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India Today
4 days ago
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- India Today
How Indians are living their K-craze
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated July 28, 2025)An unusual ARMY of 80 assembled in a studio in Mumbai on July 13. All clad in purple, they screamed what seemed to be the names of their deities: 'Kim Namjoon! Kim Seokjin! Min Yoongi! Jung Hoseok! Park Jimin! Kim Taehyung! Jeon Jungkook! BTS!' They were chanting the names of the seven members of the wildly popular Korean boy band, BTS or The Bangtan Boys. The occasion? The annual get-together of their devoted fanbase, which calls itself the ARMY, short for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth. Among them were besties Vanessa Daniel, 33, and Diana D'Souza, 36, one a teacher and the other dayjobbing at a top corporate. Between bites of purple-frosted cupcakes, they shared what BTS means for them. 'Emotionally, they offer me a lot of support,' says Vanessa. Adds Diana: 'I don't go to a therapist, I turn to them.'advertisementShe has company. Today's hour of bonding over BTS comes courtesy organiser Ayushree Tari, founder of the Mumbai BTS fan club and owner of The Purple Door, a company named after the band's signature colour and logo. On Ayushree's left hand is a tattoo of her favourite BTS track 'Mikrocosmos'; on the right, a logo of their album Love Yourself. Also around was 19-year-old Sai Chikane, who is studying medicine in Vietnam but had flown down to Mumbai to dance to a K-Pop medley. Elsewhere, dance crew WEUNITE held a workshop for fans to hone their choreography—and their attitudes. With five BTS members having recently completed their mandatory military service in South Korea, the band will reunite in Spring 2026. For fans, the countdown has BTS ARMY is just one happy ripple in the broader 'Hallyu' wave, a Chinese coinage for the global proliferation of South Korean popular culture that now has millions of Indians in its thrall. Korean music and soaps have long found a uniquely Indian audience, as have Korean films like Train to Busan, with filmmakers like Kim Ki-duk (3 Iron), Lee Chang-dong (Poetry, Burning), Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, The Handmaiden), Bong Joon Ho (Memories of Murder, The Host, Parasite) enjoying iconic status among cinephiles. Beyond entertainment, Indians have also acquired a taste for Korean food and beverage, and a yen for Korean beauty products. Blue Tokai caf and Chaayos now have Korean cream cheese buns on their menu; McDonald's ran a Korea-inspired menu the other day with burgers glazed with the sweet and spicy gochujang sauce; Wagh Bakri tea lounge hosts a bubble tea carnival called 'Summer in Korea'. Young fans are flocking to Korean photo booths, posing with quirky props and sporting styles inspired by their idols. Many swear by the rigorous 10-step Korean skincare routine that promises the coveted Korean 'glass skin'. Many are also learning the language, to avoid any losses in translation. Korean, according to a 2022 study by language learning platform Duolingo, is among the top five most popular choices for aspiring Indian polyglots. The world is taking note, too, as the Oxford English Dictionary added seven new words to its Korean list, among them 'dalgona' (a sugary candy) and 'maknae' (the youngest member of a group or family). Korean soft power has definitely come to stay in India. In the 2024 Overseas Hallyu Survey conducted by the Korean ministry of culture, sports and tourism and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, India featured among the top countries where 84.5 per cent of the respondents said they spent an average of 18.6 hours a month on Korean content, way above the global average of 11.6 hours. Food topped the list (64.7 per cent), followed by travel to Korea (61.8 per cent), dining at Korean restaurants (61.4 per cent), cosmetics (54 per cent) and apparel (52.8 per cent). We do not know the exact number of K-fans in India, but it's not a risky wager to say tens of millions, judging from telltale online footfalls. Think of it as a large, steaming Korean spa with an eclectic clientele. Humble, ornery folks as well as the haute monde, those like Deepika Padukone, Disha Patani, Rashmika Mandanna, or local pop meisters like A.R. Rahman, Diljit Dosanjh and BY THE KOREA BUGadvertisementThe Korean Wave washing up here is no pop-ecological accident. In her 2014 book The Birth of Korean Cool, American-born, Paris-based Korean journalist Euny Hong explains how Seoul has made becoming the world's top exporter of popular culture its top priority. 