K-drama in Numbers
Korean series now top charts and win awards around the world. Here is that rise in numbers.
Squid Game season 1 drew 265.2 million views in its first 91 days, which makes it Netflix's most-watched series, according to the company.
The first season earned 14 nominations and 6 wins at the 2022 Emmys. Netflix describes them as the first nominations and wins ever for a non-English-language series.
In September 2022 Lee Jung-jae (이정재) won outstanding lead actor in a drama series for Squid Game. He was the first Asian winner in the category, the first Korean and the first from a non-English-language series.
Hwang Dong-hyuk (황동혁), who created Squid Game, won outstanding directing for a drama series in 2022 for the episode "Red Light, Green Light". He was the first Asian winner in the category and the first for a non-English-language series.
In June 2025 Squid Game season 3 opened at No. 1 in all 93 countries where Netflix publishes a Top 10, the first show to do that in its debut week. It drew 60.1 million views in its first three days.
Squid Game season 2 drew 68 million views in its debut week in December 2024 and ranked No. 1 in 92 countries. Netflix said it broke the record for most views for a show in its premiere week.
Netflix told shareholders in October 2021 that 142 million member households had chosen to watch the show in its first four weeks, and that it had ranked as the No. 1 program in 94 countries.
At the 2022 awards Lee Jung-jae, Jung Ho-yeon (정호연) and the show's stunt ensemble all won. Netflix says Squid Game was the first non-English series to win multiple SAG Awards.
The King's Affection (연모), a KBS historical drama, won the 2022 International Emmy for best telenovela. The International Academy called it the first Emmy for a telenovela from South Korea.
In April 2023 Netflix said it would invest US$2.5 billion in Korean content over four years, about double what it had invested since entering Korea in 2016.
South Korea's broadcasting industry exported US$1,257.2 million of content in 2024, up 20.0% from 2023 and 2.3 times the US$539.2 million of 2019.
In Squid Game, 456 cash-strapped contestants play children's games for a prize of 45.6 billion won. The hero, Seong Gi-hun, is Player 456.
South Korea's broadcasting industry exports
Unit: US$ million. Export table in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism press release '2025 Content Industry Survey (2024 data)', February 27, 2026 (PDF attachment, row 방송, unit million US dollars). The release is published under KOGL Type 0 (free use). Read from the PDF on 2026-10-01.
Data table
| Year | US$ million |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 539.2 |
| 2020 | 692.8 |
| 2021 | 718.0 |
| 2022 | 948.0 |
| 2023 | 1,047.2 |
| 2024 | 1,257.2 |