International Journal of Communication 17(2023), 130–148 1932–8036/20230005 Copyright © 2023 (Jinhee Park). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd). Available at http://ijoc.org. Virtual Technology in Netflix K-Drama: Augmented Reality, Hologram, and Artificial Intelligence JINHEE PARK 1 Handong Global University, South Korea South Korean television shows are so prominent on Netflix that “K-dramas” is a default search keyword. K-drama is considered a “genre” alongside action, anime, comedy, and romance. Analyzing two Netflix K-dramas, Memories of the Alhambra and My Holo Love, this article theorizes how K-dramas adopt new media and technology both as subject and narrative devices, incorporating the pertinent characteristics of each technology into a narrative. The article also examines wearable augmented reality technology and artificial intelligence holograms as narrative devices. In the digital platform era, K-drama adopts information and communication technology as televisuality through remediation. Central to theorizing virtual technology as dramatic content is the spatiality of the relationships between the real and the virtual, diegetic, and commercial worlds. Netflix K-dramas depict current information and communication technology and simulate the complications that arise when virtual gestures replace real gestures. This research theorizes how the enmeshment of digital and physical space transforms spatial boundaries, televisuality, and screens. By doing so, it evaluates Hallyu content as a site for technological hybridity and televisual studies. Keywords: K-drama, Hallyu, Netflix, new media, media platform, ICT, augmented reality, virtual reality, hologram, artificial intelligence In recent years, the influence of Netflix on K-dramas has grown, as Netflix has expanded from a distribution platform to a content-producing global studio. In 2020, South Korea (hereafter Korea) became the country with the greatest number of Netflix co-commissions in the world (Lotz, 2020). Netflix invested $700 million in Korean content through 2020 and produced more than 80 original shows and films (Lahiri, 2021). These investments have impacted the characteristics and content of K-dramas. Jinhee Park: drjinheepark@gmail.com Date submitted: 08-10-2021 1 This article was supported by the 2021 Korean Studies Grant Program of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2021-C-009).