A South Korean soap opera featuring a military romance between a soldier and surgeon is sweeping across Asia, highlighting the growing popularity of Korean pop culture — and its commercial potential in the region.
Descendants of the Sun, a 16-episode show that first aired in Korea in February, has been viewed more than 2bn times on iQiyi, a Chinese online streaming site, irritating the authorities.
Warnings of the social ills of excessive viewing of Korean dramas have failed to cool Chinese viewers’ ardour, however. The hallyu, or “Korean wave”, phenomenon — which dates to the early 2000s — is extending its reach beyond dramas, films and so-called K-pop into areas including fashion, food and beauty products.
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