
There has been a growth in the influence of Korean culture on people around the globe. The K-pop group BTS is one of the many such bands with more rising each day. Another thing that has contributed to that growth is K-dramas like Squid Game. Just like the music, K-dramas also have a huge fan following, especially in India. Several big streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have added such shows to their roster.
Hwang Dong-hyuk‘s directed show has become the most-watched Netflix series with around 111 million viewers. It has not only broken several records but has created a huge impact on people from all around the globe.
Amongst all of this comes an interesting bit of news. As reported by Hindustan Times, fans in Delhi-NCR are keen to learn the Korean language even though there are subtitles everywhere. Considering that Korean speakers bashed Squid Game for ruining the meaning behind the show through poor translation, it is understandable why K-drama fans would want to learn it.
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With the rise in K-dramas like Squid Game, people who want to learn the language have also increased. “We get so many queries on a daily basis. People call up and say, ‘I am really keen to learn the language as I want to watch these shows in Korean. I want to learn so that I can understand the shows!” laughs MD Ashique Elahi, who runs a language centre called founder iB language classes.
Elahi adds, “However, we tell them that please don’t take up the language only because of this reason. Do it if you want to learn an extra skill. It takes a lot of dedication and time, and the fees are also high.”
Meanwhile, JK Singh, Head of marketing at IICKL, says that people develop an interest in the language after watching such shows, which goes much beyond watching K-drama. “This demand in enrolment is the effect of Squid Game, but people are also interested in studying in Korea as well as doing business there.” “People were first interested in studying in Australia, UK and Canada, and now Korea has become a hot destination for students,” he says.
Several other K-dramas besides Squid Game, like Hospital Playlist season 2, True Beauty and Yumi Cells, have kept the fans glued to the screen.