mandatory subject since elementary school, they have little trouble communicating anywhere in the world and are culturally open due to their constant curiosity about the outside world.
Their version of luxury is not to visit every single tourist spot as if they’ll never return, but to focus on what they want to see now, with the mindset that they can always come back.
They also travel extensively within Korea, seeking to connect with nature and experience a sense of freedom they can’t find in the city. Therefore, one could over-interpret this to mean that massive pop-ups and grand retail experiences will no longer be effective. Unless you can do something better than Gentle Monster, it’s better to avoid being too commercial or flashy and instead appear naturally in the consumer’s path.
LUSH seems to do this well. Next to a hot dog stand in Jeju Island, which is an hour flight away from Seoul, they have a small store with a sign that reads, “Wash your greasy hot dog hands here.” Recently, at a regional music festival, they aimed to create the “world’s first fragrant festival toilet” by making small restroom booths exceptionally aromatic.
It wasn’t about scale or immense effort; it was about placing something necessary in the consumer’s path and communicating it with wit. For young Koreans who want to meticulously experience and live out every step of their journey, brands need to exist sensibly along that path rather than shouting loudly.
Korean youth are generally quick to adopt trends, but they also expect brands to feel authentic. How can brands stay culturally on-trend without losing resonance?
This is very difficult because young Korean consumers are sharp and will quickly call you out for copying. Brands must abandon the idea of blindly following trends.
What’s important is to follow trends that align with the flow of the brand’s own storytelling and narrative. You have to read the currents carefully and focus on telling your own story. Instead of starting with “What’s popular right now?” you should start with, “Looking at our brand’s narrative, this feels like the right story to tell at this moment.”
Tell us more about the gravitation toward ‘analogue aesthetics’ and how brands can respond to the trend in a way that taps into its emotional meaning—without reducing it to shallow retro styling.
Every year, we meet dozens of young consumers directly. Through this, we’ve learned that they are artfully escaping the algorithm-fed content and viral videos that everyone is watching. They are reading books and going to art museums. They want to write handwritten letters and create their own statement t-shirts by designing their own clothes.
Analog does not equal retro. Many new books are still published every year, and there are countless experiences, sensations, and people that can only be encountered in physical spaces. Miu Miu and Aesop did a great job of playing with this analog sensibility in a modern way through books.
People still go to concerts and watch plays, even though everything is on Spotify and Netflix. It might be good to view any experience where people share the same space and breathe the same air as “analog.”
What advice would you give to foreign brands that want to resonate with South Korean consumers?
Beyond the Korea seen on Netflix, through K-pop fandom, or experienced in trendy neighborhoods like Seongsu-dong, there exists a truly diverse and multifaceted culture. Seoul alone has 25 different districts (gu).
Recently, while conducting consumer ethnography in Seoul with a team member from Shanghai, he was also surprised by the city’s many different faces. Inside those uniform apartment buildings exist sharp angles, round shapes, curves, and dotted lines.
Beyond the Korea seen on Netflix, through K-pop fandom, or experienced in trendy neighborhoods like Seongsu-dong, there exists a truly diverse and multifaceted culture.
I hope people approach Korea with this understanding. Young Koreans are increasingly enjoying micro-local cultures while also being sensitive to major trends. It’s not “all or nothing”; they are variable and try to do it all. I ask them to look at Seoul not with the eyes of a tourist, but with the eyes of an anthropologist.
Quick Hits
Your favorite K-pop song:
I’m currently raising two toddlers. Pinkfong is my favorite K-pop band, haha.
Book, podcast, or resource you recommend:
I want to recommend SPNS TV, hosted by Omega Sapien of Balming Tiger! It features all sorts of people—internet troublemakers, K-pop stars, street musicians, and historians.
Something you want to learn or wish you were better at:
Speaking slowly and elegantly.
