Netflix, Martha Stewart, T.O.P And Lil Yachty Welcome You To The K-Era

Let’s face it—a collaboration between lifestyle mogul Martha Stewart and South Korean rapper and actor T.O.P was something no one saw coming, but that’s precisely what happened when Netflix revealed its latest ad for Korean content. The two-minute video on Netflix’s YouTube channel also features American rapper Lil Yachty, himself a longtime K-culture fan who famously paid tribute to the iconic K-pop boy band BIGBANG (of which T.O.P is a former member) in 2016 by freestyling to their songs. (And seeing as how T.O.P is clearly his favorite BIGBANG member based on that clip, it was probably only a matter of time before he and the real T.O.P found themselves in the same video.)

In Netflix’s promotional clip, Stewart is caught crying while watching the hit K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines. When told that she doesn’t speak Korean, Stewart responds, “I don’t, it speaks to me.” Stewart is later seen actively engaging with and taking cues from other blockbuster Korean shows like Squid Game, All of Us Are Dead and Physical: 100. She also chats with Lil Yachty about Single’s Inferno while wearing a snail mucin sheet mask on her face—one of (many) items popularized by the ever-growing K-beauty trend.

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T.O.P (real name Choi Seung-hyun), who plays Thanos in Squid Game season 2, appears in Stewart’s dressing room in the latter half of the video and flashes her the classic Korean “finger heart” sign. At this point, the camera cuts to a barrage of additional K-culture references found throughout the room, from the song “Like Jennie” by BLACKPINK member Jennie blasting from a speaker to a tray filled with Korean snacks and beverages to Stewart wearing an Extraordinary Attorney Woo T-shirt.

“I’ve seen this before… You’re in deep on K-content. Don’t worry, she’ll be fine,” T.O.P remarks, at least according to the English subtitles. (A more literal translation of what he actually says would be something like: “Oh, I see you’re hooked on not only K-content but Korean culture as well. Don’t worry, that happens to everyone.”) He then makes his exit with the now-iconic “Skrrt!”—which all three stars repeat at the very end while dressed in Squid Game tracksuits.

Social media reactions to the unexpected collab have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic, with many users praising Netflix for the surprise video and gushing over T.O.P’s appearance in the clip.

Netflix’s slogan for its “Welcome to Your K-Era” campaign is “You Don’t Have to Speak It to Love It” (for anyone who’s interested, a more literal translation of the Korean phrase would be: “Even if you don’t know the language, you know the feeling!”), acknowledging the power of K-content to resonate with audiences across the globe despite the language barrier.

That said, as an aside, it should be noted that the Korean language is also experiencing a worldwide boom these days. For instance, a recent study by the Modern Language Association found that out of the 15 most commonly taught foreign languages at U.S. colleges and universities, Korean was the only language to show remarkable growth between 2016 and 2021—a whopping 38.3% increase in enrollment over that five-year period. Biblical Hebrew and American Sign Language were the only other languages that showed increased enrollment—9.1% and 0.8% respectively—while all other foreign languages showed a marked decline in enrollment over that time period.

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To feed your K-content obsession—and perhaps help you improve your Korean listening comprehension skills—Netflix now has a “Welcome to Your K-Era” panel on its interface, which serves as a one-stop shop to find all your favorite Korean films and shows on Netflix. (Tip for those new to Korean movies and shows: ALWAYS watch them subbed, NEVER dubbed!)

Residents of Los Angeles, California might have also seen these Netflix billboards along Sunset Boulevard featuring Korean-only captions, often superimposed on ads for popular Netflix Korean shows:

There’s also a video billboard in New York City’s Times Square that shows all of these ads along with a few more featuring other Korean shows. Below is a still frame for the K-zombie thriller All of Us Are Dead:

Netflix’s K-content promotional campaign comes on the heels of its global fan event Tudum, which featured many K-culture moments both during and in the lead-up to the live event held in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 31st.

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That weekend, Tudum coincided with other events in Los Angeles that celebrated K-culture, including an epic sold-out concert by K-pop boy band Stray Kids (whose global fanbase is predominantly non-Korean), a concert by Korean singing legend Baek Ji-young, and 88rising’s annual Head in the Clouds music festival, which saw many K-indie and K-pop artists take the stage at the Rose Bowl, including BIGBANG’s leader G-Dragon (dubbed by many fans as the “King of K-pop”) and iconic K-pop girl group 2NE1.

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s a K-content world, and we’re all just living in it. And Netflix is one of the players leading the Korean Wave, known as “Hallyu” (한류) in Korean.