World news 350K views since yesterday

Stairway to Heaven's Latin American revival connects drama and K-pop

Shin Hyun-joon's enthusiastic welcome opens a report on how Korean entertainment became part of fans' lives, and how it is adapting in return.

Channel: YTN ·

South KoreaStory of November 2, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of YTN's most watched videos since yesterday, with 349,713 views.

YTN: South Korea's first 24-hour news channel, on air since 1995. 5.4M subscribers and 23B views.

'천국의 계단' 역주행에 격한 환호...남미 왕자님 된 신현준 [자막뉴스] / YTN

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:00Shin Hyun-joon receives loud cheers and thanks Latin American fans for loving his Stairway to Heaven character.
0:24The report links early Korean drama distribution to the World Cup and storytelling familiar to telenovela audiences.
1:04BTS fans in Mexico and Chile explain how the group's lyrics connect with their lives.
1:32Concert sellouts accompany footage of Mexico's president calling for BTS to return.
1:50ATEEZ, ENHYPEN and aespa illustrate K-pop's use of Latin rhythms and Spanish lyrics.
2:23Pinkfong and a Mexican dance school illustrate localization before the report assesses the region's cultural-market potential.

The cheers for Shin Hyun-joon belong to a role he played more than two decades ago. Facing a large Latin American crowd, the Korean actor thanks viewers for remembering Han Tae-hwa, his character in Stairway to Heaven.

South Korea's news broadcaster YTN uses that reception to explore a relationship stretching from television melodramas to BTS concerts, dance schools and Spanish-language children's entertainment. Its report has drawn about 350,000 views since yesterday.

Reporter Lee Jun-yeop traces the groundwork to the 2002 World Cup, when, according to the report, South Korea supplied participating countries with drama broadcast rights free of charge. América Tesán, a publicity official at the Korean Cultural Center in Mexico, identifies the tournament as an important moment in Korea's growing cultural presence there. This predates Stairway to Heaven itself: the report describes the initiative as an early foundation, not the distribution of that particular series.

The cultural connection, Lee explains, was helped by familiar storytelling. Korean melodramas' family secrets and self-sacrifice resonated with audiences accustomed to Latin American telenovelas.

For the music fans interviewed, the connection is personal rather than simply fashionable. Mexican BTS fan Bianca Portocarrero describes sharing lyrics with her sister, who is not a fan but nevertheless connected with their meaning. In Chile, María Eugenia González describes the band's songs as a source of renewed purpose and comfort.

The report says BTS performances across five Latin American countries have been selling out. It also includes footage from May of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum saying she had already told the group to return the following year.

Korean entertainment is absorbing local influences, too. Lee highlights Brazilian funk rhythms in ATEEZ's "BAD", alongside Latin rhythms and Spanish lyrics in ENHYPEN's "Bloody Paradise" and aespa's "LEMONADE". Pinkfong's Spanish-language channel incorporates local traditions, including the Day of the Dead, rather than relying on translation alone.

Chris Di Carlo, who runs a Mexican K-pop dance school, describes the music as part of a younger generation's identity and way of life. The report closes by connecting that cultural attachment with Latin America's expanding music market, while arguing that lasting roots will require more than a succession of short-lived hits.