Isolated and rendered listless by the fear of COVID-19, many Indians turned to online entertainment and fell in love with K-dramas.

For most, the affair began with one of the 500 Korean offerings available on Netflix: Descendants of the Sun, Boys Over Flowers, Reply 1988, Kingdom, Sky Castle.

That budding romance blossomed for many into a fondness for all things Korean: the food the stars ate, the clothes and jewellery they wore, the soju (Korean alcoholic beverage) they drank, the language they spoke and the beauty products they used.

Demand for many of these products shot up in India, spurring Indian companies to invest more in acquiring and marketing them.

In 2020, South Korean noodle brand Nongshim alone recorded sales of $1m. So far in 2021, Indians have consumed 178 percent more Korean instant noodles, ramyun, than they did in 2020, according to market research firm Euromonitor International.

Interest in Korean language classes also accelerated.