The “K-Drama craze” that swept the world can be explained bya single title: Squid Game. Since its release, Squid Game has been driving the K-Wave in the TV show sector to date. Released on September 17, 2021, the mega-hit series exceeded all previous records associated with global streaming (over-thetop, OTT) content in the world. Squid Game was watched by a whopping 142 million households during the first 28 days after its release, making the series the first to achieve that mark. The record surpasses the previous record held by Bridgerton (82 million) by a wide margin. Netflix disclosed the total viewing hours of each piece of content on its website. According to Netflix, Squid Game reached total viewing hours of 1,650 million in the first 28 days, which is also the number 1 record in the streaming service’s history. Squid Game also topped the general ranking across all countries (83 as of October 2021) and all content distributed by Netflix. Squid Game stayed on top for 53 days (and 46 consecutive days).



For the first time, a non-English drama won six Emmys, including Best Director and Best Male Performance. In addition, Los Angeles designated September 17 as Squid Game Day, the first day to be set aside to celebrate a TV show.

Korean TV shows have been widely loved by viewers outside the country for around two decades. What Is Love made a splash in China in 1997, and Winter Sonata was a big hit in Japan in 2003. Dae Jang Geum (MBC), an epic TV series about royal cuisine, which aired between 2003 and 2004, was exported to 91 countries worldwide, including Japan, China, and Türkiye. After a brief hiatus in 2013 TV dramas My Love from the Star and 2016 Descendants of the Sun generated huge followings in other countries, thereby rekindling the K-Wave.



In 2019, Netflix’s first original Korean series Kingdom was widely recognized for its well-written script and superb direction, and contributed to the birth of the new “K-zombie” genre. In addition, viewers outside of Korea expressed their appreciation for the architecture and clothing styles of the Joseon dynasty, the background of the drama series. In particular, the growing curiosity about the traditional Korean hat for men called “gat” contributed to the increase in its sale on the global online shopping website Amazon.com.



Other Netflix releases, such as Vincenzo and Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, also stayed at the top for prolonged periods. In April 2022, Apple TV+ won global attention by releasing Pachinko, a TV series in which the tech giant invested KRW 100 billion. In July, Extraordinary Attorney Woo was released on Netflix and topped the TV show lists of 20 countries.