Why is a show available in some countries but not mine?

Rakuten Viki licenses content country by country rather than as one global deal. A Korean studio might license a show to Viki for North America and Western Europe, but sell the rights in Korea or Southeast Asia to a completely different platform. A VPN lets you connect from a region where Viki actually holds the rights for that title.

Does Viki block VPNs?

Viki does block some known VPN server IP addresses, though it tends to be less aggressive about this than services like Netflix. If your first server gives an error, switching to a different city in the same country usually does the job. The blocks are at the IP address level rather than against VPN providers by name.

What's the difference between Viki and Crunchyroll?

Crunchyroll is almost entirely Japanese anime. Viki is live-action Asian drama: K-dramas, J-dramas, C-dramas, Thai dramas, and more, all with community-created subtitles in dozens of languages. The two services barely overlap at all.

Are the community subtitles actually good?

For popular K-dramas, usually yes. Shows with big, active fan communities tend to have subtitles that are complete, accurate, and well-timed. Less popular titles can be patchier depending on how many contributors have worked on them. Viki has a contributor verification system that helps with quality on the bigger shows, and it's often surprisingly polished.

How to Watch Any Show on Viki No Matter Where You Are

Rakuten Viki is a streaming service built around K-dramas, J-dramas, Chinese dramas, and other Asian content, with one feature that sets it apart: the subtitles are created and polished by a community of fans around the world. It's genuinely good, and the subtitle quality on popular titles is often better than you'd expect.

The catch is that Viki's library is carved up by region in a way most streaming services aren't. Some shows are available in the US but not Europe. Others are locked to specific Asian markets. A few are available everywhere. Unlike most streaming services where connecting to one country gets you in, the server you need on Viki depends on the specific show you're after.

Why Viki's regional setup is more complicated than most

With services like Netflix or Disney+, you connect to a US server and the US library opens up. Viki works differently because of how K-drama and Asian content licensing tends to be structured. When a Korean studio sells streaming rights, it often sells them territory by territory rather than as a global deal. One platform might get the rights in North America, another in Europe, and a different one entirely in Southeast Asia. Sometimes no platform holds the rights outside Asia at all for certain titles.

This is also why a US server is usually the best place to start. Viki's US library is generally its widest, so if you're not sure which region has what you're looking for, US is the sensible default. If the show doesn't appear after connecting, it's most likely a licensing issue for that specific title rather than a problem with your VPN.

How to find which region has your show

This is the bit most guides skip over, but it's genuinely useful. When you pull up a show's page on viki.com, there's usually a list of regions where it can be watched. If you're getting a "not available in your region" message, check that listing first before assuming your VPN isn't working. The show might not be licensed to Viki in any English-speaking territory, in which case no amount of server switching will help. If you can see a list of available regions, connect to a server in one of those countries, open viki.com in a private window, and search again. If no regions are listed at all, the show probably isn't currently on Viki.

Getting your VPN set up for Viki

Connect your VPN before you open Viki. The location check runs when content loads, so if the VPN isn't already running, it won't catch it in time. Open viki.com in a private or incognito window after connecting. The private window makes sure there's no leftover location data from any earlier visits without the VPN.

On NordVPN, search for United States and pick a city. New York or Los Angeles are good starting points for the widest available library.

With ExpressVPN, select United States and pick any city. If the first server gives a location error, just try a different US city. Our guide to switching servers covers the exact steps in each app.

If you're looking for a show that's only available in a specific country, the setup is the same process. Connect to a server in the region listed on the show's Rakuten Viki page, open a fresh private window, and search for it.

Still not getting through?

Check your IP is showing the right country

Open our IP address checker with your VPN running. If it shows your real location rather than the country you connected to, the VPN isn't routing traffic correctly. Try a different server in the same country and recheck before trying anything else.

Clear your cookies and open a fresh private window

If you visited Viki recently without the VPN running, your browser might have stored your real location as a cookie. A fresh private window wipes the slate clean. Load viki.com from scratch in one rather than reloading an existing tab.

Check for a DNS leak

A DNS leak happens when your device's lookup requests are going through your regular internet provider instead of through the VPN. It can give away your real location even when your IP address looks right. In NordVPN, check under Settings > Connection. Our DNS leak guide walks through the fix for each app.

The show might not be licensed in that region

If your IP is showing the correct country and you're still seeing an unavailability error, the show almost certainly isn't licensed to Viki in that territory. Go back to the show's Viki listing, check which regions can watch it, and connect to one of those instead.

Watching on your phone or tablet

Viki has iOS and Android apps. Get your VPN app installed first, connect to the right server for the show you want, then open Viki. You'll need a full system VPN here rather than a browser extension. Extensions only cover what happens inside your browser, so the Viki app wouldn't pick it up. If the Viki app isn't showing in your local app store because of your region, viki.com works just as well in a mobile browser.

A note on terms of service: Viki's terms prohibit using a VPN to access content that isn't licensed in your region. In practice, enforcement is usually at the content level rather than the account level, but it's good to know the policy.