Is k-drama more popular than Japanese drama?

Japanese dramas are wayyy better!

1. Less episodes = less dragging, fast paced and no filler episodes.
2. Stories are usually better and more realistic and just different.

Etc.

I just don't have the patience to watch Korean dramas. Just tried to watch Legend of the Blue Sea...gave up after 20 minutes. So slow and childish. Age of Youth is another so called gem...eeeh NOOO! Watched the first episode and don't feel like continuing it. Will try Goblin now...doubt that will be a succes. 1,5 hour episodes LOL

I find a lot of j dramas to be based in a high school setting (pretty boring, plus I really don't want to be reminded of my hs days....*shivers*)  and unrealistic acting. However, I do enjoy the more 'darker' theme/thriller dramas and movies the japs have to offer.

Although,  I'm a sucker for romantic, comedy and action dramas, so I do prefer k dramas. 

K-drama is a trend now. That's all.

So firstly, whether you watch a K-drama before you judge or not, whatever.  you are closing yourself off from widening your experiences.

As to why K-drama is more popular, there's actually historical and financial reasons for this.

The first free trade agreement in the world based on culture was signed in the mid nineties between Thailand and Korea.  Basically the Thai govt was sick of this new trend the Thai kids had with watching Korean drama over their own locally produced stuff.  This agreement was worth about 50M dollars.

The second free trade agreement in the world based on culture was signed in the late 90s between California and Korea.  From memory, and I could be wrong, was worth about 500M dollars to Korea.  

The export of the culture world wide is now worth billions of dollars to the Korean government. The Korean government realises that export of culture, that is: pop drama, grows the economy and so it invests in the arts.  

This makes it much easier to get funding for projects.  Having government support for modern arts is rare in the world.  This is why Korean drama is more popular and prolific.

They're more difficult to get invested in. Korean dramas will almost always have a romance angle - and while it may be cheap and cliche to some (like me) - it's a good way to develop characters and get viewers invested in the characters (and show). It also provides an extra dimension to the show.

Actors and the characters they play can sometimes help mask a weak storyline but when most Japanese dramas seem focused on the storyline at the cost of character development - there is no hiding the weak storyline. There are a few other things I could list as being "problems" with your average Japanese drama compared to average Korean drama but I feel like my post is becoming too long and it would feel like an angry rant.

I think JayRandom might be on to something with that second paragraph. Maybe it is more cultural. If I had to pick - Korean TV/Movies seem the most "Western".

I do watch and enjoy Japanese dramas but I think it's easier to watch a Korean one and enjoy them more.