Global enthusiasm for Korean culture and products has reached an unprecedented pitch, with Internet searches for words starting with the letter K – from K-pop to K-cosmetics, K-food and K-travel – hitting record highs.
The trigger, analysts say, is the runaway success of Netflix’s animated film KPop Demon Hunters – widely known in Korea as the title’s abbreviation, Kedehun – which has become a cultural touchstone far beyond its original entertainment audience.
With “K” branding now synonymous with trend-setting, the Kedehun effect could prove more than a pop-culture flash, potentially reshaping Korean content’s export markets and tourism flows for years to come, analysts said.
According to Google Trends data on Monday, weekly searches for “Korea cosmetics” surged to the maximum score of 100 last week, the highest since records began in 2004, and more than ten times the 52-week average.
“Korea travel” searches were up ninefold, while “Korea ramen” tripled. Interest in “K-pop” itself rose more than fivefold, also setting a new record.
Searches for K-cosmetics have more than doubled each week over the past three weeks, rising to 21, 43 and then 100.
Google displays the change in search volume for specific words and phrases as a relative value ranging from 0 to 100, indicating shifts in consumer interest.
During the same period, searches for Korean food increased to 35, 53, and 100, with ramen showing a similar increase.
The spike coincides with Kedehun’s climb to fourth place in Netflix’s all-time film rankings, with 158.8 million views as of Aug. 3.
“The film’s extraordinary popularity will give a powerful boost to exports of K-beauty and K-food, and to stimulate inbound tourism,” said Park I-kyung, a data analyst at KED Aicel, the alternative data service brand of Hankyung Aicel.
CRAVING FOR KIMBAP, KOREAN RAMEN
Search activity for Korean food staples featured in the film, including ramyun, or ramen, seolleongtang (milky beef bone soup) and street snacks, has soared.
After a quiet period following Kedehun’s June 20 debut, search volumes exploded from late July, with cosmetics queries more than doubling each week for three weeks running, according to Google Trends.
“I watched the movie twice and suddenly craved kimbap and ramen,” wrote a US user of Reddit on his social media platform.
Retailers are moving fast to capture the momentum.
Walmart, the largest US retailer, earlier this month launched a K-pop-themed mobile pop-up store.
CJ Olive Young Corp., Korea’s top beauty store chain, plans to open its first US outlet in the first half of 2026, to take advantage of a sharp rise in overseas K-beauty demand.
TOURISM IMPACT BUILDS IN KOREA
Tourist sites in Seoul are already seeing the effect.
The National Museum of Korea drew 694,000 visitors last month, more than double the figure a year earlier, with Kedehun-inspired merchandise such as the Magpie Tiger badge and Gatkun (hat string) ballpoint pens that appeared in the film selling out on release.
Sales of experience packages for traditional public baths – a setting featured in the film – rose 84% in July on K-themed travel platform Creatrip.
The film features Seoul’s representative landmarks, including Namsan Seoul Tower, the Myeongdong shopping street and Bukchon Hanok Village, all long-time popular sites for foreign tourists.
Industry watchers expect the cultural impact to deepen from October, with the Korean government allowing visa-free entry for Chinese tourist groups starting Sept. 29 through June 2026.
Analysts expect Chinese arrivals to reach as high as 7 million this year amid speculation that Chinese President Xi Jinping will also visit Seoul in October for the Group of Seven (G7) summit meeting in the cultural town of Gyeongju.
“Korean cultural content is fueling a surge in inbound visitors,” said Lee Sun-hwa, a KB Securities analyst.
HOW LONG WILL THE PHENOMENON LAST?
Now in its eighth week, the popularity of KPop Demon Hunters shows no signs of abating.
According to Netflix’s latest data release on Aug. 3, Kedehun’s cumulative video views on Netflix reached 158.8 million – the highest view among Netflix’s animated movies and the fourth-highest among all films on the OTT.
On FlixPatrol, a Netflix ranking site, the animated movie ranked second in the film category for several days. YouTube search results have remained steady at their highest levels, hovering around 90-100, since the end of last month.
The soundtrack’s lead single Golden, performed by fictional trio Huntr/x, topped Spotify’s global streaming chart on Aug. 6 and is within reach of the Billboard Hot 100’s summit. Golden ranked second on the weekly chart from July 25-31.
For the Korean entertainment industry, analysts said the film marks a step change in global reach.
“The phenomenal success of Kedehun has again prompted major international studios’ approaches to K-pop agencies,” Kim Ji-young, a Shinhan Investment & Securities analyst, said, noting that heavyweight agency HYBE Co., the label behind boy band sensation BTS, is among those receiving offers.
By Tae-Ho Lee and Ju-Hyun Lee
thlee@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
