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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Going for a song: investors flee to K-pop as safe haven amid Trump’s tariff war

Donald Trump BlackPink BTS Entertainment South Korea Choi Sangmok The Korea Times China
(L-R) Rose, Jennie, Jisoo and Lisa of K-Pop girl group Blackpink attend a pink carpet event in Seoul, South Korea, in August 2024.
(L-R) Rose, Jennie, Jisoo and Lisa of K-Pop girl group Blackpink in Seoul last year. Investors are ploughing money into K-pop as a safe haven from Trump’s tariffs. Photograph: Aflo Co. Ltd./Alamy

Donald Trump’s imposition of a 25% tariff on foreign steel may have caused alarm among South Korean officials, but it has been music to the ears of one sector of the country’s export-led economy: K-pop.

Investors have ploughed money into the industry, which is now being seen as a “safe haven” from Trump’s trade war with some of his country’s closest partners.

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