'The nation has decided that the 21st century will be Korea's century, just as the 20th century was America's century,' she writes. 'And it's not enough for Korea to make semiconductors and cars; it has to be cool as well.'That said, Indians have long been familiar with Korean brands like Samsung, LG, Hyundai and Kia. A Korean expat community of around 17,000 is spread across Sriperumbudur near Chennai, Delhi-NCR—home to several Korean companies—and Pune's Kharadi, Viman Nagar, Baner and Balewadi areas. Bilateral trade between India and Korea was $27.52 billion (Rs 2.36 lakh crore) in FY24 and is expected to soar to $50 billion (Rs 4.3 lakh crore) by South Korea is leveraging its soft power, using communication, visual content and music to promote the Korean way of life worldwide. While Parasite became the first international film to win the Best Picture Oscar in 2019, BTS contributed more than $4.65 billion to South Korea's economy that same year, almost 0.3 of its GDP. The Netflix original Squid Game, a Korean drama that highlights economic inequality and human greed against the backdrop of a chilling game show, made history as the first foreign-language show to win Emmys, including awards for Best Actor and Though India first awoke to K-Pop with PSY's hugely popular 'Gangnam Style' in 2012, the Korean Cultural Centre India (KCCI) had started laying the foundation for it when it started organising All-India K-Pop contests from 2011. The regional rounds in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Itanagar and Kohima this year saw registrations from 1,278 teams across India. The contest has three categories—vocal, dance and rap. 'It is touching to see young people in India empathising and communicating with each other through the unified culture of Korean music and K-Pop, despite the large size of the country and the diverse languages and cultures in each region,' says KCCI director Hwang Il K FOR KOOLTHWhat explains the widespread appeal of all things Korean among Indians? 'K-Pop challenges traditional masculine norms and does not conform to rigid gender definitions,' says Shreya Khaladkar, co-host of the podcast K-Pop in India. 'Its embrace of femininity and fluid expression are a big part of why it resonates so strongly with women and the LGBTQIA+ community.' The popularity of Korean bands owes to the performance aspect, particularly the choreography, production values, positive messaging, and the accessibility fans have to the 'idols', who frequently livestream to engage directly with them. Unlike the US and UK, the K-Pop fandom model has membership tiers that allow fans to make calls, signs and meet-ups with India, festivals like K Town, K Wave and Rang De Korea have given the thriving I-Heart-Korea community more avenues to come together and celebrate. At the K Town festival in Mumbai last year, more than 7,000 people turned up, some dressing in the traditional attire hanbok, others learning Korean fan painting or singing karaoke in noraebangs, the popular Korean song rooms. Shital Sikarwar, a housewife-turned-entrepreneur and CEO & founder of TANI Events & Entertainment, which organises K Town, plans to go bigger this year. 'Indians love to experience newness,' she says. 'Get into the depth of Korean culture, and there's a lot of resemblance. The way we respect elders, speak of family' K Town has hosted concerts by Korean band Blackswan, whose members include Sriya Lenka, India's first K-Pop idol, along with stars like Chen and Xiumin of EXO and BamBam from Got7. HYBE, the label that represents bands like BTS, ENHYPEN and Seventeen, is set to start operations in Mumbai later this year, fuelling hope among Indian K-boppers about their favourite bands coming to perform in their collaborations, too, are thriving. Sriya and Aria of X:IN (see interview, 'I can't imagine myself doing anything else') have proved that Indians can seamlessly fit into the K-Pop mould. Twenty-two-year-old Anushka Sen, an actress and influencer from Mumbai, was appointed tourism ambassador for 2023–24 and has made eight trips to South Korea since 2022. Comfortable now navigating the streets of Seoul, she has shot for two Korean projects: a web series called Crush and a film titled Asia, expected to release next year. She has even got herself a Korean name: Seon Yeo-myung. 'Representing India on a global level is a great honour,' she says. WHY THE K WAVE, DI?Thirty-four-year-old Nikita Engheepi, founder of the contributor-driven website Namaste Hallyu, and Pink Box Entertainment, recalls how in the '90s, she'd buy CDs and DVDs of Korean dramas back home in Nagaland for Rs 50-60 and trade photos of Korean actors and bands like Lee Min Ho, Lee Joon-gi, Bigbang, Super Junior with classmates. 