Sending a big hallyu to K-tv

Korean tv has exploded across the world - buckle up, baby

Korean television exports have splashed their pretty presence across multiple streaming platforms with Netflix leading the pack and Hulu in close second. What makes these dramas, rom-coms, action-packed adventures, sci-fi, zombie/apocalypse, loosely historical, often soapy and campy by Western standards so much fun to view (and so darn addictive)?

The cultural impact of K-dramas has extended well past the global phenomenon Squid Game which hit the Netflix platform in 2021, with a second season/series anticipated for a 2024 release date. The very fact that a season 2 is in the works for this show as well as Extraordinary Attorney Woo, All of us are Dead, and 8 others (https://www.cosmo.ph/entertainment/k-dramas-with-new-seasons-a4575-20220602) thus far exemplifies the power and reach of these programs as Korean television has regularly avoided doing second seasons of any programs. One bright exception is the Uncanny Counter which just finished season 2 in September 2023 due to unprecedented popularity as the 6th most popular show and top 10 in 30 countries on Netflix (https://www.kpopmap.com/kdrama-the-uncanny-counter-rises-as-the-9th-most-popular-tv-show-on-netflix-worldwide/#:~:text=%22The%20Uncanny%20Counter%22%20is%20rapidly,countries%20on%20the%20said%20date.).

There are general tropes in each show, of course, which follow a standard plot and character development, often with a positive resolution for the protagonist(s) - the couple you're rooting for gets married, the person you want to succeed finds their dream job, or gains financial independence. Family stories with authoritarian parents, economic and class issues, relationships that defy odds...or bands of school kids who collaborate despite their differences to fight zombies, navigate the apocalypse...these are some of the storylines we have grown to love.

However, each program also has some important features: South Korea itself - culture, values, ideas about wealth/"new" wealth, marriage well in to your 30s; socialized messaging about domestic violence, bullying, cyberstalking, pornography, online gaming, kids' time online, and the responsibility of citizens to collectively raise and rear children; and what I call "travel brochure plugs" - inevitably every character and/or couple travels to distant locales in South Korea (large cities, smaller farmlands, the coast and forests) to either work, resolve their relationship issues, enjoy a vacation, or visit family. Characters participate in sometimes contrived scenarios blooming with cultural events (marriages, funerals, tea tours, cave spelunking, yachting) that showcase the beauty and availability of the Korean world to audiences (i.e. prospective tourists). Korean food - including many Westernized fast or take-away meals - drink, desserts, home-cooked traditional meals (kimchi, bibimbap, bulgogi) - complete with grandmothers or mother figures chiding their grown children to cook and eat healthy - is also regularly on display in many episodes. We'd be amiss if we didn't also share on the product marketing/placement in episodes: Adidas and Samsung (a Korean staple) are prominently featured, as are luxury brands and cosmetics with so much skin care. There are regular discussions among secondary characters about the benefits of eye patches with vitamin E, serums, moisturizers, and we regularly see characters donning face masks, using jade rollers, and fretting about wrinkles. The products are, of course, Korean.

K-dramas have inflamed global audiences because of the 'slow burn'. Twelve to sixteen episodes with an expected arc and ending (with little confirmation there will be a season 2, at least according to the traditional model) means the audience can anticipate danger, action, romance, financial strife, chaos, and resolution in 3-4 months. We learn to appreciate and maybe even love (or fangeek out) the protagonists, and compare the merits of the villains who are, of course, defeated by episodes 12 or 16. Characters don't rush into love; Politeness in Korean culture is a normative practice whereby using someone's first name as a familiar is highly inappropriate and regarded as a cultural violation (think Hofstede's cultural practices). So we wait...and wait...and perhaps around episodes 8 or 9, we finally get some sort of resolution with our couple doing more than quipping, play-fighting, and flirting with each other. Sex scenes are noticeably absent of a lot of bare skin; nudity doesn't play well here, and audiences seem to appreciate the relatively chaste approach in comparison to Western series. In k-land, smoldering glances, very long holds of the camera lens focusing on a character's face and eyes, rule the day. So we wait some more...and find the wait worth it.

K-drama popularity worldwide 2022 (from https://www.statista.com/statistics/999239/south-korea-korean-drama-popularity-worldwide/)

Published by Statista Research Department, Mar 27, 2023

According to a 2022 survey conducted across 26 countries around the world, about 36 percent of respondents stated that Korean dramas (K-dramas) were very popular in their countries that year. In total, around 66 percent of respondents felt that K-dramas were generally popular even outside of dedicated fan circles.

The international rise of K-dramas Even before the 2021 survival series "Squid Game" exploded on the international scene, K-dramas enjoyed an increase in international interest. Older K-dramas still enjoy high popularity amongst international audiences. This rise in interest has had a noticeable effect on entertainment exports, with K-drama exports having increased by over 72 percent in recent years.

K-dramas and Hallyu Hallyu, which translates to the Korean Wave, describes the phenomenon of the rising popularity of South Korean pop culture and other cultural elements. This includes entertainment, such as K-pop and K-dramas, but also extends to other areas such as food and K-beauty. Hallyu tourism has become its own category of tourism in South Korea. Despite the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the tourism industry, around four percent of all tourists traveled to the country to partake in experiences related to K-pop or other hallyu activities. Prior to the pandemic, hallyu tourism was particularly popular amongst tourists from other Asian countries, with as many as 23.3 percent of Indonesian visitors traveling to South Korea because of hallyu.