Smash-hit cultural exports like KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game could open real business opportunities between Australia and South Korea, says a trade delegation leader visiting Seoul to advance local investment and promote local industry.
The 46th annual meeting of the Australia-Korea Business Council (AKBC) and the Korea-Australia Business Council has begun, bringing diplomats, government officials and senior business leaders together to discuss the nations’ economic partnership.
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South Korea is Australia’s fourth-largest trading partner, accounting for nearly $71 billion of trade in 2023, and Korean demand for resources like LNG, coal, and beef makes it Australia’s third-largest export market.
In return, Australia is a major importer of South Korean motor vehicles, appliances, technology, and, increasingly, K-pop and screen exports.
Since 2014, those deals have come under the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement, liberalising trade between both regions.
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Despite these trade relationships, South Korea is only the 20th-largest foreign investor in Australia, with $29.3 billion invested as of 2023, trailing investors such as Norway and Ireland.
Liz Griffin, CEO of the AKBC, says there is a “mismatch” between the Korean-Australian trade and investment relationships, and increasing that investment could benefit both parties.
“There’s significant complementarity in the bilateral relationship,” she told SmartCompany on Monday.
“We have a lot of the critical minerals and rare earth that Korean heavy manufacturing needs. They are leaders in battery technology, and we’ve got a lot of the inputs that go into those batteries.”
Boosting agricultural investment is another opportunity, as Australian exports already command a strong reputation as “clean and green” in the global market.
Enhancing those ties has only become more important as new US tariffs, which have slapped a 25% duty on imported South Korean goods, rattle long-established trade relationships.
South Korean officials have pledged to invest US$350 billion in the US, in return for Washington cutting Korea’s tariff rate to 15%.
Meanwhile, a high-profile raid on a Hyundai plant in the US by immigration officials has only intensified focus on South Korean investments in the American economy.
“Whilst Australia must manage its relationship with China and the US more than ever, the potential axis of Japan, Australia and South Korea working together from a trade and geopolitical point of view has never been stronger,” said AKBC chairman Martin Ferguson.
Beyond the raw economic opportunity to Australia posed by institutional South Korean investors, Griffin says the rising global power of Korean cultural exports — a phenomenon known as hallyu — could have downstream benefits for domestic business.
At the time of writing, the most-watched movie on Netflix is KPop Demon Hunters, an animated children’s film heavily inspired by Korean pop music and featuring performances from some of its top stars.
Griffin says interest in the film, K-pop itself, and other popular Korean productions is “hugely significant”.
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“I think the key point to make is that it’s helping Australians become more familiar with Korea,” she continued.
“Because of some of these blockbuster hits like KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, there is a huge curiosity amongst the Australian population about Korea, and that is translating to significant opportunities for us, whether that be in tourism or whether that be in business.”
Exposure to Korean culture in the lounge room is different to the boardroom, and Griffin said business practices rooted in Confucian culture can differ significantly from Australian corporate mores.
But, at scale, interest in those catchy tunes and stunning visuals morphs into tangible relationships with South Korea, its culture, and its economy.
“The more that we are exposed to these types of Korean culture, the more chance we have of doing better business and building stronger relationships with our Korean counterparts, that mutual understanding,” said Griffin.
For now, the three-day summit may have its own unofficial theme song.
“Everyone is singing Golden over here,” said Griffin, referring to KPop Demon Hunters‘ breakout hit.
