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BTS, Blackpink and kimchi led Hallyu in 2024: Report

Published: 25 Feb. 2025, 15:18

People play ″Red Light, Green Light″ during an offline event ahead of the release of season two of Netflix's ″Squid Game″ (2021-) in Paris on Dec. 2, 2024. [NEWS1]

BTS, Blackpink and NewJeans were Korea's flagship selling points in Asian countries, while kimchi and soju led the charge elsewhere, according to data revealed by the government on Tuesday.

In collaboration with the Korea Culture Information Service Agency, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism unveiled the results of the “2024 Global Hallyu Trend Analysis Report." Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, refers broadly to Korea's pop culture.

The report shows the trending Hallyu-related key words based on an analysis of 680,000 pieces of Hallyu-related content from foreign news articles and social media searches between October 2023 and September 2024.

By nation, the highest volume of Hallyu-related content came from India, followed by the United States, Thailand and Turkey.

K-pop was the dominant topic in India, Thailand and the Philippines, with the most searched names being K-pop bands BTS, Blackpink and NewJeans.

Korean food had a higher share in countries like Nigeria, the United States and Britain, while Korean dramas were the most frequently mentioned Hallyu content in Turkey.

Regarding Korean food, major foreign media outlets showed a strong interest in kimchi, with consistent coverage of its health benefits and Kimchi Day celebrations. Other top Korean food-related key words included soju, fried chicken, bibimbap and Buldak Ramen products.

Buldak Ramen products are displayed at a supermarket. [YONHAP]

The Korean term mukbang, meaning eating livestream shows, was also consistently mentioned and appeared even when referring to non-Korean cuisines, indicating that the term has become widely recognized, according to the Culture Ministry.

Korean films and dramas, including “Exhuma" (2024), “I, the Executioner” (2024) and “Squid Game” (2021–), were also widely discussed across borders.

With the Paris Summer Olympics being a major global event last year, numerous Korea-related Olympic key words were frequently searched in foreign media and on social media. Particularly, events such as BTS member Jin’s participation in the Olympic torch relay and the large-scale cheering event using Team Korea’s official cheering sticks garnered online attention, according to the ministry.

“We will continue to provide timely and diverse analytical data based on overseas sources to support the development of customized Hallyu policies and business strategies for different countries and continents,” said Chae Soo-hee of the Culture Ministry’s International Cultural Affairs Promotion Division.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [[email protected]]