Actress Kim Hyang-gi is stealing the spotlight in her first-ever dive into comedy, driving a global surge in popularity.
Premiering on April 17, the Coupang Play series The Absolute Value of Romance is a high-teen comedy about a high school girl who writes romance novels starring dreamy teachers. When real life throws her together with actual teachers in a string of unexpected incidents, she suddenly finds herself at the chaotic center of school life.
According to global OTT ranking site FlixPatrol on the 21st, The Absolute Value of Romance has been charting high in the 'TOP TV Shows' category on Amazon Prime Video across major countries—not only in Asia, including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, but also throughout South America, such as Brazil, Chile, and Peru—landing in the Top 10 day after day. It’s clear proof that Kim Hyang-gi’s brand of comedy is winning over viewers far beyond Korea’s borders.
In the series, Kim plays Ye Yi-ju, a seemingly quiet, ordinary student who loves to write by day—but by night, she’s a blockbuster romance author (pen name: Lee Muk) whose views skyrocket. Her duality pops on screen, and her fresh yet finely tuned portrayal of an eighteen-year-old navigating turbulent growing pains resonates deeply with global audiences.
Thanks to Kim Hyang-gi’s star power and fearless performance, online buzz is exploding on platforms like TikTok. Clips of her lovable double-life moments, her laugh-out-loud yet "sweet-and-salty" comedic beats that trend every episode, and her twist-filled scenes that blur reality and fantasy are being remixed into countless short-form videos, setting the trend.
Overseas Millennials and Gen Z are also churning out meme content using Kim’s endlessly expressive reactions, while revisiting her no-holds-barred, physically committed acting highlights—pouring fuel on the show’s viral wildfire.
Meanwhile, The Absolute Value of Romance drops two new episodes every Friday at 8 p.m. on Coupang Play.