Discover the most popular K-Dramas by foreign fans in 26 countries including France
Annual Government Poll Reveals Foreign Fans’ Favorite K-Dramas in 2022!
From November 11 to December 7, the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange surveyed 25,000 people aged 15 to 59 in 26 countries.
The countries studied are the United States, Brazil, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Turkey, Russia, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Australia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Mexico , Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kazakhstan.
In part of the survey, respondents were asked to answer the following question: “What’s your favorite Korean drama you’ve seen this year? “. They chose their favorite Korean drama by writing (not choosing) it. Check out their answers below!
- « Squid game
Netflix’s most popular and successful series, Squid Game unsurprisingly takes the top spot. With its extraordinary storyline and phenomenal cast (starring Lee JungJae, Park HaeSoo, Jung HoYeon, Wi HaJun, and many more) combined with excellent camerawork, set design, and score, “Squid Game” has become a cultural phenomenon that has shaped the Hallyu landscape has recent years. 11.3% of the answers mention “Squid Game”, which puts them a significant distance to second position.
- “Extraordinary Lawyer Woo”
In second place with 2.8%, we find Extraordinary Attorney Woo starring Park EunBin and Kang TaeOh. This K-drama has been acclaimed worldwide for its portrayal of the autism spectrum and has also opened important discussions about it, especially in relation to the workplace.
Park EunBin’s incredible performance was recognized, and the drama also brought actors Kang TaeOh and Kang KiYoung worldwide success.
- “We are all dead”
Next in line with 2.6%, All Of Us Are D.ead, the zombie blockbuster, has been hailed as the next squid game due to its popularity. It was commercially successful worldwide and received critical acclaim.
The second season of “All Of Us Are D.ead” is currently being eagerly awaited. The young actors who starred in this drama, especially Yoon ChanYoung, Lomon, Park JiHu, Cho YiHyun, Lee YouMi, Yoo InSoo and many others, also got a great boost in their careers from this work.
- « Business Proposal«
The biggest romantic comedy of 2022, Business Proposal is still enjoying global success today. No wonder, then, that the drama is ranked #4 on this list 1.9%. Kim SeJeong and Ahn HyoSeop stole hearts all over the world. What else can you say? K-Drama was just as good!
- « C.rash lands on you »
Finally, in 5th place, also at 1.9%, is the timeless love story K-Drama, which brought us our favorite real-world and real-life couple: Hyun Bin and Son YeJin. Despite being released in 2019, the drama continues to dominate watchlists around the world and fans just can’t get enough of it.
After all, it’s a representative K-drama that has since achieved legendary status and that some fans are still wishing for a second season.
Squid Game ranked #1 in 16 countries (out of 26), which speaks volumes about its immense popularity. Specifically, in Italy, 46.1% of responses named “Squid Game” as their favorite K-Drama; In Francethe percentage is 26.1% ; in Russia it is 24.8%, in Turkey – 23.7% and in Germany – 22%.
K-Dramas that didn’t make the top 5 but still got a lot of mentions include classics like Descendants of the Sun (6), Boys Over Flowers (5), Jewel In The Palace (4 ), “The Heirs” (3) and “Goblin” (3) as well as more recent dramas such as “Big Mouth” (7), “Tomorrow” (7), “Alchemy of Souls” (5) , “Little Women” (4 ), “Ghost Doctor” (3), “Under the Queen’s Umbrella” (2) and “Snowdrop” (2).
It seems that overseas K-drama fans tend to enjoy older representative works like Stairway to Heaven (1) and Winter Sonata (1) alongside newer works like True Beauty (3) and My Name ( 4).
This means that international viewers are equally interested in past productions as in current productions, so there is always something on their watch list.
Interestingly, the top 5 most popular K-Dramas are now available on Netflix for viewers around the world. This accessibility has certainly fueled the growth of Korean dramas around the world.
Is your favorite K-Drama on the list?
