South Korea Rises as Global Cultural Power Through Squad Game, BLACKPINK, and K-Dramas

From Squad Game to BLACKPINK and K-dramas, South Korea has rapidly emerged as a global cultural powerhouse. As the international influence of Korean entertainment expands at an accelerating pace, Korean culture is penetrating deeper into the daily lives of people around the world. According to the “2025 Global Hallyu Trends Analysis Report” released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Cultural Information Service, K-POP has received the highest level of interest among all Hallyu-related content. Among Hallyu-related news reports across Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America, K-POP accounted for the largest share, reaching 31.8% in Asia, 24.5% in Europe, 32.3% in North America, and 38.1% in Latin America. Within K-POP, BLACKPINK led with the highest share at 14.2%, demonstrating the strongest buzz. ROSÉ followed with 9.0%, followed by BTS at 7.3%. <K-POP Demon Hunters> (6.7%), JENNIE (5.0%), LISA (5.0%), j-hope (4.6%), and JUNG KOOK (3.4%) also received significant global attention. NewJeans, despite being on a temporary hiatus, ranked ninth with a 3.0% share, indicating continued public interest. In terms of overseas Hallyu-related news reports, Asia had the highest volume. Out of a total of 4,507 articles, Asia accounted for 1,982 (44.0%), Europe for 939 (20.8%), and North America for 760 (16.9%). On a country-by-country basis, the United States led with 725 articles, followed by India (433), Argentina (324), and Vietnam (289). In the U.S., K-POP accounted for 33.8% of related content, far exceeding K-movies (21.8%), K-dramas (12.7%), and K-food (11.6%). Netflix’s animated series <K-POP Demon Hunters> was identified as the most influential individual piece of content, having surpassed 300 million views. Meanwhile, the K-food trend is also noteworthy. Popular Korean dishes such as kimchi, soju, ramen, and bibimbap, along with traditional Korean food terms, have seen new associated keywords emerge, including “chef” and “Squad Game.” This shift is attributed to Korean cuisine being naturally featured in the globally popular Netflix cooking show <Chef’s Table> and the drama <Squad Game>, thereby reigniting interest in Korean food culture. This investigation was conducted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Cultural Information Service, who collected and analyzed approximately 1.5 million Hallyu-related materials from foreign news articles and social media across 30 countries from October 2024 to September of the previous year.