LayarHijau — Chinese dramas are winning over more viewers in South Korea, and their influence is now spreading from the screen to tourist destinations in China. The trend spans office romances, lavish family melodramas, and AI-generated revenge stories, according to South Korean media reports cited by Global Times.
The Maeil Business Newspaper reported that the Chinese workplace romance The Early Spring ranked sixth on Netflix’s list of popular titles in South Korea as of September 11. On the local streaming platform TVING, six of the top 20 programs in its real-time chart were Chinese productions. TVING has since opened a dedicated section for Chinese dramas, including exclusive titles.
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For some viewers, the interest began with a personal recommendation. Lily Chae, a South Korean composer who works on K-pop and commercial music, first came to Chinese dramas through their soundtracks. She said The Early Spring left a deep impression on her, drawing her toward Chinese pop music and the settings that give the story its emotional depth.
Chae told Global Times she plans to visit Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, southern China. She also hopes to go to Beijing to see places linked to The Early Spring and relive the feelings the drama stirred in her.
Another fan, who goes by Claire, started watching Chinese dramas with her grandmother in elementary school. After rediscovering the genre in recent years through Hidden Love, she became a regular viewer of both contemporary romances and period dramas.
Claire told Global Times that many Chinese dramas are easy to watch because their love stories don’t always put the characters through relentless hardship. She added that China’s large entertainment industry keeps supplying new series and new actors to discover. Her interest has taken her to Shanghai and to Yantai in Shandong Province, eastern China, because she wanted to experience China beyond the screen. She also hopes to make Chinese friends and learn the language so she can follow at least some of the dialogue in her favorite shows.
Social media has become an unofficial travel guide for fans. On the Chinese lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, some South Korean travelers share itineraries and photos inspired by Chinese dramas, turning memorable scenes into places to visit.
Chongqing in southwestern China, for example, draws fans of The First Frost, starring Bai Jingting. The city is known for its stacked, multilevel roads, futuristic skyline, and the brightly lit Hongyadong complex. Travelers looking for a calmer setting have turned to Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, eastern China, whose lakeside scenery appears in The Best Thing, starring Zhang Linghe.
The appeal goes beyond visiting a city that resembles a scene on screen. Some travelers want to step into the drama’s world themselves. At Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang, a major production base for Chinese historical and costume dramas, visitors can tour the film sets, put on period costumes, and take photos in the style of their favorite scenes.
Han Dan, a publicity official at the studio, told Global Times that the popularity of Pursuit of Jade, starring Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei, has brought in more South Korean visitors who want to see its sets.
Hengdian also offers a personalized short-drama service that lets visitors play the lead role in their own production. For 200 to 300 yuan (about $30 to $45), customers can work with a director, a camera operator, and a costume and makeup team to shoot a vertical-format mini drama and take the finished video home. The service turns ordinary sightseeing into a hands-on experience, letting fans copy the visual style of the shows they usually watch on their phones.
The tourism trend comes as Chinese dramas and short dramas expand their reach in South Korea. Mobile app data cited by South Korean media shows that the 10 largest short-drama platforms in the country had a combined 2.98 million monthly active users in August, roughly 3.3 times the figure for 2025. Eight of the 10 platforms are backed by Chinese companies.
With their brief episodes and fast-moving plots, short dramas have found an audience among commuters and others looking for light entertainment. Chinese platforms have also added Korean subtitles and begun working with local actors and production teams to tailor content for the market.
A resident surnamed Yoon from Paju in Gyeonggi Province told Global Times that he regularly watches short dramas on the subway on his way to work. Members of an online community of South Korean fans of Chinese dramas also praise the short-episode format as convenient for watching during meals or while traveling.
Short dramas offer an easy way in, while longer series can build a more lasting emotional bond with viewers, giving them a reason to visit places they have seen on screen.
“Destinations in China can attract overseas visitors through stories that make unfamiliar places feel personal. A city skyline, a walkway by a lake, or a historic film set can take on new meaning when viewers link it to a favorite character or a memorable scene,” Han said.
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