22 Korean Actors Who Shaped The Korean Wave In 2022

Elle Korea / MYM Entertainment

One of the most prolific, culturally significant, and revolutionary years in South Korean entertainment - 2022, is slowly coming to a close. This has been a year of immense success, international accolades, and overwhelming global consumption, so much so that the Korean Wave has seen a renewed impetus, likely to power the next decade.

In terms of K-Drama, several top honors found their way to the Land of the Morning Calm. The 2021 series "Squid Game" made history this year with 14 Emmy nominations and 6 wins - "Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series - 2022" - Lee YouMi, "Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Single Episode - 2022", "Outstanding Stunt Performance - 2022", "Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour Or More) - 2022", "Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series - 2022" and "Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series - 2022" - Lee JungJae. Park EunBin and SF9 RoWoon's "The King's Affection" (based on the webtoon "Yeonmo" by Lee SoYoung) from last year also took home an Emmy for the "Best Telenovela" category.

K-Drama stocks and shares of Korean companies in relation to the production of Korean content saw unprecedented surge, directly reflecting the increased demand for the same. At the same time, the increase of webtoon-based K-Dramas propelled the Korean comic industry, with platforms like Tappytoon achieving 200% average annual sales growth and over 7 million registered users - 78.6% of which have come from the US.

In the film industry, legendary director Park ChanWook marked his return with one of the most stunning, medi