How to Watch South Korean TV Abroad – 2025 Streaming Guide

There are multiple South Korean TV channels that you can watch online, such as SBS, KBS, MBC and more. There are also international streaming services with South Korean availability, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

However, South Korean TV content will be unavailable to you if you’re trying to connect to these services from outside of South Korea, whether because you’re on vacation, on a business trip or living abroad as an expat.

There are restrictions placed on South Korean TV services, inhibiting access to their content from people who aren’t currently residing within South Korean borders. This means that in order to watch South Korean TV from abroad, you have to have a South Korean IP address.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are here to save the day. When you connect to a VPN’s servers in South Korea, you’re given a real South Korean IP address, opening up access to the South Korean content you’ve been missing.

VPNs often have a tough time unblocking access to international TV, and it can be hard to find one that provides reliable access to South Korean TV. Happily for you, I’ve done the hard work for you, and I’ll introduce you to the best VPN for unblocking South Korean TV from abroad.

Why Do South Korean Streaming Services Ban International Viewers?

I know, I know, you bought a South Korean TV service subscription, expecting to be able to access their content whenever you wanted. Unfortunately, if you’re living abroad, that simply isn’t the case.

However, restricting access isn’t an arbitrary decision on the part of the streaming provider. Streaming providers such as Netflix have to restrict access because of the contracts that they sign with TV and movie studios, which require that the content only be available to viewers in a certain region.

That way, TV and movie producers can rake in the dough by selling their content to streaming services all over the world. Think about it: If everyone could get their streaming needs met in South Korea, how could TV and movie studios make a big profit?

Another reason why content is restricted by national borders is because restrictive governments don’t want their citizens to have access to content that the government may not like. TV and movie studio lawyers can avoid conflicts with these governments by regulating access to their content.

How Geo-Restrictions Work

It all comes down to IP addresses.

An IP address is what identifies a connected device on a network – in this case, the internet. Thanks to an IP address, other devices on the network know where a request came from and where a response needs to be sent. 

It’s easier to understand if you compare it to a home address. A home address lets a mail person know where a letter came from and where it needs to be sent to.

Unfortunately, like a home address, an IP address also lets the online world know where you’re located.

By looking at your IP address, streaming providers like Netflix are clued in to where you’re connecting from. And if your IP address reveals that you’re connecting from outside of South Korea, you can forget about accessing the streaming provider’s TV episodes and movies.

How Can I View South Korean TV If It’s Blocked?

Happily, hope is not lost. You can use a Virtual Private Network to regain access to your favorite South Korean TV content.

When you connect to a VPN provider’s servers in South Korea, they’ll give you a South Korean IP address. This IP address will make the internet think you’re located in South Korea, even if you’re on the other side of the world.

With that South Korean IP address, there will be no South Korean content, TV or otherwise, that you’ll be barred from accessing.

But a VPN isn’t a one-trick pony. You can use it for many different purposes, which I’d like to tell you about now.

Virtual roadblocks impeding you from accessing other kinds of international content, such as other kinds of streaming content (like music), gaming servers and content, financial services, and other sites and services, are no match for a VPN.

A VPN’s primary purpose, though, is to encrypt your internet connection. By covering your connection in a blanket of encryption, a VPN protects you from the prying eyes of any government, Internet Service Provider (ISP) or hacker that may be seeking to monitor your online activities.

Another benefit of this encryption is that public WiFi hotspots will become safe. Ordinarily, you need to be wary of public WiFi hotspots, because hackers flock to them in order to monitor and interfere with the online activities of unsuspecting users. But with a VPN, no one will be able to monitor or hamper your online travels.

Yet another benefit is that a VPN’s encryption hinders ISPs as they try to throttle your internet speeds. ISPs like to spy on your internet activities for multiple reasons, one of them being to throttle your connection speeds if you happen to be sharing files or streaming from certain “unapproved” services. But they can’t do that thanks to a VPN’s encryption.

Which VPN Is the Best for Unblocking South Korean TV?

Back in the day, it used to be simple for VPNs to unblock access to geo-restricted content in other countries. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy anymore.

Streaming providers became aware that viewers in other countries were using VPNs to bypass their virtual blockades, and so they began blocking VPN-provided IP addresses. 

In response, VPN providers have to keep replacing IPs as they’re blocked. Then streaming providers block those new IP addresses, and around and around it goes. 

It takes a lot of resources and a desire on the part of a VPN to continue to provide access to geo-blocked content, and many VPNs aren’t willing to do that, and so fewer and fewer VPNs these days offer access to international content.

Even so, there are still a few VPN providers that strive to continue to provide international access to their users. But only one VPN can do the best job, and that VPN is NordVPN.

NordVPN

Apr 2025

NordVPN offers a reliable way to unblock South Korean TV content, letting you enjoy the fruits of its labor.

NordVPN provides fast connection speeds, allowing you to watch HD and 4K streams of your favorite shows and movies. The provider supports many different device platforms, and it has VPN servers stationed all over the world, including in South Korea. It provides excellent protections for your privacy and security.

Read the full NordVPN review here.

1. Connection Speed

When it comes to streaming, you’ll want fast connection speeds if you’re at all interested in having a clear picture and not having to wait through long buffering times. This makes download speeds an important consideration.

NordVPN offers some of the best connection speeds that I’ve ever measured, ensuring you have an excellent experience while watching South Korean TV in HD or 4K. If you share files or participate in online gaming, those speeds will definitely be sufficient.

NordVPN never ruins the fun with bandwidth limitations or daily or monthly data caps.

2. Multi-Platform App Support

You can stream on a multitude of devices these days, so it makes sense that you’d want to know how many devices a VPN supports before committing to it.

NordVPN supports most popular device platforms, including Android, Windows, iOS, macOS, Linux, Amazon Fire and Android TV. There are browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox, and compatibility with many router makes and models.

NordVPN also offers something called its SmartDNS service, which will unblock international content on devices that are not compatible with VPN apps, such as the Apple TV, other set-top devices, gaming consoles and other streaming platforms. (Be aware, though, that the service doesn’t encrypt your connection like the VPN service does.)

You can connect up to 5 devices at once to the VPN’s servers.

3. Customer Support

There’s not a huge likelihood that you’ll need to use customer support, but in the case that you do need it, you’ll be happy to know that you have around-the-clock options.

NordVPN offers always-available live support chat, an email support option and a searchable support library.

4. Global Server Coverage

South Korea may have some of the best TV shows around, but there’s still more to discover in other countries. Having a VPN that gives you a lot of content options is important.

NordVPN’s 5,500+ servers are stationed in 59+ countries (South Korea included), giving you wide access to content around the world.

5. Pricing

NordVPN is extremely budget-friendly, allowing you to enjoy all the South Korean content you want without breaking the bank. 

NordVPN offers a no-risk, 30-day money-back guarantee. 

Visit NordVPN.

South Korean TV Streaming FAQ