The streaming juggernaut that is Netflix’s massive library of Korean-language series shows no sign of slowing down, having already produced some of the service’s biggest hits of all time, like Squid Game and Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Along these same lines, some of the biggest Netflix series in the world right now are also Korean titles — and as far as what’s to come, Netflix has just unveiled its biggest-ever annual release slate of Korean TV shows and movies.
The biggest Korean series in the world on Netflix
That slate includes Part 2 of the revenge drama The Glory, which also happens to be one of the biggest Netflix shows in the world right now.
The Glory
Based on Netflix’s latest global Top 10 data, The Glory is currently the #2 non-English Netflix series in the world at the moment. This Korean series, which has now spent three weeks on Netflix’s global Top 10 chart, racked up more than 40 million hours of viewing time for the 7-day period that ended on January 15 (Part 2 of the show is coming on March 10, by the way).
Song Hye-kyo as Moon Dong-eun in Netflix’s “The Glory” Image source: Graphyoda/Netflix
This series follows a woman who sets out to get revenge against childhood bullies who destroyed her life. It also reunited the screenwriter and lead actress from Descendants of the Sun, another popular Korean series, which helped ensure plenty of attention for this new one. From Netflix’s official summary:
“The Glory depicts the tale of a teacher, portrayed by Song Hye-kyo, who seeks vengeance against the bullies who ruined her childhood. She carefully plots her revenge against those who watched her suffer. Plans begin to unfold when she becomes the homeroom teacher to the child of one of her bullies. Lee Do-hyun’s character also adds interest with his complicated secret.”
Single’s Inferno: Season 2
Moving right along: Also with a decent placement on Netflix’s global Top 10 list of non-English content, this week (at #5) is the Korean reality series Single’s Inferno, which in recent days dropped the final episodes of its second season.
This show is a twist on the dating format that we’re all familiar with — only, this being a Korean series, its chaste atmosphere is night-and-day different from something like The Bachelor and its ilk. Here, a group of young and attractive Korean singles is dropped onto an island (known, in the show’s parlance, as “inferno”). As they get to know each other, they can try and pair up — which, if they do successfully, allows them to spend a night in the island’s palatial hotel (which the show contrasts against the island by calling the latter “paradise”).
Alchemy of Souls: Part 2
Finally, coming in at #7 on Netflix’s global Top 10 list of non-English shows this week is Part 2 of Alchemy of Souls, which Netflix describes as follows:
“A powerful sorceress in a blind woman’s body encounters a man from a prestigious family, who wants her help to change his destiny.”
This series is set in a fictional nation called Daeho, and it racked up 14.9 million hours viewed worldwide this week, according to Netflix.