- Three Ghaziabad sisters aged 12, 14, and 16 died by suicide linked to Korean culture obsession
- Korean Wave reached India around 2012, boosted by smartphone access and pandemic lockdowns
- K-pop and K-dramas became mainstream in India, influencing fashion, language, and social behavior
On a quiet Wednesday morning in Ghaziabad, three sisters aged 12, 14 and 16 jumped to their deaths from the ninth floor of their apartment.
As the investigation unfolded, what emerged was not just a story of family distress and financial strain, but an intense emotional attachment to Korean culture that had become central to the girls' sense of identity.
The sisters, Nishika, Prachi and Pakhi, had created online personas using Korean names. They consumed K-dramas obsessively, followed K-pop groups, and described themselves as 'Korean rather than Indian'.
When their father, struggling under a debt of Rs 2 Crore, confiscated and later sold their mobile phones, the girls spiralled. Police later said they were distressed at being unable to watch Korean content.
Their suicide note, spread across eight pages of a diary, laid bare the depth of this attachment. "Korean was our life," they wrote, accusing their father of tearing them away from what they loved most.
They spoke of loving Korean actors and K-pop groups more than family, of being threatened with marriage to Indian men when they believed they belonged elsewhere.
Investigators clarified that while initial reports spoke of a task-based Korean game, there was no evidence of a final 'suicide challenge'. Instead, the influence of Korean culture intersected with emotional neglect, poverty, and isolation.
This was not an isolated incident.
When Fandom Spills Into Fantasy
In Janurary 2024, in Tamil Nadu's Karur district, three 13-year-old schoolgirls left their village with a single goal: to reach Seoul and meet BTS.
Armed with little more than Rs 14,000 in savings, no passports, and an unshakeable belief that they could somehow board a ship to South Korea, the girls travelled by train to Chennai.
They had memorised everything about their idols, from clothes to shoes, and believed that proximity alone could transform their lives.
It took police intervention, missed trains, and eventual counselling by Child Welfare Committees to bring them home.
Officials later noted how unhindered access to smartphones had fuelled obsession, especially in households already struggling.
In one family, the father was mentally challenged. In another, the mother was a single parent working as a farm labourer. Supervision was minimal.
Taken together, these incidents have forced a difficult national conversation: how deeply has Korean culture embedded itself in India's youth psyche, and why does it hold such power?
The Origins: How The Korean Wave Arrived In India
The Korean Wave, or Hallyu, did not sweep into India overnight. Its earliest tremors were felt in 2012, when Psy's Gangnam Style went viral, introducing millions of Indians to Korean pop aesthetics for the first time.
But even before that, Korean dramas had quietly found audiences in India's Northeast, particularly in Manipur and Nagaland, where Korean television replaced banned Hindi satellite channels (to prevent 'Indianisation') in the early 2000s.
Globally, Hallyu was a carefully cultivated soft-power project, blending music, television, fashion, beauty and food.
Scholars like Doobo Shim in a 2006 study have argued that 'its strength lies in hybridity, its ability to merge cultural familiarity with novelty'. In India, this combination proved potent.
The real inflection point came with the smartphone boom and cheap data. Suddenly, Korean content was not only available, it was algorithmically recommended. Netflix, YouTube, Instagram and later short-video platforms collapsed geographic distance.
During the pandemic, confined indoors, Indian viewers turned to K-dramas and K-pop in unprecedented numbers. By 2025, Korean shows ranked among the most-watched non-English titles on Netflix India.
Family-friendly storytelling played a role. Indian audiences, long accustomed to melodrama, found familiarity in emotional arcs, restrained romance, and clean narratives. Shows like Extraordinary Attorney Woo and Squid Game did not just entertain, they became cultural reference points.
A Deeper Look: How Korean Culture Swept Across India Via Shows, Food And Travel
The first wave came through music and television, but by the mid-2020s, K-pop had decisively crossed over from niche fandom into mainstream youth culture in India.
India is now considered one of the most important growth markets for K-pop globally. Industry experts describe it as the next frontier after China, with 2025 marking a visible turning point.
What was once confined to online fan pages has moved into malls, colleges, brand endorsements and offline fan events, not just in metros but also in tier-2 cities.
Streaming and social media data show that Gen Z and young millennials are driving this shift.
K-pop consumption in India is no longer passive listening. Fan clubs organise dance cover competitions, charity drives, birthday celebrations for idols, and ticketed fan meet-ups. In cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, K-pop dance academies now run full batches year-round.
By 2025-26, Korean entertainment companies began treating India as a core market rather than an experimental one. BTS-related activities played a major role in cementing this. Jungkook's solo exhibition in Mumbai and brand launches linked to BTS members brought unprecedented visibility.
Major artists such as IU, Jungkook, SEVENTEEN's Joshua and Mingyu fronted campaigns tailored specifically for Indian audiences, signalling a strategic shift in how Korea's music industry views India.
Jungkook's solo exhibition in Mumbai. Photo: Instagram
K-dramas reinforced this emotional investment. Korean shows consistently ranked among the top-watched non-English titles on Netflix India throughout 2024 and 2025.
