Netflix's Top 10 Kdramas as of February 2024

Every so often, I like to take a look at where kdramas show up on Netflix's Top 10 Non-English TV lists. It's a bit early in the year to make any substantial conclusions, but it's fun to look at the limited data and see what it has to say. Maybe there are trends that can predict future placement? 

The following kdramas placed on Netflix's Top 10 Non-English TV global/worldwide lists for the year ending February 25, 2024.  The table shows the number of weeks it was on the chart and the corresponding hours watched during that time.

 

It would be one thing to make analysis on this list alone; however some of these dramas started in 2023, so to get a fuller picture, let's show those numbers as well:

Some points of interest to note about the data:

• Both currently airing and completed (Netflix-produced or not) spent significant time on the Top 10 list, whether they dropped limited number of episodes or all at once. Airing a finite amount of episodes at a given time would obviously ensure more time in the Top 10, as it encouraged return viewing.
• Doctor Slump and Captivating the King are still airing, so there very likely would be more data. Doctor Slump has been on the Top 10 list for its entire run. Captivating the King has not; it missed the 4/21 weekend, as well as its first weekend, where it debuted with two episodes on Sunday, versus a more typical Saturday/Sunday airtime. One week, February 11, had four episodes air during that time. Historically (no pun intended), if dramas stay in the top 10 consistently, they will also land there for finale week.
• Welcome to Samdal-ri stayed on the Top 10 list through its entire eight-week airtime.
• My Demon placed in the Top 10 list its entire eight-week airtime, plus two weeks after AND during the last week of 2023 when the show was off the air due to its host Korean station airing an awards show instead. The drama did rather poorly on regular broadcasting, given the prime weekend slot and public tv airing. However, on Netflix Korea, it stayed on the Top 10 list for ten weeks, with an extra week after the airtime ended. 
• The last four dramas include three Netflix-produced ones and one completed one (True Beauty.) The latter's popularity was attributed to its placement in Netflix's Latin American catalog at that time. Gyeongseong Creature aired in two parts, and both parts kept it in the Top 10 list for two weeks each.
• Romance dramas placed more times on the Top 10 list than thrillers did, with each genre divided between Korean-station dramas (romance) and Netflix-produced ones (thrillers).

Obviously additional data would certainly help paint a more complete picture, but it is neat to see things even with such a limited scope. (I'm an INTJ/ISTJ, so while I can make good assumptions, I like to have solid data in my hot little hands.) As more data emerges, I look forward to incorporating it into a richer analysis.