Why Australians are getting hooked on Korean TV (2024)

When Kate Daley watches TV, she says it feels like she's "sitting down with a friend". It brings a special sense of comfort.

That's because the 33-year-old, who lives in regional NSW, almost exclusively watches Korean drama series — known as 'K-drama' — despite not being Korean or speaking the Korean language. And she's not the only one.

In the shows Ms Daley likes, there is generally no swearing or raunchy sex scenes. Instead, the wholesome romances barely see the main characters kiss by the end of the series.

"I've just gotten really tired of the way western film wants to shock you all the time," she says.

"I just want to sit down and enjoy something — and actually enjoy it, not be scared or traumatised."

I've been drawn to K-drama because it is safe, visually, for me to look at.

- Kate Daley, K-drama fan

It's an observation shared by others in Australia.

Sydney resident Liam Luangrathrajasombat runs a YouTube channel dedicated to Korean culture, including K-drama.

"There aren't really any rom-coms [being made elsewhere] anymore," he says.

"With K-dramas, there's this build-up of emotion and getting to know each other. They probably hate each other at the beginning [but] they grow to love each other at the end ... it's more about really building that relationship."

Mr Luangrathrajasombat, who is of Laotian heritage, says he first became aware of K-drama after being exposed to Korean music. Many K-pop stars also appear in the TV shows.

The first drama he really loved was I Can Hear Your Voice.

"Then there was another one, which I kind of fell into really hard, called She Was Pretty," he says.

"My mum has seen it and my brother has seen it ... and my mates as well. I haven't seen someone that hates it."

Start-Up and It’s Okay to Not Be Okay were also among Netflix’s most popular K-drama series in 2020.

Last year, Netflix invested nearly $500 million USD ($718 million AUD) into producing more Korean content, partnering with major studios including Studio Dragon and JTBC.

Korean culture and society is one of Associate Professor Roald Maliangkaij's research areas at Australian National University. He has also lived in South Korea and takes regular trips there.

He's noticed the increasing popularity of K-dramas among his students and believes it's growing through word of mouth. He puts the secret to their success down to great writing, with lots of plot twists and turns.

"One of the things that really stands out is the quality of the writing ... Korean writers are, I think, excellent," he says.

The characters are also modest and respectful, making them more relatable. Even a billionaire character will show respect to the elderly, he says.

Shows also avoid typecasting women and "Korean women can often be very powerful characters in Korean dramas". But of course, they often star attractive people.

He believes South Korea's image as a futuristic society also adds to the shows' appeal.

"It is known to be one of the most modern places in the world, it's the source of a lot of modern technologies, and so that combined with all these traditional elements makes it quite appealing," Associate Professor Maliangkaij said.

"When you go to South Korea, you'll find that in a restaurant, you often don't have a waiter, you have a machine, so you order through the machine.

Associate Professor Maliangkaij says this sense of modernity also played a role in the popularity of Japanese pop culture in the late 1980s.

Like any drama, the life depicted in the shows can be a bit unrealistic at times.

"Korea is a cutthroat society in that there's an enormous pressure on people to be successful and work hard," Associate Professor Maliangkaij said.

"People don't really have a family life much during the week," he adds. "So if you see a Korean romantic drama where a husband or wife comes home late and has time for the children, or time for a chat with the partner, I'd say that's probably not as realistic.

As well as Netflix, Apple TV+ has also recently developed Korean language shows including the sci-fi thriller Dr. Brain, and an adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s bestselling novel Pachinko, about four generations of a Korean immigrant family.

US-based streaming service Rakuten Viki has also produced Dramaworld, an original Korean drama set in Los Angeles and Seoul featuring Australian actress Liv Hewson. She plays a drama fan who somehow gets transported into the world of dramas. It is also available to watch in Australia on SBS On Demand.

Of course, people who don't speak Korean will need to watch with the subtitles on. But K-drama is also inspiring some to learn the language.

Mr Luangrathrajasombat started studying Korean after switching to international studies at university, which meant he could study overseas for a year.

"South Korea was the obvious choice, just because I had been really getting into that content," he says.

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