You typed "which K-drama is most watched?" into Google expecting a simple answer. Maybe one title. Sorry to disappoint, but the real answer is a lot more interesting than that. It's not one drama. It's a handful, depending on what ruler you use to measure. Are we talking about people sitting in front of their TVs in Korea on a Wednesday night? Or someone bingeing on Netflix in Brazil over a weekend? The champion changes completely.

Let's be real. If you only look at traditional TV ratings, the crown sits firmly on one drama's head. But if you look at the global, streaming-dominated world we live in now, a different, spiky-haired champion in a green tracksuit has blown everyone else out of the water. This isn't just about picking a winner. It's about understanding the three completely different races these shows are running in.

The Traditional TV King: "Crash Landing on You" and the Nielsen Rating System

For decades, this was the only game in town. In South Korea, the question "which K-drama is most watched?" was answered by a single number: the Nielsen Korea rating. It's a percentage, representing the portion of households with TVs tuned into a specific program during its live broadcast.

The undisputed modern champion here is "Crash Landing on You" (2019-2020). Its final episode scored a nationwide rating of 21.7%. That's huge. For context, most successful prime-time dramas aim for the 8-12% range. "Crash Landing on You" didn't just win its time slot; it became a national event. People scheduled their evenings around it.

But here's the catch newcomers often miss. You can't directly compare a rating from a cable channel (like tvN, which aired "Crash Landing on You") with one from a public broadcaster (like KBS). Cable channels are paid subscriptions, so their potential audience is smaller from the start. A 12% rating on tvN is a monumental hit. A 12% rating on KBS might be considered just okay. It's like comparing a sold-out indie concert to a half-full stadium.

The Streaming Juggernaut: "Squid Game" and the Era of Viewership Hours

Then Netflix happened. And it changed the question entirely. Netflix doesn't use Nielsen ratings. It uses metrics like "hours viewed in the first 28 days." This measures global, asynchronous binge-watching, not live national viewership.

Enter "Squid Game" (2021). According to Netflix (and they're the only source for this data), it amassed a staggering 1.65 billion hours of viewing in its first 28 days. Let that number sink in. It became the platform's most-watched show ever at the time, in any language.

The scale is incomparable to traditional ratings. "Squid Game" wasn't just watched in Korea; it was watched in homes from Ohio to Osaka. It created memes, Halloween costumes, and a global cultural moment. By the "most eyes on screens" definition, it's the heavyweight champion.

The New Contenders in the Streaming Ring

"Squid Game" opened the floodgates. Other K-dramas have posted massive Netflix numbers since, though none have dethroned it yet:

• "The Glory" (2022-2023): Part 1 racked up over 124 million hours in its first three days. It showcased the power of a tightly-plotted, revenge-driven story with A-list star Song Hye-kyo.
• "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" (2022): A surprise hit that dominated Netflix's non-English top 10 for weeks, proving that warm, character-driven stories have massive global appeal.
• "All of Us Are Dead" (2022): Another genre hit, proving the global appetite for Korean takes on zombies and survival horror.

The game is no longer about capturing a nation at 10 p.m. on Wednesday. It's about capturing the world's attention anytime, anywhere.

Head-to-Head: How the Contenders Stack Up

Let's put them side-by-side. This table shows why there's no single answer.

See the problem? You're comparing a percentage of Korean households at a specific moment to billions of hours of global consumption over a month. They're both valid, but they measure different things.

Beyond the Numbers: What Makes a K-Drama "Most Watched" in the Global Sense?

If we step back from pure stats, "most watched" can also mean "most impactful" or "most culturally pervasive." Some dramas achieve a longevity that raw numbers don't fully capture.

Take "Goblin." Its initial ratings were fantastic, but its real power is in its endless afterlife on streaming platforms. It's a perennial recommendation for new K-drama fans. Scenes are constantly re-shared on social media. Its influence on cinematography and soundtrack in subsequent dramas is massive. In terms of cumulative views over years, it might be a stealth contender.

Or consider "Boys Over Flowers" (2009). Its ratings were good, but not record-breaking. Yet, ask any seasoned K-drama fan from Asia to Latin America about their first drama, and this one comes up constantly. It was a gateway drug for an entire generation. Its "watch count" across illegal streaming sites, YouTube clips, and DVD box sets in the pre-Netflix era is incalculable but undoubtedly enormous.

This is the third layer to the question. It's not just live TV ratings or first-month streaming hours. It's about embedding itself in the global pop culture consciousness for the long haul.

Your Burning Questions Answered (FAQ)

So, which K-drama is most watched?

If you want the king of traditional Korean TV ratings, look to "Crash Landing on You" and the elite club around it. If you want the undisputed global streaming champion by volume, it's "Squid Game." And if you're talking about a drama that has been continuously discovered and loved across borders for years, names like "Goblin" enter the conversation.

The beauty is there's no single answer. It means the industry is thriving on multiple fronts, creating shows that can dominate a national Wednesday night and others that can stop the scrolling of millions worldwide over a weekend. The next time you hear a claim about a "most watched" drama, the first question should be: "Most watched by whose measure?" Now you know how to find the real story behind the headline.