In just last year, series such as Squid Game 2, Mercy For None and family-centric dramas like When Life Gives You Tangerines found strong Indian viewership, particularly because of their emotional storytelling, limited explicit content, and focus on relationships. Many Indian viewers (especially for youngsters) see K-dramas as safe family viewing alternatives to Western shows.
This constant exposure has turned Korean popular culture into a lifestyle rather than just entertainment. Fashion, skincare routines, language learning and even social behaviour are influenced by what young Indians see on screen.
The Food Wave: From Screen To Street
The second major cultural shift arrived through food, and it has been rapid and remarkably widespread.
Korean cuisine, once limited to a handful of speciality restaurants in metro cities, is now part of everyday food choices for Indian consumers.
Data from food delivery platform, Swiggy, shows that Korean food orders in India grew by around 50 percent year-on-year in July 2025 compared to the previous year. What stands out is not just the growth, but where it is coming from.
While Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad still lead in absolute numbers, non-metro cities such as Surat, Vadodara, Mysuru, Mangaluru and Thiruvananthapuram are seeing some of the fastest growth.
Gen Z alone accounts for roughly 27 percent of Korean food orders, indicating how deeply the cuisine has embedded itself among younger consumers.
Dishes like tteokbokki, kimchi fried rice, japchae and bibimbap have become familiar names, often adapted subtly to Indian spice preferences.
Korean instant noodles, ready-to-cook meal kits, sauces and fermented products like kimchi are now easily available through e-commerce platforms. Photo: Zepto/Author
Korean fried chicken, frequently paired with beer or soft drinks, has found a place in casual dining chains and pubs. Many street food stalls now advertise "Korean" versions of snacks (can find Ramen in the streets of India now), blending desi flavours with Korean aesthetics.
What has accelerated this boom is accessibility. Korean instant noodles, ready-to-cook meal kits, sauces and fermented products like kimchi are now easily available through e-commerce platforms and quick-commerce apps like Instamart, Zepto, Blinkit often delivered within minutes.
For many young consumers, food becomes the first tangible way to experience Korean culture beyond screens.
This culinary curiosity also reflects aspiration. Korean food is perceived as trendy, global and Instagram-friendly, mirroring the aspirational lifestyles seen in K-dramas and K-pop videos.
Travel, Migration And The Aspiration Economy
As culture deepens, travel inevitably follows.
Indian travel to South Korea has seen steady growth, driven by tourism, education and employment opportunities. Korean cities featured in dramas and music videos have become bucket-list destinations, especially for younger Indians who view travel as an extension of fandom.
At the same time, interest in learning the Korean language has surged which is merely academic but aspirational, tied to dreams of studying, working, or building relationships abroad.
This aspiration economy is reinforced online. Vlogs of Indian students in Seoul, Indian-Korean couples, and everyday life in South Korea make the country feel emotionally accessible. For teenagers and young adults, Korea does not appear distant or foreign, but familiar and attainable.
However, experts caution that when aspiration replaces grounding, especially in vulnerable households, fantasy can override reality (like in the case of the Gaziabad teens).
When Korea Looked To India
Soon, this relationship stopped being one-sided.
South Korean singer Aoora is a striking example of cultural crossover. Known for performing Hindi classics like Woh Kisna Hai in Mathura and covering Yeh Shaam Mastani, Aoora's social media presence reflects a deep immersion in Indian culture.
Then there is Shreya Lenka from Odisha, who became a member of the K-pop band Blackswan after a global audition. Her induction signalled something new: Korean pop culture is recruiting from India.
These moments underscore a shift. Hallyu is no longer just influencing India; it is being shaped by Indian participation, which further deepend this relationship.
Why Indian Youth Are So Deeply Affected
Academic research consistently points to a combination of factors:
- Easy internet access, OTT platforms, and smartphones have democratised exposure.
- There is also aspiration. K-dramas often portray emotionally attentive relationships, stylish urban lives, and strong community bonds. For young Indians navigating academic pressure, family conflict, or economic hardship, these worlds offer escape.
- Social media intensifies this. Vlogs of Indian-Korean couples, fan interactions, and idol livestreams create a sense of intimacy. Korean celebrities feel reachable, relatable, almost local.
- Language apps, dance academies, beauty tutorials, and fandom communities reinforce belonging. Studies from Hyderabad show over 75 percent of young respondents developed interest in learning Korean, while many admitted spending hours consuming Korean media daily. This also forced various school to introduce Korean as an optional language to learn for kids.
Yet research also flags the downside. Addiction, reduced productivity, emotional withdrawal, and identity confusion emerge when consumption is unchecked.
Adieu Hallyu?
The Korean Wave in India is not a passing fad. It is a complex cultural exchange shaped by technology, aspiration, and globalisation.
It has opened doors to creativity, cross-cultural understanding, and new economic opportunities. But at the same time, it has also exposed vulnerabilities in how Indian society supports its youth.