The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister YU In Chon, MCST) in collaboration with the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (President PARK Chang Sik, KOFICE), released the results of the 2025 Overseas Hallyu Survey (as of 2024), which highlights the usage and perception of Hallyu (also known as the Korean Wave) content overseas. In this year’s survey, the Philippines and Hong Kong were added to the survey target regions and the sample size was expanded from 700–1,600 to 700–2,100 per region.

<Overview of the 2024 Overseas Hallyu Survey (Conducted since 2012)>

The word “Korea” first brings to mind K-pop, followed by Korean food and drama

The survey revealed that K-pop was the first concept that came to mind upon encountering the word “Korea” with 17.8% for eight consecutive years since 2017, followed by Korean food (11.8%), dramas (8.7%), beauty (6.4%), and movies (5.6%). Information technology (IT) products/brands (5.1%), on the other hand, came sixth, falling outside the top five for the first time since the survey began in 2012. A whopping 70.3% of the respondents were found to like Korean cultural content. This year’s survey covered a total of 12 categories with “Korean language” added for the first time to the existing 11 content categories—dramas, variety shows, movies, music, animation, publications, webtoons, games, fashion, beauty products and food. The favorability rating for the Korean language was 75.4%, higher than the average 70.3%. The favorability rating by region showed that the Philippines showed the most interest with 88.9%, followed by Indonesia (86.5%), India (84.5%), and Thailand (82.7%), indicating that Hallyu is still highly favored in all these countries.

Hallyu’s popularity is surging faster and farther across all categories

The survey also looked into the popularity rating of Korean cultural content by category in the countries of the respondents who experienced Hallyu. When asked which category reached the threshold of “mainstream popularity,” meaning it is widely known to the general public and related products are being sold in the respective country, food ranked first with 53.7%, followed by music (51.2%), beauty (50.8%), and dramas (49%). It seems that direct access to Korean cultural content increased with expanding exposure to Korean culture on social media and streaming platforms.

68.2% of the respondents are willing to recommend Korean cultural content

When asked about their willingness to recommend Korean cultural content, 68.2% of the respondents gave a positive response. By category, the willingness rating was the highest for the Korean language (78.5%), followed by variety shows (75.9%), games (75.9%), dramas (75.4%) and beauty (75.4%). This suggests that not only Korean video content, already gaining global popularity, but also the Korean language and games attract high levels of interest. The respondents spent an average of 14 hours per month consuming Korean cultural content, up by 2.3 hours from the previous year. By content type, the respondents spent the most time on dramas (17.5 hours) and variety shows (17 hours). Overall content consumption had declined with people having returned to their normal daily lives after COVID-19, but it began to increase again in 2024.

However, negative perceptions toward Hallyu is also growing along with its rising popularity. As for their agreement with negative perceptions toward the Korean Wave, 37.5% of the respondents agreed with the sentiment, a 4.9 percentage point increase from the previous year. By region, the agreement rate was high in India (52.7%) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (52%). Agreement with negative perceptions tends to be higher in regions where people had greater interest in Hallyu and spent more on the related goods and services.

Squid Game and Parasite are still popular while Queen of Tears and EXHUMA are catching up

Squid Game was still the most preferred Korean drama with 9.7%, a 0.7 percentage point increase from the previous year prior to the release of its second season[1] and Queen of Tears (6.5%) ranked second. While Crash Landing on You (2.2%) came in third, maintaining its top ranking for five consecutive years, True Beauty (2.1%) and Lovely Runner (1.8%) joined the list to round out the top five. In the movie category, Parasite remained the most preferred movie for five years in a row with 8.3%, while Train to Busan (6.5%) continued to hold its second place ranking. EXHUMA rose in ranking with 4.1%, garnering significantly higher preference in the Asia Pacific region (5.9%), which has closer cultural ties to Korea. What is notable here is that in the most preferred Korean dramas and movies, Queen of Tears, Lovely Runner and EXHUMA, released in 2024, landed a spot on the list. This indicates that more and more people are consuming Korean cultural content without delay at almost the same time it is released in its home market.

“Food” and “visiting Korea” topped the Korean products/services the respondents desire to experience most

58.9% of the respondents with Hallyu experience said that they were willing to pay for Korean products/services, which is a 14.8 percentage point increase from 44.1% in 2020. Overall purchase intention for Korean products/services was found to be on a steady incline despite some fluctuations over the short term. By product category, “food” was the highest with 66.2%, followed by “beauty products” (57.1%) and “home appliances” (55.3%). By service, “visiting Korea” (64.1%) came in first, followed by “dining at restaurants” (64%) and “experiencing traditional culture” (54.1%).

When asked why they purchased Korean products/services, the most common reason was “quality” (61.5%), followed by “price” (43.4%) and “convenience in use” (32.6%). “Appearance in movies and TV shows” as the reason for purchases accounted for 22.1%, a 5 percentage point increase from previous year’s 17.1%. By country, “appearance in movies and TV shows” was mentioned most in Thailand (33.1%), India (31.1%), UAE (27.5%), China (26.9%), and Vietnam (26.9%), indicating that Korean cultural content is influencing the purchase of Korean products/services.

The promotion of Hallyu industries encourages the sustainable dissemination of Hallyu

MCST, based on the survey results, plans to initiate a diverse set of initiatives aiming at promoting Hallyu and its related industries. With the Framework Act on the Promotion of Hallyu Industries taking effect in April, the Ministry will also lay the legal foundations for the advancement of Hallyu industries by enacting a related enforcement decree. It will hold three Hallyu expos, intended to boost the ripple effect of Hallyu on related industries, and launch a permanent public relations (PR) center in Dubai, UAE, jointly operated by different ministries, to consistently promote Korean culture. In Korea, My K-Festa, a major Hallyu event, will also be held to actively foster the sustainable growth of Hallyu.