'Hindi was as foreign to us as Korean was,' she says. 'At least with Korean shows, we had English subtitles.'The rest of the country, meanwhile, was busy consuming homegrown saas-bahu dramas, American shows like Friends, or a Pakistani serial or two. Korean drama grabbed attention only during the Covid pandemic, with the rise of streaming platforms. In locked-down times, Korean romances offered a much-needed escape and their content felt deeply relatable. 'Korean writers talk about themes that resonate beautifully with us,' says Monika Shergill, VP, Netflix India. 'They are about human relationships, human frailty, about love and jealousy. What women appreciate a lot are the love stories and having male characters who unconditionally love you.'Their high chastity quotient likely made K-dramas ideal for family viewing in India, compared to the violence, nudity and crude language often found in shows from the West. 'My entire family loves Extraordinary Attorney Woo,' says Sajal Jain, 28, cofounder of Delhi-based factory automation startup Bharatlytics. India and South Korea also share the fear and nostalgia for a severed sibling-nation. Crash Landing on You, a hugely popular K-Drama, tells the story of a South Korean heiress who falls for a North Korean army officer, exploring the familiar dilemma of cross-border romance to binge-worthy latest FICCI-EY report on the media and entertainment industry confirms that Korean, Japanese and Spanish shows are the most-watched non-Indian language content on Netflix after English. In fact, Season 1 of Netflix original Squid Game remained in its Top 10 for 39 weeks. Following its success, Netflix announced in 2023 that it would spend $2.5 billion over the next four years to develop Korean content. Other streaming giants like Amazon Prime and Disney+ Hotstar are also expanding their Korean slate. Platforms like Playflix are dubbing K-content in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. WIPING THE BOWL: Dalgrak, a Korean restaurant at Lajpat Nagar, Delhi. (Photo: Chandradeep Kumar) GIMME GOCHUJANGFood is an intrinsic part of most Korean shows, where local cuisine is celebrated effortlessly. It is around food that tough conversations unfold, families bond and hearts connect. Indian viewers, too, want to slurp ramyeon (Korean noodles) or down soju (a rice-based alcoholic beverage) like the three best friends in Thirty-Nine, or share Woo Young-woo's love for gimbap (seaweed rice roll) in Extraordinary Attorney Woo. ARMY brat Asees Kohli perhaps developed her love of Korean cuisine through Korean drama. A pastry chef in Jammu, Asees dove into Korean cuisine with gusto, even enrolling in a six-month language course at the Korean Cultural Centre in Delhi so that she could read recipe books. 'Korean restaurants became my regular haunts because I wanted to compare and see if my dishes tasted authentic,' says the 27-year-old. 'I've now been to every Korean restaurant in Delhi NCR.'Korean cuisine has opened up a whole new culinary world for the Indian foodie. With bold, fermented flavours like kimchi and gochujang, Korean dishes—low on oil, rich in spices and mostly grilled or boiled—sit comfortably on the Indian palate. Ramyeon, a comfort food for Koreans, has made its way into Indian kitchens, clocking 56 per cent growth according to consumer intelligence firm NielsenIQ. In Mumbai's Mahavir Nagar, it is not unusual to see a ramyeon mobile cart serving packets of Buldak Ramen and Nongshim, while nearby, HighCha serves bingsu, a Korean dessert made of shaved ice and sweet toppings. In Delhi too, Korean food and culture are firmly woven into the urban fabric, with Korean fashion boutiques and eateries lining neighbourhoods like Hauz Khas Village, Majnu Ka Tila and note of this shift, Indian FMCG brands are spicing up their offerings with Korean flavours. ITC's YiPPee!, HUL's Knorr, Nestle's Maggi and CG Foods's Wai Wai have all launched Korean-flavoured noodles. 