Netflix turns everyday Korea into tourist attraction

Netflix and other streaming platforms are drawing international visitors to everyday Korean settings, including convenience stores, neighborhood pubs and Han River parks. The trend has expanded beyond landmark visits as travelers seek places and experiences featured in Korean content. A survey found that eight in 10 respondents had watched Korean content on Netflix before visiting, and more than six in 10 had visited a location featured in it. The shift is also influencing retail, university programs and tourism planning.

Trip.com data showed that in the four weeks after KPop: Demon Hunters premiered, flight bookings to Korea rose 146 percent from Spain and 122 percent from Germany.

Foreign visitor numbers to Bukchon Hanok Village increased 118 percent, according to the article.

The K-Content Tourism study surveyed 105 recent international visitors from the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan and the Philippines; 93 percent had arrived in Korea within the previous six months, and most were aged 25 to 34.

GS25 partnered with Netflix on a 10th-anniversary lineup of show-themed meals and snacks, alongside transit cards for foreign tourists.

Dong-A University in Busan established a K-Food department for international students and recruited chefs featured in Culinary Class Wars to mentor students.

Published Oct 22, 2026 1:26 pm KST

Streaming platform has driven K-content into mainstream

Actors Lee Jun-ho, left, and Lim Yoon-a enjoy a classic Han River outdoor instant noodle date in a scene from JTBC's romance series "King the Land," which is available for global streaming on Netflix. Courtesy of JTBC

On Tuesday, Zineb Baaout, a Moroccan-born travel content creator based in the U.S., posted an Instagram Reel showing her trip to Ttukseom Hangang Park in Seoul, where she enjoyed a bowl of instant noodles. She wrote to her followers: “600 K-dramas later, I finally got to see the hype around eating Ramyeon and watching the sunset at the Han River in person.”

What used to be a humble late-night ritual for locals has now become a bucket-list experience for visitors. Driven by global Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming platforms, most notably Netflix, tourists are flocking to Korea in growing numbers and shifting away from traditional landmark-hopping to immerse themselves in the everyday lifestyles, convenience store eats and neighborhood haunts featured in Korean dramas.

Korean dramas and idol groups such as BTS and BLACKPINK had already fueled global interest in Korean culture and tourism before Netflix entered the Korean market a decade ago. Yet the volume of tourists and the diversity of travel content inspired by Korean popular culture have grown exponentially with the rise of the streaming platform and its hit Korean series.

Tourists eat instant noodles along the Han River in Seoul in this video clip uploaded to Instagram. Captured from Instagram

According to data released by global travel platform Trip.com, the worldwide release of the animated film "KPop: Demon Hunters" last year triggered a dramatic surge in European travel demand to Korea. In the four weeks following its premiere, flight bookings to Korea jumped 146 percent from Spain and 122 percent from Germany. Foreign visitor numbers to Bukchon Hanok Village also spiked 118 percent, turning historic neighborhoods alongside Myeong-dong and N Seoul Tower into key fandom pilgrimage routes.

A recent "K-Content Tourism" exploratory study conducted by I&I Research and commissioned by media outlet K EnterTech Hub offers further insight into this viewer-to-tourist pipeline. The survey sampled 105 recent international visitors across five countries — the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan and the Philippines — with 93 percent having arrived in Korea within the last six months and the majority aged between 25 and 34.

A tourist shops at CU, a convenient store in Korea, in this undated photo. Courtesy of CU

"Eight in 10 had watched Korean content on Netflix before coming to Korea, and more than six in 10 had visited places featured in that content, such as Bukchon Hanok Village," said Jung Han, CEO of K EnterTech Hub. "Every respondent had shared their trip on social media."

Han emphasized that Korean content in key markets like the U.S. has crossed over into the cultural mainstream. "In the U.S., Korean content has reached people who never went looking for it," Han said.

"Not long ago, talking about a Korean drama meant finding a hallyu (Korean wave) fan. Now Americans bring up Korean shows first, whether in a university classroom or an industry meeting. That is because Netflix recommends Korean titles on the same home screen as American ones. People no longer watch something because it is Korean. They watch because it looks good, and then discover it is Korean."

The CEO noted that the landmark success of "Squid Game" in 2021 marked a definitive turning point for both viewers and content strategy.

At a recent conference, Kim Mi-hoo, marketing director at Netflix Korea, shared that "Squid Game" transformed Netflix’s marketing approach, leading to Korean titles being planned with international audiences in mind from inception.

