[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] More than 9 out of 10 Americans who watched the Netflix drama "Squid Game" said they would watch it again if Season 2 is released. Additionally, over 60% responded that K-culture, represented by K-pop and K-dramas such as BTS, contributes to increasing their favorable views of Korea.
On the 14th (local time), the New York branch of the Korea Tourism Organization, in collaboration with Professor Kim Miran of the Michigan State University College of Business, revealed these findings from the "Analysis of the Status and Trends of K-Culture in the United States" survey conducted by the U.S. research firm Qualtrics in June this year.
In this survey of 3,218 American adults aged 18 and over, 61% reported having watched Squid Game. Among them, 91% (1,757 people) said they would watch Season 2. Squid Game recently won six awards, including Best Director and Best Actor, at the prestigious Emmy Awards in the U.S. broadcasting industry.
The most popular Korean drama/film among Americans was Squid Game (77%, multiple responses), followed by Parasite (39%), Train to Busan (30%), and All of Us Are Dead (29%).
The favorite Korean actor was Lee Jung-jae, the lead actor of Squid Game who recently won the Emmy for Best Actor (52%, multiple responses). He was followed by Jung Ho-yeon (45%), Song Kang-ho (25%), and Gong Yoo (24%).
Among K-culture categories, enjoying K-POP was the highest at 36%. Seventy percent of respondents named BTS as their favorite Korean singer (multiple responses). BLACKPINK (33%) and PSY (21%) ranked second and third, respectively.
The survey showed that 64% of respondents believe K-culture contributes to increasing Americans' favorable views of Korea. Additionally, 58% said it helps reduce hate crimes against Asians in the U.S.
Moreover, 6 out of 10 Americans expressed a desire to travel to Korea in the near future. When visiting Korea, they preferred trips themed around historical sites such as palaces (64%, multiple responses), traditional cultural experiences (47%), and natural scenery like national parks (46%).
Park Jae-seok, head of the Korea Tourism Organization's New York branch, stated, "It has been confirmed that the Korean Wave, including the drama Squid Game and K-POP such as BTS, greatly contributes to increasing interest in Korean tourism in the U.S." He added, "With Americans' interest in K-culture at its peak, we plan to actively promote tourism marketing to highlight Korea as Asia's number one travel destination."
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