Argentina is located on the opposite side of the globe, 18,957㎞ away from South Korea, in South America. The country covers an area of approximately 2,780,440㎢, making it the second-largest in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest in the American continent, and the eighth-largest in the world. It is also the second-largest economy in South America. It is a member of the G-15 and G20, and a founding member of major international organizations, including the United Nations, World Bank, World Trade Organization, and Mercosur. Since its independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina has been known as a White country in South America because of immigrants from European countries, especially Italy. Korea and Argentina established diplomatic relations in February 1962, and many Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, POSCO, and Hansung Enterprise, are present in the country. There are approximately 22,000 Koreans living in Argentina. In addition, the local Korean Cultural Center was established in 2006, to promote Korea in Argentina by holding various events on Korean culture, history, art, and society.
Grain and cattle ranching on the country’s vast and fertile land fueled Argentina’s economic boom from 1860 to 1930, when it was ranked among the world’s top 10 economies, before the Great Depression hit. The country, however, has experienced political and economic turmoil since then due to military dictatorships and democratization process. In particular, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, Argentina is hit with one of the worst economic crises ever, seeing the highest inflation rate in the past 60 years. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina (INDEC), the country’s annual inflation rate rose by 102.5% in February.

Despite the unstable political and economic situation, Argentina is a crucial diplomatic partner for resource-importing South Korea. Argentina is the world’s second-largest producer of shale gas and the fourth-largest producer of shale oil. Argentina is also a cultural powerhouse that cannot be overlooked. The country’s support for the film industry is stronger than that for other content industries, and thus, has produced some of the most prominent filmmakers and actors throughout the 20th century, making it one of the three major film industries in Latin America, along with Mexico and Brazil. A distinctive feature of Argentina’s content industry is that there are separate policy agencies for each type of content, each working to ensure that cultural benefits are available to all citizens living within the country’s vast territory. Also, the market size of the country’s cultural content industry is growing every year. The cultural industry is a vital sector in Argentina, generating more than 30,000 jobs and accounting for 3.5% of the country’s GDP. Argentina strategically supports cultural industries at the national level given the inherent nature of symbolic and intangible values that are difficult to measure.

According to the findings of 2023 Overseas Hallyu Survey (Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, 2022) K-pop and Hallyu stars ranked first and second in terms of what Argentines first associate with Korea, followed by taekwondo. Despite the popularity of Hallyu, there is a lack of academic research analyzing Hallyu in Argentina. In Korea, studies by Sun-mi Yoon(2009), Yong-joo Kim(2012), and Soo-jin Sohn(2018; 2020; 2021) mainly cover Hallyu, tourism, and fashion. Studies by Argentine scholars include those by Del Valle Guerra & Palua Fernández (2017), Iadevito Paula (2012; 2015; 2016; 2018; 2019), and Bavoleo Barbara (2015), which focus on films, dramas, and cultural industries. Among them, Del Pilar Alvarez (2013) study on K-pop fans in Argentina, Aller Roberto (2022) study on fans in the Jujuy region, and Kirstin Koeltzch Grit (2019) study on Korean pop culture stand out.

Although academic research is still scarce, both the general public and scholars are increasingly interested in Hallyu since COVID-19. In fact, research shows that consumption of Hallyu cultural content has increased since the pandemic. With the exception of food, which can be consumed offline, the majority of Hallyu consumption in Argentina occurs online, with Netflix being the main source for dramas, variety shows, films, and animations, YouTube and Spotify for music, and Naver Webtoon (66.1%) for webtoons.

Interestingly, while music ranks first among Korean cultural content in terms of experience rate (76.4%), general popularity (49.1%), brand power index (61.7), and accessibility (78.0%), consumption of Korean cultural content is dominated by webtoons (21.6%), variety shows (21.4%), and dramas (20.5%), and the highest spending on content is in the categories of food (US$7.46), fashion (US$6.82), and beauty (US$6.78).
This is most likely because music is generally available for free on YouTube channels, and concerts in Latin America mainly take place in Chile and Brazil. In fact, Chile is known as the K-pop hub of the continent, having hosted the SM World Tour (2019) and three of the 13 <MUSIC BANK>, a major K-pop music TV show in Korea, recordings (2012; 2018; 2022). Similarly, Argentina was not included in the list of concerts scheduled for Latin America in 2023, which includes BLACKPINK (Mexico), Jackson Wang (Brazil), PH1 (Mexico), ASTRO (Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay), and WOODZ (Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Chile).