Food company Nongshim’s product collaboration with Netflix’s "KPop: Demon Hunters." Courtesy of Nongshim

"Fans used to track down filming locations on their own after a show aired," Jung said. "For the third season of 'Squid Game,' tourism and consumer tie-ins were planned before release, from a Young-hee statue in Gwanghwamun to Chungju’s Cheongmyeongju rice wine placed in the show."

This shift reshapes local retail and education. Major convenience store chain GS25 partnered with Netflix to release a dedicated 10th-anniversary collaboration lineup — featuring show-themed ready-to-eat meals and street-food-inspired snacks — alongside specialized foreign-tourist transit cards.

Korean universities are expanding their offerings. Dong-A University in Busan, for instance, has established a specialized K-Food department tailored exclusively for international students — even recruiting celebrity chefs featured in "Culinary Class Wars" to mentor the next generation of global culinary talent.

Beyond the dining table, the desire for authentic engagement is redrawing Korea's tourism map. Rather than confining themselves to crowded shopping districts, screen-inspired travelers are actively venturing into historic alleyways and regional hubs — strolling along the tranquil Hanyangdoseong City Wall and Naksan Park at dusk, or exploring regional traditional markets to sample local delicacies alongside residents.

Seeking unvarnished everyday experiences

Culture critic Jung Duk-hyun notes that foreign tourists increasingly desire authentic, unvarnished experiences over scripted tourist attractions.

"In the past, foreign visitors primarily visited ancient palaces or famous landmarks," Jung said. "Now, they want to experience daily life — having a beer at a neighborhood convenience store, grabbing a drink at a pub after work, eating instant ramen by the Han River, or visiting a public bathhouse or traditional Korean sauna 'jjimjilbang.'"

According to Jung, the global reach of streaming platforms has fundamentally altered how Korea is portrayed to the world.

"Previously, Western media portrayals of Korea often focused on North Korea or exoticized views," he observed. "Today, because Korean-produced content is distributed directly worldwide, our everyday lives are presented as they are."

"Foreign viewers now recognize that this everyday life is Korea, and it is natural for travelers to want to experience that authenticity firsthand. Global OTT platforms, led by Netflix, have played a decisive role in driving this change," he added.

Netflix和其他流媒体平台正吸引国际游客前往韩国的日常生活场所，包括便利店、社区酒吧和汉江公园。这种趋势已不再局限于参观地标性景点，游客们也开始寻找韩国内容中出现的地点和体验。一项调查发现，十分之八的受访者在前往韩国之前都看过Netflix上的韩国内容，超过十分之六的受访者曾到访过其中出现的地点。这种转变也正在影响零售业、大学课程和旅游规划。

Trip.com 的数据显示，在《K-Pop：恶魔猎人》首播后的四周内，从西班牙飞往韩国的航班预订量增长了 146%，从德国飞往韩国的航班预订量增长了 122%。

文章指出，到访北村韩屋村的外国游客数量增长了118%。

K-Content 旅游研究调查了 105 位近期到访韩国的国际游客，他们分别来自美国、英国、新加坡、日本和菲律宾；其中 93% 的人在过去六个月内抵达韩国，大多数游客年龄在 25 至 34 岁之间。

GS25 与 Netflix 合作，推出了一系列以剧集为主题的十周年纪念餐点和小吃，以及面向外国游客的交通卡。

釜山东亚大学为国际学生设立了韩国美食系，并聘请了《烹饪课堂大战》节目中的厨师来指导学生。

发布于2026年10月22日下午1:26（韩国标准时间）

流媒体平台已将韩流内容推向主流

在JTBC浪漫剧集《王在土地》的剧照中，演员李俊昊（左）和林允儿在汉江边享用经典的户外方便面约会。该剧已在Netflix上线，供全球观众观看。图片由JTBC提供。

周二，出生于摩洛哥、现居美国的旅行内容创作者Zineb Baaout在Instagram Reels上发布了一段视频，展示了她前往首尔纛岛汉江公园的旅程，并在那里享用了一碗方便面。她写道：“看了600部韩剧之后，我终于亲身体验了吃拉面和在汉江边看日落的魅力所在。”

曾经是当地人深夜的日常习惯，如今却成了游客的必体验项目。在全球流媒体平台（尤其是Netflix）的推动下，越来越多的游客涌入韩国，他们不再满足于传统的景点游览，而是开始沉浸于韩剧中展现的日常生活、便利店美食和街坊邻里风情之中。

