On January 28, 2021, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Foundation for International Culture Exchange released their 2021 Overseas Hallyu (Korean Wave) Survey.
And that recent government report shows some of the most beloved Korean stars and content around the world.
Respondents included 8,500 Korean cultural content consumers from 18 countries, such as the United States, China, Japan, and more.
They were asked questions about Korean culture including television shows, films, music, and other topics, and the survey was conducted online from September 24 to November 4, 2020.
When asked to name their favorite Korean singer :
- 22 percent of respondents chose BTS—a rise of 6.8 percent points for the group since the previous year’s 15.2 percent
- BLACKPINK came in second (chosen by 13.5 percent of respondents)
- PSY was third (2.9 percent)
- TWICE fourth (2.4 percent)
- EXO fifth (2.1 percent)
For favorite Korean actors, the respondents choose :
- Lee Min Ho topped the list, chosen by 9.6 percent
- Hyun Bin was second (3.5 percent)
- Gong Yoo third (2.3 percent)
- Song Hye Kyo fourth (2.1 percent)
- Lee Jong Suk fifth (2 percent)
Among the respondents’ favorite Korean films :
- Parasite ranked No. 1 with 18.4 percent,
- Train to Busan in second with 10.2 percent
- Peninsula grabbed third with 3.5 percent
- #ALIVE took fourth with 2.1 percent
- Time to Hunt came in fifth with 1.6 percent.
Dramas were the most popular Korean content, with 29.7 percent of respondents answering that they watch Korean dramas. Among the respondents’ favorite Korean drama :
- Crash Landing on You was the leading favorite Korean with a score of 9.5 percent
- It’s Okay to Not Be Okay with 4.1 percent
- The World of the Married with 2.8 percent
- Itaewon Class with 2.8 percent
- Kingdom with 2.5 percent
Beauty products and videos were the next popular (27.5 percent), followed by variety shows (26.9 percent) and fashion (24.8 percent).
As information, many people stated that they consumed more Korean variety shows, dramas, and games compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.
