The Global Influence of K-Dramas

For the past ten years, Korean Dramas (or K-dramas) have been popular in countries around the world and become a major form of entertainment. K-dramas are television shows that come from South Korea and are famous for their dramatic stories, interesting characters, and high production values. Many TV programmes tend to be long-running, but K-dramas normally tell a complete story in a short number of episodes. Their concise form and the way they tell stories have made them appealing to people of all ages and from different countries.

​Part of the reasons that the Korean drama became world successful is because of the development of the digital streaming platform. For example, the introduction of Netflix has made the Korean drama be able to be distributed to international audiences so that audiences around the world can watch the drama at the same time as the original programme. With the subtitles and the convenience to watch the programming, Korean entertainment has grown rapidly in recent years.​

K-drama is renowned for blending storytelling styles and retelling stories in many different formats. Many popular dramas fuse numerous genres into the one project, like romance, comedy, thriller, fantasy, and drama. This combination of genres works well in Korean dramas, and your mind is led into the mind of the character, and you are emotionally absorbed within their journey. Crash Landing on You was one of the popular ones which was focused on romance and contained much South Korean culture in it; on the other hand, Squid Game was depicting inequality and the survival of the human race.​

Other than the influence on viewing habits, K-dramas had also made a big impression on the cultures and lifestyles of other countries. Many viewers develop an interest in Korean food, fashion, aesthetics, and even the Korean language after watching the episodes. Famous locations where certain K-dramas are being shot normally attract many tourists. OST songs of these K-dramas were favoured by viewers and added a highlight to the scenes.​

The purpose of this blog is to investigate the increasing popularity of K-dramas through an analysis of the narrative styles, the cultural influence and the position Korean television enjoys in the current media industry. This blog will further examine the factors behind the rise of Korean television through an analysis of the rise of digital mediums and international customers. Through this analysis, the blog intends to highlight what makes K-dramas so special that they are now a global phenomenon, readily available to audiences from all corners of the world, and are #1 on streaming sites.