早在十年前Netflix进入韩国市场之前，韩剧和BTS、BLACKPINK等偶像团体就已经在全球范围内激发了人们对韩国文化和旅游的兴趣。然而，随着流媒体平台Netflix及其热门韩剧的崛起，受韩国流行文化启发而来的游客数量和旅游内容的丰富程度呈指数级增长。

这段上传到 Instagram 的视频片段显示，游客们在首尔汉江边吃方便面。

据全球旅游平台携程发布的数据显示，去年动画电影《K-Pop：恶魔猎人》的全球上映引发了欧洲赴韩旅游需求的激增。影片上映后的四周内，西班牙和德国飞往韩国的航班预订量分别增长了146%和122%。此外，前往北村韩屋村的外国游客数量也激增了118%，使得明洞和N首尔塔周边的历史街区成为了粉丝们重要的朝圣地。

I&I Research近期受媒体K EnterTech Hub委托开展了一项名为“K-Content Tourism”（韩流内容旅游）的探索性研究，进一步揭示了从观众到游客的转化路径。该调查选取了来自美国、英国、新加坡、日本和菲律宾五个国家的105位近期到访韩国的国际游客作为样本，其中93%的受访者在过去六个月内抵达韩国，且大多数受访者年龄在25至34岁之间。

这张未注明日期的照片中，一位游客正在韩国一家名为CU的便利店购物。照片由CU提供。

K EnterTech Hub首席执行官郑汉表示：“十分之八的受访者在来韩国之前曾在Netflix上观看过韩国内容，超过十分之六的受访者去过这些内容中出现过的地方，例如北村韩屋村。所有受访者都在社交媒体上分享了他们的旅行经历。”

韩强调，韩国内容在美国等主要市场已经融入主流文化。“在美国，韩国内容已经触及到那些从未刻意寻找过它的人群，”韩说道。

“不久前，谈论韩剧意味着要找一个韩流粉丝。现在，无论是在大学课堂还是行业会议上，美国人首先想到的都是韩剧。这是因为Netflix在首页上同时推荐韩剧和美剧。人们不再仅仅因为它是韩国剧就去看，而是因为它看起来不错，然后才发现它是韩国剧。”

首席执行官指出，《鱿鱼游戏》在 2021 年取得的里程碑式成功，标志着观众和内容策略都迎来了一个决定性的转折点。

在最近的一次会议上，Netflix 韩国市场总监金美厚表示，《鱿鱼游戏》改变了 Netflix 的营销方式，使得韩国电影从一开始就以国际观众为目标进行策划。

食品公司农心与Netflix剧集《K-Pop：恶魔猎人》合作推出产品。图片由农心提供。

郑女士说：“以前剧集播出后，粉丝们会自己去寻找拍摄地点。《鱿鱼游戏》第三季播出前，就策划了旅游和消费相关的联动活动，从光化门的英熙雕像到剧中出现的忠州清明州米酒，都与此相关。”

这一转变重塑了当地的零售和教育格局。大型便利店连锁企业GS25与Netflix合作，推出了一系列十周年纪念合作产品——包括以剧集为主题的即食餐点和街头小吃——以及专为外国游客设计的交通卡。

韩国大学正在拓展课程设置。例如，釜山的东亚大学就设立了专门面向国际学生的韩国美食系，甚至还聘请了在美食节目《厨艺大战》中亮相的名厨来指导下一代国际烹饪人才。

除了餐桌上的用餐体验，人们对真实互动的渴望正在重塑韩国的旅游版图。受屏幕启发，游客们不再局限于拥挤的购物区，而是积极探索历史悠久的巷弄和地区中心——在黄昏时分漫步于宁静的汉阳岛城墙和骆山公园，或探访当地传统市场，与居民一起品尝当地美食。

寻求未经修饰的日常体验

文化评论家郑德贤指出，外国游客越来越渴望真实、未经修饰的体验，而不是精心设计的旅游景点。

郑先生说：“过去，外国游客主要参观古代宫殿或著名地标。现在，他们想体验日常生活——在附近的便利店喝杯啤酒，下班后去酒吧喝一杯，在汉江边吃方便面，或者去公共澡堂或传统的韩式桑拿‘汗蒸房’。”

郑表示，流媒体平台的全球影响力从根本上改变了韩国在世界上的形象。

他指出：“过去，西方媒体对韩国的报道往往聚焦于朝鲜或带有异域风情的视角。如今，由于韩国制作的内容直接传播到世界各地，我们的日常生活得以真实呈现。”

“外国观众现在意识到，这就是韩国的日常生活，游客自然想要亲身体验这种真实感。以Netflix为首的全球OTT平台在推动这一转变中发挥了决定性作用，”他补充道。