It has been found that K-content is the first image that comes to mind about Korea abroad. As for the contents most preferred by Hallyu consumers, the influence of the group ‘BTS’ and the drama ‘Squid Game’ remained the same.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 10th the results of the 2023 Overseas Korean Wave Survey (2022 standard), which looks at the current status and spread of K-culture and content in major overseas countries with the Korea International Cultural Exchange Agency. The target countries and the number of samples were expanded from 8,500 in 18 countries in the previous year to 25,000 in 26 countries.
As a result of research on the contents most preferred by Hallyu consumers, the popularity of the group ‘BTS’ and the drama ‘Squid Game’ remained the same.
‘The Squid Game’ (11.3%) and ‘Strange Lawyer Woo Young-woo’ (2.8%) were selected as dramas, and ‘Parasite’ (9.1%) and ‘Train to Busan’ (6.9%) were selected as movies. As for singers, ‘BTS’ (31.3%) and ‘Blackpink’ (10.8%) took first and second place following last year. As for games, ‘Battle Ground’ (10.3%) and ‘Ragnarok’ (9.7%) were preferred.
It was analyzed that popular films such as ‘Parasite’ and ‘Train to Busan’ are continuously exposed through local release or online video service (OTT), and their influence is increasing. Last year’s new works, including ‘Strange Lawyer Woo Young-woo’, dramas ‘Now at Our School’ (2.6%), ‘Company Match’ (1.9%), and movies ‘Carter’ (2.5%), ‘Hunt’ (2%), ‘ 20th Century Girl’ (1.8%) ranked 2nd to 5th, showing high expectations and interest in new K-contents.
As for the first association image that comes to mind about Korea, K-content took the top spot. K-pop (14.3%), Korean food (13.2%), Hallyu stars (7.4%), dramas (6.6%), and information technology (IT) products and brands (5.6%) followed. It can be seen that the image of Korea, which was represented by IT products and brands in the past, is being filled with K-content. K-pop has been ranked number one for six consecutive years.
The brand power index, which shows the popularity and potential of K-content, was 58.8 points. By category, food (66 points), beauty (62.3 points), K-pop (61.7 points), movies (61.3 points), and fashion (60.7 points) were the highest in that order.
The rate of experiencing Korean cultural content was in the order of food (72.3%), movie (67.7%), music (63.2%), and drama (61.2%). Most countries in the Asian region were above the average. The Americas were average, and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa had many countries below average.
Over 50% of Korean Wave popularity evaluations in their country rated it as more than average popular in all content areas. Food (49.1%), beauty (46.5%), music (45.9%), fashion (42.6%), movies (39.4%), and games (36.9%) were popular in the order of popularity. In emerging regions such as South America and the Middle East, the rate of experiencing movies, music, and dramas was higher than that of food, and music was particularly popular in South America.
Webtoons ranked first in the category of Korean cultural content consumption. Webtoon, which is in the limelight as the source IP of K-content, was investigated as a separate item from publications starting with this investigation. In 2021, it was ranked 6th (based on details in publications), but last year it ranked first with 28.6%.
Webtoon consumption time also increased by 0.9 hours from the previous year to 16.1 hours, exceeding the average K-content consumption time of 15.2 hours. The average annual growth rate over the past three years has been 20.9%, showing the global growth and popularity of Korean webtoons. It was found that overseas consumers are also using a lot of Korean platforms.
The main consumption channels of K-content were concentrated on online and mobile platforms. It was around 40% in the 2016 survey, but it exceeded 85% in this survey. This is an average increase of 10% compared to the previous year. Dramas (67.6%) and movies (70.0%) were mainly used through Netflix, entertainment (67.6%) and music (81.1%), and animation (66.1%) through YouTube. In addition, as the contact rate of Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, iQiyi, and Apple TV increased, content use platforms were diversifying.
In addition, 60.3% of respondents answered that their overall perception of Korea changed to positive after experiencing K-content. 4.9% answered negatively. The rate of sympathizing with the negative perception of K-content was 27.1%. It was found that the national image enhanced by K-content has a positive effect on related industries such as food, cosmetics, and home appliances.
The survey result report can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Promotion Agency.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.