The animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters, which captivated global audiences last year, has stormed back into the rankings in the Year of the Red Horse, kicking off a fresh wave of success. On the TV side, a trio of K-dramas — Can This Love Be Translated?, No Tail to Tell, and Undercover Miss Hong — is pulling viewers worldwide to their screens.
According to global OTT chart tracker FlixPatrol on the 20th, as of the 19th, K-Pop Demon Hunters placed No. 3 on Netflix's film chart.
First released in June last year, the film truly swept the world, hoisting trophies at the 83rd Golden Globes, the 31st Critics Choice Awards, the 42nd MTV Video Music Awards, and the 91st New York Film Critics Circle Awards, cementing its acclaim. Hype is now building for the 98th Academy Awards, set for March 15 (local time) in California, USA.
On the film chart, the action-thriller The Rip (US), starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, holds No. 1, while People We Meet on Vacation (US), How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (US), Hapgyeok! (US), Freelancer (US), The Magnificent Seven (US), Stranger Things 5: The Final Adventure (US), The Iron Mask (US), and Madagascar (US) are also crowding the rankings.
In TV shows, Can This Love Be Translated?, No Tail to Tell, and Undercover Miss Hong ranked No. 3, No. 6, and No. 9, respectively.
Can This Love Be Translated? is an unpredictable romantic comedy about multilingual interpreter Joo Ho-jin (played by Kim Seon-ho), who takes on the interpretation for global top star Cha Mu-hee (Go Youn-jung). It marks Kim Seon-ho's return to rom-com about five years after tvN's Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. He recently worked with IU in When Life Gives You Tangerines alongside Park Bo-gum, but this is his first time back as a rom-com lead in a while.
Go Youn-jung takes on a dual role, unveiling a striking transformation. She portrays Cha Mu-hee, who hides her true self, and Dorami, the alter ego who expresses it, amplifying the character's charm with a stable performance. The series also filmed on location across Italy, Japan, and Canada — a globe-trotting scale that clearly resonated with international viewers.
No Tail to Tell is a fantasy romance about Eun-ho (Kim Hye-yoon), an MZ gumiho who doesn't want to become human, and Si-yeol (Lomon), a self-obsessed soccer star whose fate collides with hers in chaotic, comedic fashion.
While the series is leading global buzz from the outset, domestic ratings have been underwhelming. As the follow-up to Lee Je-hoon's Taxi Driver 3, the premiere drew 3.7% (Nielsen Korea nationwide households), and Episode 2 dipped to 2.7%, down one percentage point. Many early viewers felt some characters didn't quite fit the actors, making it hard to connect with the charm of the roles. There were also multiple comments that the CG (computer graphics) for a fantasy drama felt flimsy and childish. As a result, the strong 13.3% finale audience of Taxi Driver 3 appears to be dispersing to competing titles.
Undercover Miss Hong is a retro office comedy set in the late 1990s. It follows Hong Geum-bo (Park Shin-hye), a 30-something elite securities regulator who goes undercover as a 20-year-old entry-level employee at a brokerage flagged for suspicious money flows. Park Shin-hye stars opposite Go Kyung-pyo.
The show deftly tackles the absurdities of old-school workplace culture while weaving a tight narrative of past ties and hidden secrets, boosting immersion. Park Shin-hye's relatable performance, Go Kyung-pyo's gravitas, and Ha Yoon-kyung's story twists create standout character-to-actor synergy — and ratings are climbing. After debuting at 3.5%, Episode 2 jumped two points to 5.7%, leaving viewers eager for what's next.
Meanwhile, in TV shows, His Story & Her Story (US) sits at No. 1, while Agatha Christie's Seven Dials (UK), Nega Sarajin Nal (UK), Stranger Things (US), Ibyeoldo Sarangira (Türkiye), Taskari: War on Smuggling (India), and The Queen of Flow (Colombia) are keeping dopamine levels high for global viewers.