‘Squid Game’ and K-pop fuel South Korean marketing push in Japan

South Korea’s growing global pop culture presence, from boy band BTS to the television series Squid Game, is driving a new marketing push into Japan, as consumer goods companies leverage the country’s soft power to drive sales of everything from liquor to clothes.

Hite Jinro, South Korea’s leading beverage maker, said this week it will launch new products in Japan to attract younger drinkers after its exports of the Korean firewater Soju shot up 27.2 per cent last year to Won28.5bn ($23m).

The company said a new generation of Japanese drinkers was buying Soju because of the increasing popularity of Korean films and TV dramas that feature the rice-distilled spirit, usually served in a small tumbler a bit larger than a 2 ounce shot glass.