K-Culture News This Week: Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2026

Here is the k-culture news this week (Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2026), and the biggest story is a drama one. The Remarried Empress will arrive a day early on Disney+ and Hulu, and a long list of November K-dramas is already forming. Around it, there is film news for Lee Chang-dong fans, a reunion of two beloved actors, and a Korean actress promoting a humble snack.

A busy Seoul street at night with glowing shop signs
A busy Seoul street at night, the kind of scene that shows up in many K-dramas.
Photo: Nowon Cultural Street at Night 02 by Ox1997cow, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

I live in Seoul, so I will try to explain why each story matters here, not just what happened. Most of the news below comes from headlines and short reports, so I only state what they clearly say. For anything else, I point you to the official platforms.

K-culture news this week: the K-drama stories

The Remarried Empress arrives one day early

Deadline reported on Nov 3 that The Remarried Empress, a Korean romantic drama, will release one day early on Disney+ and Hulu. The report is about the schedule change, so check your own region's app for the exact start time. Time zones can make "one day early" look different depending on where you live.

It matters because the story started life as a Korean web novel and was then turned into a webtoon (웹툰, "web-toon"), a digital comic made to be read on a phone. In Korea, the webtoon-to-drama pipeline is huge. Fans often arrive already knowing the plot and the characters, which makes a big-budget drama version a real event.

Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong also published a guide to every new K-drama releasing in November 2026. It names The Remarried Empress and The Blue Road as headline titles. If you are planning your watchlist, I am putting together a November picks post later this week.

Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin reunite after 10 years

The Korea Herald called Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin a "beloved duo" of K-drama and reported that they are working together again after 10 years. Korean viewers often get attached to a pairing, and a long-awaited reunion tends to draw attention before the first episode airs.

The South China Morning Post describes the new drama, The Perfect Lie, as a twisty story about date rape. That is heavy material, so please treat it as a content warning. Dramas that deal with sexual violence can be intense, and it is fine to check what the story covers before you press play.

I will cover this one in more detail on Friday, including why a reunion like this gets so much attention in Korea.

Film: Lee Chang-dong gets a big week

An Oscar hopeful, and his older films come to Netflix

The South China Morning Post ran an interview with director Lee Chang-dong about his new film Possible Love, which it calls an Oscar hopeful. Lee is one of the most respected directors in Korean cinema. He is known for slow, character-focused films that stay with you, and for making relatively few of them. A new Lee Chang-dong release is a major event for Korean film lovers.

For international fans, the practical news comes from What's on Netflix. It reports that Netflix is adding six Lee Chang-dong movies, plus one called Heartbeat, in November 2026. The timing is a nice entry point, since you can catch up on his earlier work around the time Possible Love is in the conversation. Netflix catalogs differ by country, so check what your region gets.

I will walk through where to begin with his films on Wednesday.

Food: gim, Korea's "soul food"

Park Ha-sun introduces gim to the world

Maeil Business reported that actress Park Ha-sun is introducing gim (김, "geem"), roasted seaweed, to the world as Korea's "soul food." The headline quotes her saying, “I love Korean food.” "Soul food" (소울푸드) is a phrase Koreans use for the food that feels like home, and gim fits that well.

Sheets of dried roasted gim seaweed stacked on a plate
Gim is sold as thin roasted seaweed sheets and is often eaten with plain rice.
Photo: 구운 김 20150313계절밥상 인사동점47 by 최광모, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

If you have only seen gim in sushi, here is how Koreans use it. We eat thin, lightly salted sheets with a bowl of plain rice, wrap a spoonful of rice in a sheet, and eat it by hand. It is also the outer layer of gimbap (김밥, "gim-bap"), the rolled rice we pack for picnics and school trips. Most Korean homes keep a stack of it in the pantry.

Asia Economy ran a related piece titled "One More Roll, Please," about Korean soul food captivating foreigners. The headline suggests that the gimbap-style roll is winning over visitors. That matches what I see: it is cheap, portable, and easy for newcomers to try. I will explain the full story on Thursday.

Korean shows on the Netflix global chart

These are the figures from Netflix's official Top 10 for the week ending 2026-11-01. One caveat: the data I have labels these rows only as non-English films or TV, so not every row is necessarily Korean. Please check each title's origin before you add it to a Korean watchlist.

RankTitleCategoryWeekly hours viewedChange vs last week
#1Surviving Hurricane OtisFilms (Non-English)20,300,000-11.4%
#2Collision CourseFilms (Non-English)18,900,000New
#4Dead-End Job: Limited SeriesTV (Non-English)25,400,000New
#5Doctor X: Mafia in White: Limited SeriesTV (Non-English)37,200,000+1.4%
#9Where the Mask Ends: Season 1TV (Non-English)56,600,000-4.6%

Notice that Where the Mask Ends has the most hours (56.6 million) but sits at #9. Netflix ranks by views, which means hours divided by the running time. A long series racks up many hours, so it can have a huge hour total and still rank lower than a short film. The views for the week were 12.4 million for Surviving Hurricane Otis, 10.7 million for Collision Course, 5.0 million for Dead-End Job, 4.4 million for Doctor X: Mafia in White, and 2.6 million for Where the Mask Ends.

Two titles, Collision Course and Dead-End Job, are new this week. That is why they show "New" instead of a percentage.

Most-watched K-pop videos this week

Here are two K-pop music videos to watch. The view counts below are lifetime totals on YouTube, not numbers from this week alone. Both are easy ways to hear what the groups sound like.

The first is TREASURE's "SHOCK" M/V, with more than 19.1 million views.

▶ TREASURE - ‘SHOCK’ M/V — TREASURE (트레저) (YouTube)

The second is "With" by RESCENE, a girl group, with more than 6.1 million views.

▶ RESCENE (리센느) 'With' Official MV — RESCENE (YouTube)

Coming up on the blog this week

FAQ

When does The Remarried Empress come out on Disney+ and Hulu?

Deadline reported on Nov 3 that it will release one day earlier than first planned on Disney+ and Hulu. I do not have the exact date, so check the app in your country for the start time.

Which Lee Chang-dong films are coming to Netflix?

What's on Netflix reports that six of his movies, plus Heartbeat, are being added in November 2026. The titles and availability can vary by country, so check Netflix in your region.

What is gim, and how do Koreans eat it?

Gim (김) is roasted, lightly salted seaweed sold in thin sheets. Koreans usually eat it wrapped around plain rice as a side dish, and it is also the wrapper for gimbap, Korea's rolled rice.

Sources

Last updated: November 4, 2026

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