Beauty platform kindlife launches K-drama-style micro-series to engage Gen Z

Beauty and wellness platform kindlife has launched Seoul Searching, an eight-part micro-drama series inspired by K-dramas, marking its entry into original content creation. The company says the initiative is aimed at engaging Gen Z audiences through storytelling rather than traditional e-commerce-led marketing.

Positioned as India’s first K-drama-style micro-series by a digital commerce platform, Seoul Searching blends elements of Korean pop culture with an India-based narrative. The series follows the story of Ananya as she navigates relationships and identity while searching for her idea of “Mr. Seoul.” The series will be available on the kindlife website.

The move reflects the growing influence of the Hallyu wave in India, which has expanded beyond entertainment into beauty, fashion and lifestyle consumption. For platforms targeting younger consumers, cultural relevance is increasingly becoming a key driver of discovery.

Commenting on the launch, kindlife Founder and CEO Radhika Ghai said Gen Z consumers are spending a significant amount of time on short-form content, changing how they discover and engage with brands. “We’re seeing discovery shift from search-led behaviour to culture-led consumption. Storytelling has become central to how this generation connects with products and platforms,” she said.

The company’s choice of the micro-drama format aligns with broader consumption trends. Short-form video edutainment in India is projected to reach a monthly run rate of US$50 million by the end of FY2025, following rapid growth over the past year. Similar formats have seen large-scale adoption in markets such as China, where micro-dramas have evolved into a multi-billion-dollar category.

According to kindlife, the series is part of a broader “edutainment” strategy, where content is used to sustain engagement and encourage repeat interactions on the app. The platform currently reports a user base of over 2.5 million, alongside increasing time spent driven by community-led features.

Ghai added that Seoul Searching is the first of several original productions planned for the coming months, signalling a longer-term push towards content-led engagement alongside commerce.