Why Indians are obsessing over K-dramas?

THE TIMELINE

The history of South Korean Dramas or K-dramas in India dates back to somewhere in the late 2000s. It might come as a surprise to those who are new to these region-specific series. South Korea has always been known for its music, television series, and movies among the other East Asian countries. However, it took them decades to penetrate the Indian market. So let’s take a quick dive into the history of South Korean Entertainment in India.

The first attempt was made in 2009 when KBS World was released as an official channel in India to provide authentic South Korean Entertainment content with English subtitles to the Indian masses. KBS World was released in India in collaboration with Reliance Big TV Network. It is a widely popular television channel in Eastern Asian countries that provides information about South Korean trends in various fields in English. However, the Indian audiences being widely indulged and influenced by the Western World did not catch their attention. The channel did not work out financially and therefore was closed eventually. 

Then came the classic Hur Jun. Doordarshan India launched a K-drama called Hur Jun, a classic drama originally aired from November 1999 to January 2000 in its home country. The series was a success with a historical viewership of 64% recorded. In 2014, the series (dubbed in Hindi) was launched on Doordarshan for the Indian audience. Despite it being a period drama set in the Joseon Era and low frame rate, the popularity of this series set viewership standards for K-dramas in India. A massive 34 million people regularly tuned in to watch the episodes between January to October of 2014. 

Do you remember the channel Zindagi? The channel aired international series dubbed in Hindi and several Pakistani series on Indian Television. This channel, in 2017, aired the most popular K-drama of the year, Descendants of the Sun. The series' popularity was immense. 

Screenshot for the Valentine's Day campaign on Zindagi with Descendants Of The Sun

A  real-time viewership of 38.8% in South Korea and 3.2 billion people watching it in China. The series introduced many people to K-dramas not only in India but in Western countries as well. Despite the original being this well-known among the masses, the series was remade into several languages. It did equally well in India as well. The series turned out to be successful with 57 million regular viewers. This Soldier-Doctor love story did wonders in connecting with the Indian audience. 

Teaser of Descendants Of The Sun dubbed in Hindi on Zindagi

Teaser of Boys Over Flower dubbed in Hindi on Zindagi

Later on, Zindagi also announced the airing of Boys Over Flowers another very popular K-drama but due to the channel closing down in 2017 as a consequence of the Uri Attack, it was released on the OTT platform owned by Zee Network. 

While the northern part of the country was still getting introduced to K-dramas by the late 2000s, the northeastern states were already completely indulged in the K-wave. Due to the ban on Hindi-language content in 1997 because of political distress in the states, the general public to get content turned to K-dramas and K-pop. 

CONNECTION WITH INDIAN AUDIENCE

Till several years ago, a part of the society didn’t even bother to learn the difference between North and South Korea. Thanks to the Korean Wave, they are getting educated about the two regions. And also, led us to draw connections and similarities between India and South Korea. From food, language, and culture to emotional quotient, India in many ways has similarities with South Korea. These similarities did play a part in connecting with the Indian masses through their television screens. So here, I present five reasons why K-dramas are getting popular in India.

• Introduction through Western Media: The catchy one-liner “Oppa Gangnam Style” still brings back memories. This 2012 sensation did wonders in America. India, being an avid follower of American media, naturally got to groove on the track. This was the very first breeze of the massive K-wave felt in India. With the success of Parasite, Squid Games and All Of Us Are Dead on international levels, K-dramas are finally gaining the attention they need. 

Poster of Squid Games

• Quality Content: We as Indians have watched our mothers, aunties or grandmothers watch serials at some point or the other in our lives. Doesn’t everything look repetitive in there? The same sets, the same locations, the same people, and even the repetitive storyline. Don’t we get bored with that? This is exactly what K-dramas provide a break from. From the set designs, locations, music, and production quality to execution, EVERYTHING, I say everything is better in quality. The storylines or characters are so layered at times it’s refreshing. The fashion is trendy, the locations are pretty and so are the sets. And the acting, do I even need to describe it? It’s pleasing to the eyes and ears both. 

Here is the teaser of an upcoming K-drama called My Demon. The quality, I mentioned you can see it here for yourself.

Teaser of My Demon

• Emotionally appealing Storylines: Emotions have always been a big part of our entertainment. Be it the over-the-top, highly dramatic serials or the larger-than-life movies. K-dramas have hit the nail right on that spot in that case. The emotional connection that they create with the Indian audience is spot-on. Avid K-drama viewers would tell you how they cry, smile, laugh, and relate to the characters even though there is a language difference.
• Family-friendly: Imagine you are watching an American series or any English Language series and your mother comes and sits next to you curious about the kind of show you are watching. Don’t you become conscious about them being there watching the show with you? The reason is that you don’t know what is coming up. Even a simple kissing scene on the screen could make us feel extremely embarrassed. Do you remember how people used to refer to English language content as vulgar? Try a K-drama and you’ll see the difference. 

  

  Still from Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

Yes, K-dramas do have kissing scenes and intimate scenes as well if required but trust me not for a second you’ll find them vulgar. That’s the beauty of K-dramas. The direction of these scenes makes it beautiful and gives the watcher butterflies. So even if your mother comes and sits next to you, you don’t have to feel conscious. Instead, invite her to watch the entire series with you, she’ll love it. 

Stills from Because This Is My First Life, I Am Not A Robot & Her Private Life (L to R)

• Similar Cultures: Culture, has been a big part of your lives as an Indian. We also make efforts to protect our culture and even promote it. This sentiment is something we share with South Korea. Their values, traditions, and morals, are very clearly depicted in K-dramas. How much they value human relations, how they respect elders, and their love for their country all these factors will make K-dramas less foreign to an Indian viewer.
• Covid Effect: The period where everyone was forced to isolate themselves, where people were on the verge of falling into depression. Content was the only way of entertainment and distraction. What makes K-dramas stand out amongst the tsunami of content is their freshness. All the factors mentioned above are the reasons that pulled people into this trance called “K-dramas” and trust me nobody regrets it.
• Rise of OTT: Okay, so now let’s say you want to watch a K-drama. You know it will not show up on your cable TV. You search it up on YouTube but still, you don't get the full episode. So where to watch it? OTT is the answer. Digitalization and the rise of OTT platforms have made K-dramas extremely accessible to us. You will find your favorite K-dramas on some or the other OTT platforms. Also, we have platforms that provide dubbed versions of these K-dramas not only in Hindi but also in other regional languages. 

In 2019, under the Look East policy, the Indian Government had an agreement to air KBS World on DD Free Dish in exchange for airing DD India on South Korean Televisions. This is a clear result of the increasing influence of K-Wave among the Indian audience. Ending this with a quote from Director Bong Joon Ho, 

"Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films."

That was all for my analysis of the topic. Please do comment and give me your feedback! And of course please let me know your favorite K-dramas and the ones you are watching right now so that I can also watch it ;)