ADDICTION OF WATCHING KOREAN DRAMA SERIES, LONELINESS, FRUSTRATION AND MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Background: Excessive television consumption, particularly addiction to Korean drama series, has emerged as a behavioral concern, potentially affecting mental well-being. University students, as a highly engaged audience, often develop compulsive viewing habits that may contribute to emotional distress, including loneliness and frustration. Prolonged engagement with digital entertainment is linked to maladaptive coping mechanisms, further exacerbating mental health issues. Understanding the psychological impact of Korean drama addiction is essential for promoting healthier media consumption behaviors. Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between addiction to watching Korean drama series, loneliness, frustration, and mental health problems in university students. Additionally, the serial mediation effect of loneliness and frustration in this relationship was investigated. Methods: A correlational research design was employed with a sample of 310 university students (157 men, 153 women) recruited from both public and private institutions. The mean age of participants was 21.63 years (SD = 1.55). Standardized psychometric tools, including the Television Addiction for Korean TV Series Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale, and Mental Health Inventory, were used for data collection. Pearson product-moment correlation, serial mediation analysis using AMOS, and independent sample t-tests were applied for statistical analysis. Results: Addiction to Korean drama series showed a significant positive correlation with loneliness (r = 0.548, p < 0.01), frustration (r = 0.426, p < 0.05), and mental health problems (r = 0.479, p < 0.01). Women exhibited higher addiction scores (M = 153, SD = 13.99) than men (M = 125.16, SD = 14.52). Frustration significantly predicted mental health problems (β = 0.23, p < 0.001). Loneliness partially mediated the relationship between addiction and frustration (β = 0.06, p = 0.45), but no serial mediation effect of loneliness and frustration was found between addiction and mental health outcomes. Conclusion: The findings suggest that addiction to watching Korean dramas is strongly associated with psychological distress among university students. While loneliness mediated the relationship between addiction and frustration, its impact on mental health problems was not statistically confirmed. Understanding these behavioral patterns is crucial for developing interventions that promote balanced media consumption and psychological well-being.