Netflix original drama series “XO, Kitty” (2023) revolves around Korean American high school girl Kitty Song Covey, played by Anna Cathcart, and depicts her adventure as she moves from the United States to Seoul to go to an international high school that her mother used to attend.

Upon its release in mid-January on Netflix, the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” (2018) spinoff started strongly, as it took the top spot on the streaming platform.


Since the main backdrop of the drama series is Seoul, Kitty and her friends are spotted having a meal at a Korean barbecue restaurant where grill tables are set up. The scene was filmed at a restaurant in Jongno District, central Seoul.

The teenage girl experiences making rice cakes, traditional Korean treats, with her friends in another scene.

Not only Jongno but other familiar places such as Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, and Hangang Park are featured in the drama series. All the campus scenes were shot at Sangmyung University located in Cheonan, South Chungcheong.

Another Netflix original series, “The Recruit” (2022-), unveiled its second season to the public late last month. The recent season is set against the backdrop of Seoul.

Novice lawyer Owen Hendricks, played by Noah Centineo, works for the Central Intelligence Agency and is embroiled in a series of life-and-death situations as he teams up with a Korean intelligence agent.

Landmarks in the southern part of Seoul such as the Lotte World Tower and Gangnam-daero, the main road between Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station, are frequently featured as the main setting. The protagonist also runs through a traditional Korean market in search of villains.

Many drama series produced by over-the-top (OTT) platforms choose Korea as their main location.

In the past, drama series based on Korean works such as “Pachinko” (2022-24) on Apple TV+ have been filmed here, but the latest trend is different. Overseas productions are willing to pick Korea as a main setting to perk up their stories.

Amazon Prime’s drama series “Butterfly,” which is set to premiere sometime later this year, finished filming in Seoul in June last year. Based on the graphic novel with the same title, Korean American actor and producer Daniel Dae Kim and Korean actors Kim Tae-hee and Park Hae-soo are part of the cast.

“In 2013 when we started this business, we [assisted] a single [OTT] drama to film [in Korea], but the number went up to three last year and we’ve received six inquiries [about filming in Korea] so far,” said Hwang Seon-kwon, the CEO of production service company Nine Tailed Fox.

The company helped the production team of “XO, Kitty” when it arrived in Seoul.

The growing demand for Korea as a location among overseas productions is attributed to the never-ceasing popularity of K-pop and drama series.

Experts also add that global OTTs attempt to differentiate their original content by selecting certain locations.

“It’s been already proven by the phenomenal popularity of the song ‘APT’ [2024] by Rosé, which uses a Korean drinking game as its main theme. Korean culture is at the center of the world's attention,” said culture critic Jung Duk-hyun.

“By featuring some intriguing culture from Korea, [OTTs] make [their original content] appeal to worldwide fans,” Jung added.

According to industry insiders, overseas drama production teams are highly interested in landmark destinations such as Gangnam, the southern part of Seoul dotted with skyscrapers, Insa-dong, where you can see many antiques, and Gwangjang Market, one of the biggest traditional markets in the capital city.

One of the reviews written on IMDb, a website providing information on dramas and films, raved about “XO, Kitty” for beautifully portraying Seoul.

Financial incentives provided by the Korean Film Council (Kofic) and other local film commissions also play a pivotal role in attracting overseas productions.

When a foreign production team films for more than five days and spends 400 million won ($275,298) or more, up to 25 percent of the expenditure spent in Korea can be returned to the production team. “XO, Kitty” and “The Recruit” were beneficiaries of this incentive program.

The Busan Film Commission said five countries including the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Mongolia had applied for a cash grant program last year.

An official working at the Seoul Film Commission said, “Apart from big-name OTTs, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, we could feel that many production teams in Southeast Asian countries are interested in filming [in Korea].”

Another Kofic official, who didn’t want to be identified, said, “With an increasing number of overseas production teams that wish to film [in Korea], we’ve decided to provide cash back to co-produced films and dramas [between Korea and other countries]. Thanks to this, we saw a 30 percent increase in applicants to the incentive program.

“We provide a 25 percent cash incentive, while Japan provides 50 percent. We need to expand the budget further to promote overseas productions coming to Korea,” the official added.

BY CHOI HYE-RI [kjdculture@joongang.co.kr]