The number of Hallyu (Korean Wave) fans worldwide last year surpassed 200 million for the first time. Shown are fans on Oct. 28, 2023, cheering at a K-pop concert held at the Hallyu mega-event 2023 Mokkoji Korea in Mexico. (Mokkoji Korea's official website)

By Park Hye Ri

The number of Hallyu (Korean Wave) fans worldwide last year for the first time surpassed 200 million.

The Korea Foundation (KF) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 12 said this in a report on Hallyu's global popularity covering 119 countries.

The number of Hallyu fans worldwide in December last year hit 225 million, the report said, a 24-fold jump from 9.26 million cited by the inaugural survey in 2012 and up 46 million (25.8%) from that in 2022. The number of Hallyu fan clubs rose to 1,748, up 64 from the previous year and 2.3 times the 2012 figure of 757.

By region, Asia and Oceania accounted for the most fans and clubs with 66%. The country with the highest number of Hallyu fans last year was China, which allowed the resumption of airing K-dramas in 2022, with 100.8 million, followed by Mexico with 27.8 million, Thailand 19.5 million, the U.S. 16.7 million and Vietnam 12.1 million.

Thailand had the most fan clubs with 123.

The continent with the fastest growth in the number of Hallyu fans was the Americas led by Mexico, with an estimated 80% increase from 2022.

"Hallyu fans in the Americas were the No. 2 consumers of Hallyu content during the COVID-19 pandemic," the KF said. "This laid the foundation for the evolution of Hallyu 4.0, leading to a transition from content consumption to learning Korean."

The report said K-pop and K-dramas were the main reasons for the Hallyu boom, with about 68% of fan clubs focused on K-pop and about 10% on K-dramas.

It added, "Content based on Korean narratives dealing with Korean culture, hope, love and family resonated with viewers and gave them hope."

hrhr@korea.kr