'Today, 70 per cent of the growth in the instant noodles category is coming from Korean flavours,' admits Varun Chaudhary, CEO of the CG Group. This year, the company plans to expand its Dynamite range of Korean-flavoured noodles with two new flavours—kimchi and gochugaru—to the existing five. Last year, ITC teamed up with popular Korean singer Aoora to launch three Korean flavours of Bingo! chips and released the K-Pop number 'Maeun Maeun' (spicy in Korean), which has netted over 20.4 million users on YouTube and 45.7 million impressions on Instagram. Food delivery platform Swiggy has seen a 59 per cent growth in online orders for Korean food over the past three years, and not just in metros and tier-1 cities but also in places like Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Vadodara, Mysore, Mangaluru, Nashik, Rajkot and restaurants are also experiencing a shift in their customer base. What began as niche dining spots for expat communities are now attracting mainstream diners. When Korean restaurant chain Kori's first opened in 2012, its patrons were mostly Koreans, northeasterners or foreigners. But that changed after the pandemic. 'Now, 80 per cent of our diners are north Indians,' says owner Lee Sang Hoon. Driven by growing consumer interest, he has expanded to six outlets and also launched a Korean food convenience store, K Friends, with three locations in Delhi-NCR and one in media has accelerated the reach of Korean trends, bringing them to Indian consumers faster than ever. Indians now want the lifestyle products they see in K-Dramas—from beauty to fashion to stationery. Korean lifestyle brand Koja, for instance, has expanded to eight stores across India and is growing at 30–40 per cent year-on-year, according to founder and managing partner Bryan Tseda. 'Initially, it was just K-culture fans, but the customer base has broadened. In metros, K-beauty drives sales, while in tier 2 and 3 cities, it's fashion and stationery,' he says. One of Koja's hottest sellers? TirTir cushion foundation—a viral beauty product in Korea. (Photo: Rajwant Rawat) THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTYIf beauty is only skin-deep, Korea has shown the world how to perfect it. The global obsession with Korean 'glass skin'—that dewy, pore-free glow—owes to the flawless complexions of the K-Pop and K-Drama idols, as well as TikTok. The famed 10-step Korean skincare routine, focusing on gentle, preventive and long-term skin health over quick fixes, and the use of natural, local ingredients like ginseng, fermented beans and volcanic clay has found many takers among Gen Z. 'I live for the glow and softness a Beauty of Joseon rice face mask gives my skin,' says Sai had its first brush with K-beauty in 2013, when South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific launched Innisfree, one of the first Korean skincare brands, in the country. It also educated consumers on the philosophy behind K-beauty, the ingredients and routines, says Mini Sood Banerjee, assistant director and marketing head, Amorepacific India. Social media and beauty influencers did the rest to help K-beauty gain rapid traction. Today, there are over 60 Korean beauty brands in India, including The Face Shop, Laneige, Etude, Cosrx and Sulwhasoo. Most of them entered the Indian market through offline retail and platforms such as Nykaa and Amazon. 'K-beauty has evolved rapidly from a niche category to a major growth driver within the beauty portfolio, growing at an impressive 75 per cent year-over-year,' says Siddharth Bhagat, director, Amazon Fashion and Beauty India. Skincare leads the category, with products like hydrating serums, sheet masks, lip sleeping masks and soothing creams flying off the shelves. Indian brands, too have jumped onto the K-beauty bandwagon. Actress Kareena Kapoor, in collaboration with Sugar Cosmetics, launched Quench Botanics in 2022, while Reliance Retail's beauty retailer Tira recently introduced its rising popularity, K-beauty has seen significant growth in the past five years. According to market research and consulting company Grand View Research, the global K-beauty market was $91.99 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.3 per cent from 2023 to 2030. Though there are no specific numbers for India, the segment is certainly one of the fastest-growing in the Indian skincare space. SEOUL MATESThe growing obsession with all things Korean has naturally led to an interest in visiting the country itself. The number of Indians travelling to Korea rose from 122,771 travellers in 2023 to 176,668 in 2024, a 44 per cent year-on-year growth. In just the first four months of this year, 60,000 Indian travellers have already visited Korea. That enthusiasm isn't waning despite the steep cost—a week-long trip to Korea can cost Rs 2.5-4 lakh per person. 'Four to five years ago, travel to Korea was mostly for business, led by chaebol like Samsung and Hyundai in India, with most trips being two to three nights long,' says Neeraj Singh Dev, executive vice president, Thomas Cook (India) & SOTC Travels. 