XO, Kitty, a new drama series, is now streaming for a global audience. Set in Seoul and featuring a Korean main cast, it follows a storyline reminiscent of K-dramas centered on tracing a parent’s past. But is it truly a Korean drama? And does it even matter if it’s not?

The question of XO, Kitty’s nationality might be misplaced. The series is produced by Awesomeness TV in collaboration with ACE Entertainment, an American media company under Paramount Global. With such a strong Hollywood lineage, no drama could be more American in its production origins. Although its creator and executive producer, Jenny Han, is Korean American—likely the driving force behind its Korea-related themes—the show remains American, especially considering that the two other executive producers are British American and American. Jenny Han may not be the only one steering the show’s Korean aspects. 

What’s new is that people other than Koreans are now making dramas about Korea. Until recently, it was always Koreans telling our own stories—whether through self-criticism, soul-searching, or explorations of our past and future. There was never any ambiguity about who was speaking and what was being examined. But with XO, Kitty, that certainty is no longer guaranteed.

Kitty is an American Girl

 

There is no doubt that XO, Kitty tells the story of an American girl. Kitty leaves her hometown in the U.S. to transfer to the Korean Independent School of Seoul—sassily abbreviated as KISS—to learn more about her late mother, who also attended the school. However, upon arrival, she is met with unexpected complications: her long-distance boyfriend, Dae, is secretly dating another girl; the school’s principal is the mother of that girl and is married to the owner of an international hotel chain; Dae, facing financial struggles, works as an intern for yet another girl’s father to ease his family’s hardships; and the principal turns out to have been a classmate of Kitty’s mother.

Doesn’t this all sound like the makings of a Korean drama, where family histories are entangled in conflicts over money, inheritance, and business rivalries? It certainly does. But XO, Kitty is, at its core, an American drama—made by American producers.

Korean themes for a Global Audience

 

The Korean elements in XO, Kitty function more as a platform upon which an American-style teen drama is built, tailored for a global audience. While the series borrows familiar premises from Korean dramas, it does so to construct a new kind of teen narrative.

At the center of XO, Kitty are Kitty, a Korean American girl, along with gay, lesbian, and adopted Korean characters—raised in Australia. In typical American teen dramas, such characters might have been relegated to the roles of sidekicks, comic relief, or sources of plot twists. Here, however, they take center stage. This marks an expansion of the American teen drama genre, whose characters and storylines have grown all too familiar.

While exploring new possibilities for teen dramas, XO, Kitty also offers fresh insight into the conventions of Korean dramas. It highlights a rarely acknowledged reality in Korean narratives: that part of growing up is falling in love, experiencing heartbreak, and moving on. In contrast, teen characters in traditional K-dramas are often portrayed as either rebellious troublemakers, model students, or bookworms consumed by university entrance exams. But that shouldn’t be the entirety of their stories.

Yuri, the principal’s daughter, is secretly in love with another girl. To conceal her sexuality, she pretends to date Dae. For Yuri, discovering her identity is just as significant as academic success, something rarely explored in the Korean drama landscape.

XO, Kitty doesn’t forget to showcase the “quirky charm” of Seoul—one that tourists might find familiar. Kitty strolls through the city center and gets bumped into by a man with a backpack who doesn’t bother to say ‘sorry,’ passes a yogurt cart, and navigates around cyclists weaving through pedestrians. The city is presented as a playful backdrop, adding to the fun. But the real joy of watching the series comes from seeing two different drama styles mingle and mix.