Netflix’s most popular series this year, Squid Game, led many people to meet South Korean series.
But the popularization of Korean culture in Western countries is not a new phenomenon.
While the fan base of groups such as K-pop stars BTS and Blackpink increased, especially among young people, Parasite became the first film to be shot in a language other than English to win the Best Picture Oscar.
Korean productions, newly discovered in the rest of the world, have been popular in Asian countries for years.
A 2011 report by the Korea Culture and Information Agency stated that “Korean dramas are shaping people’s lifestyles and consumer habits in many Asian cities.”
Netflix also produced 80 Korean dramas after it started broadcasting in South Korea in 2016.
With the onset of the pandemic, the interruption of filming in the West pushed the viewers to search for new ones, and the popularity of Korean dramas also increased.
“I think Korean dramas will become even more popular in the West, and especially in the US, in the coming years, as the popularity of Squid Game, combined with the increase in the number of people discovering Korean dramas during the pandemic,” says Regina Kim, a US journalist who writes about Korean dramas.
London-based writer and Korean drama fan Taylor-Dior Rumble says, “The most popular Korean dramas are overly stylized, bright, and unrealistic, and are enjoyed by day-dreaming audiences.”
“After the last two boring years, people are turning to more enjoyable entertainment tools.
“There are a lot of Korean dramas that have original ideas and stories that you can’t find in Western dramas.”
Most of the series are the kind that can be watched with the family.
“There’s almost no nudity or sex. Korean society is pretty conservative in that regard. Dramas shot this way also easily become popular in societies with similar cultures,” says Rumble.
The social problems in Korean dramas are the ones that touch the lives of young people in many parts of the world.
“As the wealth gap between rich and poor countries widens, issues such as Parasite’s outspoken handling of extremism in Korea resonate in many societies,” says Rumble.
“Squid Game is similar in that respect.
“He covered many topics such as debt and financial difficulties. These topics, which were covered during the pandemic period, which was extremely difficult for many people, may have contributed to the series’ touch on more people’s lives.”
So, which TV series can people who meet with Korean TV series on the occasion of Squid Game watch next?
Here are six recommendations:
To get acquainted with the strange and magical world of Korean dramas, it’s hard to find a better introduction to this drama, which tells the story of a wealthy woman who, during a storm, paraglides into the military zone between South and North Korea.
When a benevolent North Korean soldier finds the woman, an unfortunate love story of intrigue, politics and humor begins.
When this 16-episode series was broadcast in 2019, it became one of the most popular TV series in South Korea.
Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong-ki) is a lawyer who advises the Italian mafia.
After returning to his native Korea, he starts dealing with corrupt people.
This series deals with crime, mafia and law with an extremely addictive narrative.
This series, which is about a young and timid assistant chief haunted by the ghost of a young woman who dies as a virgin and believes she can’t go to the afterlife until she has sex, won the praise of the New York Times.
Are you looking for a historical drama about a 17th century crown prince’s struggle with the zombies that threaten his kingdom?
If your answer is yes, this series is for you.
Also known as The Heirs, this series chronicles the friendship, rivalry, and romantic relationships of a group of young, wealthy students as they prepare to take over the family business.
Don’t be surprised to see love triangles on the show that the Kardashians couldn’t even imagine.
A young woman must activate her family’s maternally inherited superhero powers.
When this secret is revealed, a team rushes to help him to root out the X-Men.