The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announces a report on the analysis of global Hallyu trends

*This content was translated by AI.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Choi Hwi-young) announced on the 25th that it has collected and analyzed about 1.5 million foreign articles and Nuri communication network (SNS) data from 30 countries from October 2024 to September 2025 and released the "2025 Global Hallyu Trend Analysis Report" with the Korea Culture Information Service (Director Jung Un-hyun).

This analysis report was prepared by expanding the analysis data to about twice the size compared to the previous year (680,000 cases). It comprehensively reflected 5,608 reports from 460 major overseas media (3,708 reports after refining) and 1.49 million Korean Wave-related data collected from YouTube, X (X, former Twitter), and six reports, including one annual integrated report, four quarterly reports, and one in-depth analysis report from Japan and Thailand.

In 2025, the number of foreign media reports related to the Korean Wave was highest in Asia (44%), Europe (20.8%), and North America (16.9%). While the proportion of K-pop was the highest in most regions, including Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America, the proportion of "K-literature" was the highest in Africa and "K-film" in Oceania, indicating that the Korean Wave is diversifying from music to literature, movies, and dramas.

By country, the number of reports was highest in the order of the United States, India, Argentina and Vietnam, and the areas of interest in each country were differentiated, with "K-literature" in Japan, "K-drama" in Vietnam, and "K-movie" in Brazil.

By field, the global trend in the 'K-food' field was remarkable. Popular and traditional Korean cuisine keywords such as 'Kimchi', 'Soju', 'Ramen', and 'Bibimbap', as well as 'Chef' and 'Squid Game' have emerged as related keywords. This is the effect of the global re-examination of Korean food, which is naturally exposed in the cooking entertainment program "Black and White Chef" and the drama "Squid Game" through the online video service (OTT) platform.

Looking at the current status of major contents in 2025, the Netflix animation film "K-Pop Demon Hunters" surpassed 300 million Netflix views and the theme song "Golden" became a global sensation with record performances in the film and music sectors, including No. 1 on Billboard's "Hot 100." It was analyzed that the popularity factor was the natural combination of traditional cultural materials such as the Grim Reaper and the goblin and Korean food such as Kimbap and Ramen. In particular, the ripple effect of the content has spread to tourism and consumption areas, including an increase in foreign visitors to the National Museum of Korea and a surge in reservations for "K-Culture" experience products.

It was analyzed that the drama "Fully Believed" (directed by Kim Won-seok), set in Jeju, formed an international consensus with a localization strategy tailored to the emotions of each country and a universal family love narrative. Since Netflix's airing, demand for Jeju tourism has increased, and the voluntary spread of "My Own Official Challenge" on the Nuri communication network has continued, which has been evaluated as an example of the globalization of local content.

Since the release of season 3, "Squid Game" has still maintained its global influence, ranking No. 1 in 93 countries. Critics' indicators declined somewhat as the season went on, but they still maintained high public interest and proved the brand value of "K-Content." Industrial ripple effects such as global brand collaboration, US liquor awards, and increased investment in online video services (OTT) are also continuing, according to the analysis.

Since author Han Kang won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the proportion of "K-literature" reports has increased by more than 30 percentage points (p) compared to the previous quarter, and "vegetarian" and "The Boy Is Coming" have been highlighted. Emphasizing the symbolism of "the first Asian woman to win an award," foreign media evaluated that Korean literature has opened a new horizon in the history of world literature.

This report is significant in that it quantitatively proved the structure of the spread of the Korean Wave, as it integrated foreign news articles and Nuri communication network data to analyze international big data, changes in keywords, emotional analysis, and network maps (network maps).

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Moon Jung-won quantitatively analyzed 100 to 150 cultural and Korean Wave-related foreign media data every week to establish a sustainable Korean Wave policy through analysis of Korean culture and Korean Wave-related foreign media data, and also published a report on "Weekly Culture and Korean Wave Foreign Affairs Trends" for policy customers within the government and related partner organizations. As a result, it has ranked first in the number of downloads for three consecutive years among all reports and data posted on the platform since signing the 2022 business agreement.

Six types of reports, including the "2025 Global Hallyu Trend Analysis Annual Report" and the "Quarterly Hallyu Foreign Affairs Trend Report," can be found on the "Culture Big Data Platform."

Lee Eun-bok, an overseas public relations policy officer at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "Overseas data related to Hallyu are an area where systematic collection and analysis are not easy due to various language and media environments. The report is a combination of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's accumulated analysis capabilities and the global cultural center's network, he said. "As Hallyu has become a major strategic asset that drives national brand and industrial competitiveness beyond simple content trends, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will help design policies based on related reports and establish and advance customized overseas promotion strategies."

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*This content was translated by AI.