The Russian Audience for Korean Content

04.10.2024

What factors contribute to the widespread appeal of Korean culture, and to what extent are Russian teenagers engaged with Korean and other Asian content? Mediascope has unveiled its latest report during the Moscow Licensing Summit, hosted at the Korean Cultural Center in Moscow.

The key findings are as follows:

According to the Mediascope Kids&Teens study, nearly half of teenagers aged 9-17 (48%) living in Russian cities with populations exceeding 100,000 express curiosity about K-pop, anime, dramas, or manga.

• 38% of boys and 63% of girls in this age group believe that it is still fashionable to be a fan of Korean musicians and actors within youth culture.
• Among girls aged 9 to 17, Korean pop music is as popular as Western pop music, with about 20% of this group listening to it. However, when it comes to favorite musicians, Russian children predominantly mention domestic artists. The only foreigners in the top 20 favorite musicians for kids aged 4 to 17 are the Korean groups BTS and Stray Kids.
• Korean dramas are also highly popular among teenage girls: 24% of girls aged 9-13 and 41% of girls aged 14-17 watch them. Korean and Japanese animation is even more appealing to boys than dramas; however, girls demonstrate a higher interest in this genre as well: 42% of girls and 26% of boys aged 14-17 watch anime.
• 23% of children and teenagers aged 4 to 17 living in major cities in Russia occasionally read paper comics and manga. The older the child, the higher this figure.

The full presentation of the report in Russian is available via the link.