K-drama dominates Netflix H1 2026: 'Cham Gyoyuk' hits 48.2M views, 'Mr. Kim' surges in 4 days

Korean content dominated non-English Netflix viewing globally in the first half of 2026. On July 17, the platform released its 2026 First Half Viewing Report. Total global viewing hours exceeded 97 billion for the period — a record for any half-year — with non-English content accounting for more than one-third of that total.

Cham Gyoyuk (참교육), starring Kim Moo-yeol, released June 5 and accumulated 48.2 million views within a month. It landed 6th place in the global combined show rankings for H1, the highest position of any non-English language title in the category. Deadline called it "another K-drama hit" for Netflix and projected that at its current pace, Cham Gyoyuk "will become the second most-watched Korean work of all time after Squid Game."

Mr. Kim (김부장, SBS) premiered June 26 — four days before the report's measurement cutoff — and still logged 10.7 million views. Romance Does This Love Have a Translator? (이 사랑 통역되나요?, starring Ko Yoon-jung and Kim Sun-ho) reached 28.6 million views. Lady Dua (레이디 두아, starring Shin Hye-sun) hit 25.8 million. Wonderful New World (멋진 신세계, SBS) pulled 15.7 million. Oeuneul Maejin Haessseumnida (오늘도 매진했습니다) landed at 12.4 million. Squid Game added another 14.4 million views in H1 alone.

On the film side, K-pop Demon Hunters (케이팝 데몬 헌터스) — a Netflix original from last year — pulled 130.4 million views and ranked 4th overall in the film category. The Great Flood (대홍수) reached 27.5 million. Humint (휴민트) got 22.8 million. Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight (오늘 밤, 세계에서 이 사랑이 사라진다 해도) drew 20.7 million. Husbands (남편들) logged 12.6 million.

Domestic broadcast titles also reached global audiences via Netflix. tvN's Undercover Miss Hong (언더커버 미쓰홍) and JTBC's Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness (모두가 자신의 무가치함과 싸우고 있다) found viewers worldwide. Kids content Baby Shark, Bebefin, and Pinkfong Dinosaur Kindergarten maintained consistent numbers. Black and White Chef: Cooking Class War Season 2 and Single's Inferno Season 5 extended their respective runs.

Cultural critic Kim Heon-sik framed the broadcaster-Netflix dynamic as mutually beneficial: broadcasters reach non-English markets that share emotional sensibilities with Korea, while Netflix fills diversified post-COVID content demand. "The success of Mr. Kim and Wonderful New World proves that content evaluated as fresh in Korea can be immediately applicable to the world," he said.

The K-occult historical drama Donggung (동궁), starring Nam Joo-hyuk and Noh Yoon-seo, reached No. 1 on Netflix as of July 20.