1. K-dramas and movies receive global recognition
Squid Game, the Netflix smash hit, brought home six historical wins from the Emmy Awards 2022. It became the first non-English series to win Outstanding Directing, while Lee Jung-jae, the show's lead, became the first Asian to win best actor.
At the Cannes Film Festival 2022, South Korean director Park Chan-wook won best director for his erotic thriller "Decision to Leave," while Song Kang-ho became the first Korean to win best actor for his performance in “Broker.”
2. BTS starts solo projects, military service
At the peak of its success, BTS announced that it would take a break from performing as a group and pursue solo projects. Since then, members have released solo albums and taken on new projects, including J-Hope and RM’s full-length albums, Jin’s first single and Jungkook’s performance at the opening of the World Cup in Qatar. Their group hiatus comes as the members decided to fulfill mandatory military service in South Korea. Jin, the band’s oldest member, was the first to enlist in December. The rest of the members will carry out the service based on their individual plans.
3. Dating show boom
This year, Korean television saw an inundation of reality dating shows. Cable channel MBN’s hard-hitting dating show, “Love After Divorce,” returned with season 3 in June, while Tving’s “Transferring Love” also came back with season 2 in July. Also, Netflix’s “Single’s Inferno,” which drew heated reactions last year, began airing late December.
Other dating programs such as SBS’ “I am Solo” and MBC’s “First Love, Again” were also released this year, feeding the frenzy for reality romance shows.
4. Korean classical musicians make global splash
This year, young South Korean musicians have stood out on the international stage, taking home trophies from prestigious competitions.
Pianist Lim Yun-chan, 18, won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in June, becoming the youngest winner in the competition's 60-year-old history. Violinist Yang In-mo notched the top prize at the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in May, becoming the first Korean to win the coveted award.
In June, Cellist Choi Ha-young, 24, won the Queen Elisabeth Competition, which is considered to be one of the three most coveted titles in classical music.
5. 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo,' 'Reborn Rich' top global streaming platforms
“Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” a Korean legal drama centering on a 27-year-old lawyer with autism spectrum disorder, became the sixth-most watched non-English TV show on Netflix, topping its weekly viewership chart for non-English series for a total of nine weeks.
“Reborn Rich,” based on a famous Korean web-novel and starring Song Joong-ki, dominated streaming platforms in Asian markets, and recorded high viewership ratings on Netflix and Disney+. The show tells the story of a loyal employee who seeks revenge on a conglomerate family after being murdered and magically reborn as its youngest son.
6. K-pop girl groups on the spotlight
Girl groups have undoubtedly dominated the K-pop scene this year, with Blackpink topping global charts and rookie bands making a splash. In September, the four-member Blackpink became the first K-pop female act in history to nab Billboard’s main albums chart with its studio album "Born Pink"
Meanwhile, rookie girl groups such as NewJeans, IVE, (G)I-dle and Le Sserafim all scored viral hits.
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