K-pop tirade reveals Kim Jong Un's desperate need for a hit

Recent diatribe was unhinged even by North Korean standards

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Members of BTS pose during a photo opportunity promoting their new single "Butter" in Seoul on May 21: Kim Jong Un railed against the "attire, hairstyles, speeches" and "behaviors" of the band. © Reuters

William Pesek is an award-winning Tokyo-based journalist and author of "Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades."

K-pop tunes and flashy dance moves are many things to many people. High art to some; a lunge to mute for others. For the rest, a potent sign of the economic potential of South Korea's cultural-industrial complex.

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