Seven out of 10 global respondents said they enjoy the South Korean content they consumed, with Southeast Asians leading the charge, according to a government survey released on Monday.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism released data from its 2026 South Korean culture study, which was done in partnership with the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, on Monday. The survey was conducted online with 27,400 people across 30 regions from November to December 2025.


The Philippines showed the strongest affinity for South Korean culture, at 87 percent, followed by India at 83.8 percent, Indonesia at 82.7 percent and Thailand at 79.4 percent.

When asked how much they enjoyed South Korean content on a scale of one to five — with five meaning “I liked it very much” — 69.7 percent of respondents across 30 countries answered the question positively, giving ratings of four or five.

On the other hand, some 37.5 percent of respondents rated their agreement with negative perceptions of South Korean content at four or five on a five-point scale — where five means “strongly agree” — which was unchanged from the previous year after increasing from 30.7 percent in 2024.

Respondents saw film, music, beauty and drama as the most popular content in their country. They identified K-pop as the most popular image of the country, followed by K-food.

This result showed a shift in global views toward South Korea, with phrases such as North Korea, the Korean War and the nuclear threat moving out of the top 10 keywords.

This was the first year to test how audiences viewed South Korea-based content made outside Korea, such as Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters” (2025). Factors respondents considered in determining if a show was authentically “South Korean” were how South Korean cultural aspects were incorporated, followed by the number of South Koreans in the production.

Movies and TV show rankings saw little change. Netflix’s “Squid Game” (2021-25) has ranked as the No. 1 South Korean show for five consecutive years. Likewise, the film “Parasite” (2019) has ranked No. 1 for six consecutive years.

For the most influential K-pop star, boy band BTS came in at No. 1. BTS also took the top position for singers for the eighth consecutive year, with girl group Blackpink at No. 2 for the seventh consecutive year. Actor Lee Min-ho has ranked as the most liked actor for 13 consecutive years.

On average, respondents spent 14.7 hours and $16.60 per month consuming South Korean content, which is a 0.7-hour and $1.20 increase from last year.

The format in which fans enjoyed content also varied. Most people watched drama, movies, animation and music on streaming and video platforms, while variety shows on social media and short-form platforms. Food and beauty products were not only viewed through social media posts from actual customers but also purchased based on those reviews.

The ministry is planning to host a one-stop shop for everything Korean in countries including the United States and France and expand Korea 360, a global exhibition about Korea, to the United States and Vietnam in the coming years.

BY LEE JI-WON [lee.jiwon10@joongang.co.kr]