K-Drama as ecocinema? A multimodal analysis of climate hange representation in 60 globally popular Korean TV dramas

This study examines climate change themes in 60 globally popular South Korean dramas (2019–2024) using network, sentiment, and framing analyses and drawing on ecocinema. The results show that climate change topics represented only 0.36% (4 hours) of 1,135 total viewing hours. Despite Korea’s environmental challenges, only 26 dramas included climate-related content, primarily addressing recycling and eco-friendly practices. Our study provides the first systematic investigation of climate change narratives in Korean TV dramas. It highlights their potential to shape environmental awareness and introduces a replicable methodological framework integrating computational and longitudinal analyses. Integrating ecocinema into Hallyu studies is crucial as it (1) expands Hallyu’s thematic scope beyond family, history, gender, and class to include underexplored environmental issues; (2) leverages K-dramas’ global reach to enhance climate change awareness through serialized storytelling; and (3) addresses the dominance of Western media in ecocinema studies by incorporating East Asian television narratives.