Try this: Riding the Korean Wave and using K-Pop to teach economics

I use a bit of popular culture to illustrate economics concepts in class, but some of the videos I use are getting a bit dated (although The Princess Bride movie is a timeless classic). Maybe it's time for a refresh?

In a new working paper, Jadrian Wooten (Pennsylvania State University), Wayne Geerling (Monash University), and Angelito Calma (University of Melbourne) describe using K-Pop examples to illustrate economic concepts. K-Pop is incredibly popular worldwide, and increasingly going mainstream, so it is something that students will likely be familiar with.

Wooten et al. created videos with English subtitles and link them to the sorts of economics that is taught in principles classes. Specifically, in the paper they illustrate with three examples:

1. EXO-CBX, "Ka-Ching", which can be used to illustrate scarcity, trade-offs, and opportunity costs;
2. Blackpink, "Kill this love", which can be used to illustrate sunk costs and decision-making; and
3. BTS, "No", which can be used to illustrate comparative advantage, negative externalities, arms races, and zero-sum games.

The music4econ.com website has many other videos as well (not just K-Pop). Using music videos in teaching is not a new idea (I've posted about it before here), and there are many examples of other forms of pop culture being used to teach economics (such as Broadway musicals, The Office, and The Big Bang Theory). This website can be added to the list.

Enjoy!

[HT: Marginal Revolution]