'Today, they last at least a week.'Myong Kil Yun, regional director, India & SAARC countries, Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO), also observes a growing trend in personalised or themed itineraries. 'Due to the cultural affinity Indians now feel with Koreans, many Indian tourists express a desire to visit filming locations, try Korean skincare routines, or attend K-Pop concerts,' he says. 'This has resulted in more travellers opting for K-Drama tours or heritage-focused travel inspired by what they have seen on screen,' he says. Younger travellers, in particular, are drawn to pop culture experiences like visiting the BTS bus stop in Jumunjin or exploring locations from K-series like Goblin and Crash Landing on is indeed having a prolonged moment in India. If America gave us burgers and the Hollywood film, the Italians pasta and pizza, China brought noodles and cheap consumer goods and Japan introduced us to anime and sushi, the Korean wave is broadening the Indian worldview in a myriad other ways. This is how you project soft power, and India can perhaps take a leaf out of the Korean playbook. n—with Shelly AnandFandom central: H. Subhashree | 31 | Staff Nurse, Bolangir, Odisha (Photo: Rajwant Rawat) 'Saranghaeyo' (I love you) is not an alien expression to Subhashree, and she has K-Dramas to thank for that. It was in 2019 that the Odisha native chanced on a photograph of BTS member V on an app in her phone. One press of her thumb later, she was immersed in a world of 16-hourlong seasons of TV shows she would spend 'whole nights watching' on her days off from work in NCR. 'I wouldn't even know how time would pass,' she says. She has watched at least 35 such shows, with Netflix, Viki and HiTV being her hunting grounds. Her affinity is for the classical historical genre, with shows like Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth, Empress Ki and Mr Queen, which 'show (Korea's) culture, dresses and food'. She adds, 'The places are depicted so well that you feel like going yourself.' It's where she feels Indian shows are lacking: 'Hamare yahaan ka culture nahin dikhaaya jaata (They don't show our culture).' Part of the BTS ARMY since 2016, she proudly displays their poster on her bedroom wall and owns keyrings of Jimin and V. 'I like it that they put (social) messaging in their songs,' she adds.—Suhani SinghFandom central: The Trend | K-Pop dance group from Arunachal Pradesh Thanks to his K-Pop-crazy elder sisters, Arunachal Pradesh's Aku Bengia was introduced to bands like BigBang, BTS and Super Junior. Inspired by their YouTube videos and those of Stray Kids and Seventeen, he formed a dance group called The Trend with the sole purpose of winning the annual All-India K-Pop contest organised by the Korean Cultural Centre India. The Trend follows the stylish, spirited and synchronised choreography synonymous with the genre. 'K-Pop dancing is a complete package of entertainment—there's drama and each member gets to be in spotlight,' says Likha Tatam, one of its seven members. After finishing runner-up in two back-to-back editions of the contest, The Trend finally accomplished their dream last year of winning the title in the dance category with a routine set to Stray Kids's 'God's Menu'. The prize included a five-day trip to Seoul, their very first time abroad. 'Belonging from such an interior state, it was a proud moment. We could set an example to kids here and show that by being persistent and disciplined you can achieve your dream,' says Aku. The group has participated in the TV show Dance Plus, toured across Arunachal Pradesh and recently set up a dance studio in Itanagar. Next up is singing like their idols.—Suhani SinghSubscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch
India Today
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
India's K-craze
An unusual ARMY of 80 assembled in a studio in Mumbai on July 13. All clad in purple, they screamed what seemed to be the names of their deities: 'Kim Namjoon! Kim Seokjin! Min Yoongi! Jung Hoseok! Park Jimin! Kim Taehyung! Jeon Jungkook! BTS!' They were chanting the names of the seven members of the wildly popular Korean boy band, BTS or The Bangtan Boys. The occasion? The annual get-together of their devoted fanbase, which calls itself the ARMY, short for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth. Among them were besties Vanessa Daniel, 33, and Diana D'Souza, 36, one a teacher and the other dayjobbing at a top corporate. Between bites of purple-frosted cupcakes, they shared what BTS means for them. 'Emotionally, they offer me a lot of support,' says Vanessa. Adds Diana: 'I don't go to a therapist, I turn to them.'