It is noteworthy that even though music tops the list of Korean cultural content in terms of experience rate and popularity, these measures for other content are not far behind. In terms of experience rate, music (76.4%) is closely followed by films (64.8%), food (62.0%), and animation (58.9%), and the rate for games (52.4%) and dramas (45.0%) are on the rise. Men are more likely than women to experience music (77.1% vs. 75.8%), while women are more likely than men to experience drama (37.8% vs. 52.2%) and fashion (36.9% vs. 56.9%), and those in their 10s and 20s are more likely to experience music.

Music is easy to experience due to its accessibility, but whether its popularity is due to the music itself or its relative ease of access compared to other content requires further investigation. Among online and mobile platforms, the most popular channels to access music are YouTube and Spotify, which are free of charge, and Spotify offers a wider range of music for unpaid users than Google Play Music. Also, paid channels such as Amazon Music and Apple Music are limiting in that they are significantly less accessible.

While YouTube is still the go-to for variety shows, dramas are more readily available on Netflix nowadays. The first Korean dramas to be introduced to Latin America were All About Eve(2002), Shoot for the Stars(2002), and Winter Sonata(2005) (Won-jung Min, 2008). They became so popular in Mexico that Mexican-style Spanish dubs were distributed for free in several Latin American countries, and even aired in the morning on cable TV networks in non-mainstream media. While these efforts undoubtedly helped introduce Korean dramas to Latin America, the Mexican-style Spanish dubbing, which does not take into account the regional characteristics of the vast region of 33 countries, was not well-received in some countries(Won-jung Min, 2008). In fact, in the 2022 KOFICE survey, respondents pointed to “inconvenience caused by translated subtitles/dubbing” as a factor that hindered their fondness for Korean cultural content. Regional differences are also evident in the types of cultural content preferences. For instance, the film The Way Home (2002) gained popularity in Argentina but not in Chile (Won-jung Min, 2008).
As shown below, it is worth noting that in the 2022 survey results, Stairway to Heaven (2003-2004) and Boys Over Flowers (2009) still ranked as the first and third most popular Korean cultural content in the drama category, overtaking the trending dramas. In terms of films, Parasite (2019) topped the list, but with the exception of 20th Century Girl (2022), people are still interested in films produced a few years ago, such as Train to Busan (2016) and Okja (2017). Further examination is necessary to identify whether respondents have not watched Korean films recently or whether it is a matter of preference and taste.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in Korean food, and Argentina is no exception. In fact, food is a close second to music in terms of experience rate, popularity, and brand power index of Korean cultural content.

Not only is food at the top of the spending list, but it is also the category that Argentines are most likely to make purchase for, at 55.3%, compared to other contents. Considering that music is more readily available for free, it is safe to assume that food actually has a higher brand power index. Food piques Argentines’ curiosity and makes them feel like they are actually experiencing Korean culture, unlike K-pop, which is similar to Western music. Unlike its neighbor, Chile, where K-pop is the driving force behind Hallyu, Argentina is a film powerhouse, where films and dramas are as popular as music and food. Webtoons, which are popular among a small pool of enthusiasts, are also on the rise. The majority (66.1%) of webtoon fans access them through Naver Webtoon. Even for games, where there is a stark contrast between those who like and dislike them, most prefer to play them directly through “online game play”(56.8%) and “mobile game play”(56.8%).

Latin America, including Argentina, has received relatively little attention from Korea due to the region’s geographical and cultural distance. Nonetheless, Argentines’ interest in Korean cultural content is growing. Hallyu in Argentine cannot be analyzed in the same way as the Hallyu phenomenon in North America and Asia. This is because Hallyu in Latin America began to gain popularity at a different time point than in North America and Asia, and the cultural content that locals like differs by country within the region.

According to the survey results, Korean cultural content consumed in Argentina do not show significant differences in preference by content in terms of popularity and brand power index, except for publications and webtoons. Accordingly, the potential for attracting more users and potential fans lies in content types other than music, which is easily accessible.

In 2016, Yonhap News Agency’s English newspaper reported on the Korean drama craze in Argentina, and mentioned the drama Stairway to Heaven. The report cited the Korean government’s active cultural policies as a reason for the success of Korean dramas overseas, and added comments from the local Korean Cultural Center, which said that the government has created synergies in various fields of popular culture, including films, K-pop, and dramas. Whether the increasing popularity of Korean cultural content abroad is attributable to the Korean government’s efforts is a sensitive topic that is actively discussed in today’s academia. Further research is needed to examine whether the Korean Cultural Center or Hallyu content itself contributed to the popularity of Hallyu in Argentina or if Hallyu content played a significant role.