Which platform do you use to watch your favorite Korean shows or dramas? Kpopmap has a diverse range of followers from different countries, and based on your region you would also have different availabilities on what platforms or websites are offered to you. Did you just get done with whatever you were watching and are in need of a new movie or show recommendations? Or are you fed up with the offered selection on your current subscription platform?
Here are eight websites that you might be interested in checking out, or even subscribing to, if you’d like to broaden your Korean content consumption! Some of them you may be familiar with, some less so- but here is a list for you to consider, in alphabetical order.
1. Amazon Prime
If you are an Amazon Prime member, it’s worth checking out Amazon Prime Video. For free of charge, Amazon Prime Video offers some K-Dramas, mostly older ones. However, you can find a decent number of K-Movies.
2. Apple TV
Apple TV supports Viki, a Korean drama channel that we also have on this list, but they also have their own original productions- one from 2021, “Dr. Brain,” and “Pachinko” from 2022. You can also see some oldie-but-goldie K-Drama series like “Boys Over Flowers”, “Playful Kiss”, and “Oh My Ghost”.
3. Hulu / Disney+
Hulu is a streamer to watch for interesting and well-loved K-Dramas like “The Legend of the Blue Sea”, while also providing new original shows produced by Disney+ Korea. Although there are only a few at the moment, they have a whole separate category of Asian Dramas.
Whether you like romcoms, sci-fi, thrillers, or historical dramas, you’ll find something on Disney+. Since hopping in on the K-Drama production, Disney+ original shows have been a huge hit. For instance, “Soundtrack #1” from March 2022 and “Big Bet”, released in December 2022 was able to catch the attention of the media despite being a subscription-based K-Drama. “Soundtrack #1” also has a high viewer rating, where 94% of people who have watched it liked it according to google analytics.
4. KOCOWA
Waave, a Korean streaming platform, purchased KOCOWA. It’s basically a version of Waave that is available in the regions of North and South America. Users claim that KOCOWA has a lot of variety shows compared to other platforms, and also doesn’t take long to load or stream. I hear that you can find the new weekly "Running Man" episodes (WITH SUBS) in lightning speed on KOCOWA. It’s also only the big three- KBS/SBS/MBC, So if you like tvN or JTBC, etc you will have to supplement.
5. Netflix
Netflix
Definitely, the one that everyone has heard of, or seen something on. They carry their original series, such as “The Glory”, “Kingdom”, and “Love Alarm”.
However, they have plenty of options from other broadcast services, such as “Hotel Del Luna” which is a tvN production from 2019, and “Tomorrow”, an MBC production released in 2022. Quantity-wise, they have the most compared to any platform and also carry K-Dramas and movies from years ago as well.
However, Netflix’s subtitles are something people constantly dispute over! Some love it while some absolutely hate it. How do you feel about their subtitles?
6. Viki Rakuten
Viki Rakuten
Rakuten Viki, better known as Viki might be the most suitable competitor to Netflix when it comes to the variety of its offerings. Apart from having over 1,000 Korean TV series and more than 200 movie titles that you can watch on demand, they carry KBS/SBS/MBC- Korean public broadcast music programs (“MuCore”, “Music Bank”, “Inkigayo”) from 2022 onwards. They also carry music battle/ survival programs like “Immortal Songs”, “Kingdom: Legendary War”, and “King of Mask Singer”. You can also watch “Idol Star Athletics Championships”, which is a seasonal specialty. They also have a large library of K-Dramas- but some are region locked. What a bummer.
7. Viu
Viu
Established in 2015, Viu became prominent in the streaming world just a year after. Viu is only available in selective regions, mainly Asian countries. Most shows are updated an hour after their original air time, and also their subtitles aren’t done by fans but done more professionally. It also offers subtitles in different languages other than English which is a plus. Similar to Netflix, the videos on Viu will continue to the next episode once your current one is done if there is one after. Even if you close your window mid-watching, it gives the viewers an option to watch from where you left off.
8. YouTube Premium
YouTube
YouTube Premium has seven different documentaries, and drama series related to Korean pop culture. They don’t have anything new from October 2020, the last one being An online replacement of KCON due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, “KCON:TACT.”
You might be interested in checking out the “TWICE: Seize the Light” series, a documentary of 9 episodes that gives a sneak peek of nine TWICE members’ lives. YouTube Premium also has similar content for BIGBANG, “Run, BIGBANG Scout!”, Jay Park, “Jay Park Chosen1” and BTS, ”BTS: Burn The Stage”.
