[Namsan Stroll] The Power of K That Unites the Global Zalpha Generation

Let's open up "Trap of Youth," a 1999 drama available on Netflix. There are no subtitles, and the video quality is far from clear. Some of the situations and lines feel out of place by today's standards, even surprising. Yet, strangely, I can't look away. Part of it is the show's legendary status-it achieved a record-breaking viewership rating of 53.1% when it aired. But more than that, it brings back memories of gathering in front of the TV at a set time, the streets and trends of Seoul back then, and the accents and gestures of the actors-all of which summon memories of my own youth.

Memory is powerful. Memories tied to content are even more so. In psychology, there's the concept of the "reminiscence bump," where cultural experiences imprinted in our late teens and early to mid-twenties become lifelong taste buttons. A snippet of a song you loved in your youth or a moving scene from a film stays in your memory circuits forever. The "sensibility" embedded in content goes beyond simple entertainment; it acts as a social adhesive. The sense of solidarity from having lived through the same era turns content into a shared memory for that generation, fostering social connections even into adulthood. This is the true power of content.

Now, these circuits of sensibility are expanding beyond borders, going global. At the center of this are those in their teens and early twenties-the so-called Zα Generation, straddling the boundary between Generation Z and Generation Alpha. A 2024 report by global research firm Ipsos, which analyzed 26 countries, defines Generation Z as "perhaps the first truly global generation-more similar to their peers abroad than to older generations within their own country." With shared platforms and digital content environments, the values and tastes of global Gen Z are converging, strengthening a common sensibility.

This generation enjoys content in short bursts, together, and physically. According to Deloitte's 2025 Digital Media Trends Report, "American Gen Z users spend about 50 minutes more per day on social platforms and user-generated content (UGC) than the average user." As social media becomes the main gateway for entertainment consumption, content is being reshaped to be shorter, more immediate, and communication-focused. The 2024 survey by the Korea Creative Content Agency on domestic Gen Z content usage shows similar results. This generation prefers narratives that blend realistic stories with elements of fantasy, wants to compare their emotions with others, and has a marked tendency to favor short-form content to avoid boredom.

"K-Pop Demon Hunters" (K-Pop Demon Hunters), which holds the record for the most-viewed English-language feature on Netflix, is especially tailored to the Zα Generation. Based on the core fandom of K-pop, it combines music-which most powerfully triggers emotional and vivid memories-with engaging storytelling. It is also optimized for participation and communication through community, a hallmark of this generation. The coming-of-age story resonates with values of identity and diversity, blending Eastern and Western cultures, and is filled with memes and challenges perfect for social media. Group singalongs in theaters, a variety of merchandise and tourism experiences-all of these online and offline extensions fit perfectly with the content consumption patterns of the Zα Generation. Parents from the Millennial generation are also enjoying it together, creating shared family memories. K-Pop Demon Hunters is likely to become a common "memory button" for the global Zα Generation as they grow up.

The debate over whether K-Pop Demon Hunters qualifies as K-content is not particularly important here. The real question is what comes next: how do we expand the circuit of the "K" button now embedded in the daily lives of the global Zα Generation? That is now up to us.

Song Jin, Head of Content Industry Policy Research Center, Korea Creative Content Agency