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Notes -
I cannot say why they are popular but I suspect one reason they must be more popular than, say, Japanese dramas, of which there are many, is that as perhaps saccharine and sentimental the K dramas are, they are better acted, scripted, and directed, and have higher production values, than their Japanese equivalents.
Japanese dramas (with few exceptions), possibly never meant to cross the ocean to international viewers, are in my view not only vapid and wooden (cast, as they are, by domestically popular "talent-o" with no discernible talent in addition to career actors) but directed as if the viewers are subliterate cretins. Any emotional scene is cut so that you may clearly see the reaction of each actor (in case you are unsure how you are supposed to feel) subtlety is abandoned for over-the-top hysterics. The Japanese films that exhibit some degree of artistry and which make waves internationally (such as the Academy-award-winning Drive My Car in 2021) go relatively unseen in Japan (until they win an award). Think of the criticism of Marvel. Then take away the effects, the experience of the actors, the multicultural nods in terms of casting, any attempt at realism, and the humor. Then add back in hamfisted direction, overreacting by everyone (in ways that are the polar opposite of how the regular person would actually behave in Japan) a soundtrack seemingly composed for a children's show, a plot scripted so predictably that after the first ten minutes this same child-viewer could accurately write the outcome, and you've got the typical Japanese drama.
Korean dramas offer generally more complexity, even if it's just a love triangle. Having written out all that I really don't know what the deal is. They're mostly romances, if that is a clue. And populated by quite beautiful actors, though you suspect that if you were to actually meet any of them in real life they would seem oddly unreal, like a walking AI generated beautiful asian person. This is I suspect due to extensive cosmetic surgery. I see lots of Korean tourists regularly trying to achieve this same look but I suspect they have less-talented surgeons.)
Kpop is popular here, yes. Where once One Direction drove flocks of adolescent girls into NOVA English language schools, the present generation studies Hangul and holidays in Seoul and comes back disappointed with Korean toilets. I cannot keep up with which group is who and there always seem to be new ones.There was a thread about them here a while back.
(As an aside, I sat through the much-lauded Drive My Car on a plane once and at more than one point felt an almost physical boredom. And I do not bore easily. Maybe it was the long haul flight.)
Out of curiosity, have you discussed your opinion of Japanese dramas with local friends? I can't stand ドラマ either, and I don't know if it's because I have Westernised tastes that dramas offend (but anime doesn't somehow) or because Japanese drama is legitimately that bad. I lean towards the latter.
My wife used to enjoy watching Japanese dramas back in the day, then after having kids sort of didn't have time, but now watches Korean dramas. If she enjoys them I would feel pretty ungallant shitting on them for what well may be cultural biases. I have often heard Japanese people say they prefer Western media because Japanese media is so bad, but these have usually been bilinguals who like English so who knows what's going on there.
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Sad to hear that about Japanese dramas, I had hoped it would be a better paradigm than America's film industry with horrible writing and ridiculous plots. I know I like their pop music a lot better than ours.
All just my opinion. In general the films are better than the television dramas. I don't find the US film industry so bad separate the pandering to progressive mores. But then I don't see that many new releases and very rarely any streaming originals
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