A mature traveler appears in a stylized AI portrait, between K-drama imagination and desire for South Korea. This figure sums up the shift from a parlor passion to a cultural itinerary. Credits: Easy-Peasy.AI, image generated with AI assistance, CC BY 4.0; source page states free to use with a backlink to Easy-Peasy.AI.
Travel to South Korea is no longer limited to the Asian capitals dreamed of by young K-pop fans. A Libération report published on June 28, 2026 describes retirees and fifty-somethings from French-speaking areas traveling in the footsteps of their favorite K-dramas. This signal remains sectoral, but it fits within a confirmed rise in South Korean cultural tourism.
Series That Become Itineraries
The starting point is almost cinematic, but the phenomenon is very concrete. In its reportage at Sunshine Land, in Nonsan, Libération follows seven French-speaking travelers. Six French women and one Québécoise visit a set associated with Mr. Sunshine. Broadcast in 2018 on Netflix, the South Korean series turned this site into a pilgrimage stop. It is located about 170 kilometers from Seoul.
The article also cites Tour de Corée, an agency created in 2023. According to it, its groups would comprise “at least 80% women over 50.” The figure is interesting, but it must be kept in perspective. It is a company indicator, not a national statistic.
This unexpected audience nevertheless says something about the maturity of Hallyu, the Korean cultural wave. K-dramas no longer only produce online fan conversations. They guide vacation choices, guided tours, requests for French-speaking guides, and visits to filming locations.
Hallyu Moves Beyond Seoul
K-drama tourism relies on a simple mechanism: seeing in person what fiction has made familiar. Sunshine Land is not an isolated case. In November 2024, L’Echo Touristique with AFP was already describing the rise of Korean set-jetting. This filming-locations tourism pushes visitors to leave Seoul to reach Nonsan, Pohang, or other series settings.
The logic goes beyond mere TV nostalgia. A series gives neighborhood names, landscapes, dishes, sometimes everyday gestures. Travelers then discover the language, cuisine, or Korean history. The K-drama thus becomes a gateway to a broader culture. That is precisely what makes the phenomenon more solid than a passing novelty.
Categories must also be distinguished. K-pop paved part of the way. It gives global visibility to artists and South Korean cultural codes. K-dramas add a spatial dimension. They plant streets, cafés, villages, bridges, or studios in viewers’ imaginations. The leap from watching to traveling then becomes more natural.
Tourism Figures Confirm the Momentum
Public data do not yet allow isolating the segment of French retiree drama fans. However, they confirm a general dynamic favorable to K-drama travel to South Korea. Korea.net, the Republic of Korea’s official site, published April figures. More than 4.76 million foreign tourists visited the country between January and March 2026. That represents a 23% year-on-year increase and a record for a first quarter.
Overall attendance strengthened further in spring. This figure does not directly measure K-drama trips nor the profile of French travelers. On June 24, Korea.net announced that the number of foreign visitors in 2026 had exceeded 10 million as of June 21. For South Korean authorities, this progression is due in part to the international influence of K-culture. It also relies on joint efforts by the public sector and private actors.
France remains a smaller market than major Asian flows, but it matters in the European landscape. Industry players are multiplying organized stays and tailor-made circuits. They respond to a more varied French demand, between popular culture, gastronomy, wellness, and regional discovery.
A Niche Market, Not a Caricature
The editorial interest of the subject therefore lies in a balance. On one hand, it would be excessive to claim that French retirees form a massive bloc of Korean tourism. No official data consulted can establish that. On the other hand, reducing these travelers to a generational curiosity would miss the real movement. Korean culture now travels far enough to transform the travel habits of older audiences.
This shift also forces agencies to adapt their offers. A K-drama circuit does not just sell a ticket to a set. It promises a pace, a guiding language, perceived safety, cultural mediation, and places capable of bringing a fiction to life. For a senior or fifty-something audience, these elements matter as much as the prestige of an address made famous by Netflix.
South Korea has understood the stake. Its tourism strategy seeks to better distribute visitors outside Seoul and to highlight the regions. It also extends the effect of K-culture beyond concerts or major platforms. Filming locations offer an effective bridge: they turn exported content into a local experience.
The travels of French retirees who are K-drama fans are therefore not just a sweet anecdote. They are an indicator of advanced cultural diffusion. A series watched in a French living room can end up determining a stop in Nonsan. Hallyu then stops being an abstract soft-power term. It becomes an itinerary.