Global Hallyu Interest Index — method and limits
What it counts
For every topic that has a Hallyu Wiki article (K-pop groups, singers, actors, dramas, films, directors, culture), we add up weekly views of the matching Wikipedia articles in eight languages. Data comes from the Wikimedia Foundation's public Pageviews API (per-article), covering desktop, mobile web and apps, counting only views Wikimedia classifies as "user".
Window
Computed every Sunday morning (KST). Because Wikimedia data settles with a one-to-two-day delay, a week is the seven days ending two days before the run, compared with the seven days before that. Each week is archived at a permanent address (/global/week/end-date/) so the same numbers can be cited later.
What this index does not measure
- Not popularity or approval. A view means someone looked it up; controversies, obituaries and dating reports drive views too.
- Missing articles count as zero. Topics without an article in a given Wikipedia, or not yet on Hallyu Wiki, are not counted. Article coverage differs by language, so compare languages with care.
- Bots are not fully removed. Wikimedia's user/bot split is an estimate; some automated traffic may remain. Treat single-day spikes with caution.
- Breadth of "Korean". Some topics are indirectly Korean, such as foreign remakes of Korean films (e.g. Bugonia, a remake of Save the Green Planet!).
- Not search volume. Google, YouTube and TikTok searches are not included.
Reproducibility
Each week's per-article, per-language raw data (JSON) is published alongside the page. Querying the Wikimedia Pageviews API with the same window and article titles returns the same numbers. Send corrections to the contact on our policy page.