BTS, Jungkook, Squid Game, Gong Yoo and more lead Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism’s ‘2025 Overseas Hallyu Status Survey’: Complete list

The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism (MCST) conducted a survey of the popularity of the Hallyu Wave across the globe. According to reports released on April 7, 2025, by the MCST, prominent names like BTS, Jungkook, Gong Yoo, and Squid Game took the lead in popularity.

The survey was conducted by the MCST and the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange in 2024 from November 29 to December 27. 26,400 people with experience in Korean cultural content in 28 countries overseas participated in the survey.

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Which other parameters did the 2025 Hallyu Wave Status Survey include?

Parameters like willingness to recommend Korean content, negative perception of Korean content, favorability for the Korean language, popularity in their local regions, recognition rate, and popularity of Korean media were considered. 70.3% of respondents replied that they liked Korean culture, indicating a hike of 1.5% from last year's 68.8%.

K-pop ranked first with 17.8%, Korean food came second with 11.8%, Korean dramas were third with 8.7%, beauty was fourth with 6.4%, and movies were fifth with 5.6%. Information technology (IT) products/brands fell out of the top five with 5.1% and ranked sixth this year.

The favorability rating for the newly included 'Korean language' was 75.4%, exceeding the average of 70.3%. By region, the Philippines recorded the highest favorability rating with 88.9%, followed by Indonesia with 86.5%, India with 84.5%, and Thailand with 82.7%.

68.2% responded that they were willing to recommend Korean content. The specific order is as follows: Korean language (78.5%), entertainment (75.9%), games (75.9%), dramas (75.4%), and beauty (75.4%).

37.5% of respondents agreed with the negative perception, indicating a 4.9 percentage point increase from last year. By region, India ranked first with 52.7%, and the United Arab Emirates ranked second with 52%, showing high scores. This survey indicated that the higher the interest and the more active the consumption, the higher the agreement rate with negative perceptions.

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What is the popularity of K-dramas, K-pop, and more globally?

When it comes to Korean drama (K-drama), movies, actors, and K-pop, the results are as follows: Squid Game ranked first with 9.7% as the most preferred K-drama for the fourth consecutive year. It was followed by Queen of Tears with 6.5% and Crash Landing on You with 2.2% in second and third place, respectively.

New releases of 2024, such as Lovely Runner, The Judge from Hell, Love Next Door, and Marry My Husband, also entered the upper ranks and garnered attention. Squid Game 2, which was released on December 26 last year, was excluded from this survey.

The most preferred movie was Bong Joon-ho's Parasite, with 8.3%, which took first place for the fifth consecutive year, and Gong Yoo's Train to Busan also maintained its popularity with 6.5%. The Grave entered the ranks with 4.1%, and it was very popular in the culturally close Asia-Pacific region with 5.9%.

When it comes to the actors in the Hallyu Wave, Lee Min-ho, with 7.0%, has ranked first for 12 consecutive years since 2014, while Gong Yoo came second with 2.4%, Queen of Tears actor Kim Soo-hyun came third with 2.3%, and Ma Dong-seok came close with 1.5% and rose in the rankings.

As for the popularity of K-pop groups as part of the Hallyu Wave survey, BTS topped the ranking with 24.6%, and BLACKPINK came second with 12.3% for seven and six consecutive years, respectively. They were followed by IU (3.1%), PSY (2.2%), and Twice (1.8%).

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This survey has also proven instrumental in cementing the MCST's resolve to establish a legal foundation for the promotion of the Hallyu Wave industry along with the enforcement of the 'Basic Act on the Promotion of the Hallyu Wave Industry.'