A scene from “The King's Affection” / Courtesy of KBS

Korean dramas have been gaining attention, especially with the global streaming service Netflix’s Korean original thriller “Squid Game” becoming a worldwide sensation last year.

Rising popularity has turned a spotlight on Korean romance series, which were once considered only appealing to a specific Hallyu fanbase. Series like “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha,” “The King's Affection” and "Our Beloved Summer" have won the hearts of viewers around the world and landed on Netflix’s weekly top 10 charts.

TvN’s romantic comedy series “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” made it into the streaming platform’s weekly top 10 charts for non-English series for 16 consecutive weeks since premiering last August. The series, starring Shin Min-a and Kim Seon-ho, debuted at seventh place and soon climbed up the chart, notching the second spot after a month.

Adapted for TV from the 2004 romance film “Mr. Handy, Mr. Hong,” Cha-Cha-Cha follows the love story between a dentist, Yoon Hye-jin (Shin), who moves from the big city to a small seaside town, and the town’s jack-of-all-trades, Hong Du-sik (Kim).

Korea’s period series have also collected global audiences on Netflix. The romance series “The King's Affection,” starring Park Eun-bin and Rowoon from K-pop group SF9, debuted on the weekly Top 10 chart on the week of its premiere, October 11.

The series scored second place about a month later and stayed on the chart until a week after its finale on December 14.

The 20-part romance, set in the 15^th century during the Joseon Dynasty, is about the twin sister of fictional Crown Prince Lee Hwi who is discarded after her birth due to superstitious beliefs about twins. When her brother dies she secretly returns to the palace disguised as her deceased twin and becomes king to maintain the family’s line of succession.

The rom-com series "Our Beloved Summer,” starring Choi Woo-shik, the son from the family of grifters in the Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” and actress Kim Da-mi, landed on the platform’s chart two weeks after its December 6 premiere.

The 16-part series, which ended on January 25, climbed up the chart to fourth place by the third week of January. Ironically, it was not that popular in Korea, with its last episode garnering only a 5.3 percent viewer rating.

Based on a webtoon of the same name, the coming-of-age series revolves around a former couple who are forced back into each other’s lives after their documentary from high school goes viral 10 years later.

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