By Naman Ramachandran
Korean content material is crushing it on Netflix, with viewing hours second solely to U.S. reveals and accounting for a 8% of all world Netflix streams.
A brand new Ampere Analysis report reveals Okay-dramas and movies characterize 17% of the platform’s prime 500 non-U.S. titles, with “Squid Game: Season 2″ main the cost at almost 620 million streaming hours in late 2024.
Within the second half of 2024, Korean content material was streamed for 7.7 billion hours. Korean content material persistently represents 8%-9% of viewing hours on Netflix, forward of U.Okay. content material at 7%-8%, and Japanese content material at 4%-5% of viewing time, the report finds. That is regardless of hits from the U.Okay., reminiscent of “Black Doves” Season 1 and “The Gents” Season 1, and the rising reputation of anime, which is a key driver of Japanese content material viewing on Netflix.
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“Squid Recreation” Season 2 topped Netflix’s world charts in H2 2024, with 619.9 million hours streamed. Its success continues to drive viewership for different Korean content material. Romance Drama “Love Subsequent Door” Season 1 and cooking actuality present “Culinary Class Wars: Season 1” carried out effectively. Earlier hits reminiscent of “Squid Recreation” Season 1, “Queen of Tears” Season 1 and “Crash Touchdown on You” additionally proceed to be extensively watched by a world viewers.
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Netflix’s success with Korean reveals and movies displays its mature content material manufacturing and licensing technique. Throughout H2 2024, over half of the highest 100 Korean titles on Netflix had been its originals, and 31% had been Netflix exclusives. Nearly all of these had been provided by native content material powerhouse CJ ENM.
Netflix’s $2.5 billion dedication to Korean content material from 2024 to 2028 will assist preserve this content material growth. The platform has constructed intensive content material licensing and distribution offers with native broadcasters and media teams, together with CJ ENM, JTBC, KBS, SBS, and MBC. Furthermore, its unique manufacturing capacities are additionally rising, with in-house services reminiscent of Studio 139 and Samsung Studio now working domestically.
South Korea’s content material gamers are additionally using on the worldwide Hallyu phenomenon. CJ ENM, the nation’s largest media and leisure conglomerate, has revealed an $818 million content material price range for 2025. Its world growth plans embody leveraging Netflix’s world publicity, partnering with world studios reminiscent of WBD and Fifth Season, and a possible world rollout of its streaming platform, Tving.
“Ampere’s evaluation of Netflix viewing knowledge confirms that South Korean content material is now persistently among the many most generally exported and consumed content material globally,” stated Orina Zhao, analysis supervisor at Ampere Evaluation. “It performs a pivotal function within the streamer’s worldwide success, driving each breakout hit titles (reminiscent of ‘Squid Recreation’ and ‘Kingdom’) and sustained viewing time. Netflix will proceed to spend money on and launch high-quality Korean titles, together with each unique productions and licensed content material, supported by unique distribution partnerships with main native gamers. South Korean content material homeowners are well-positioned to capitalize on the worldwide Hallyu phenomenon, maximizing worldwide viewers attain and boosting worldwide reputation by way of strategic distribution and collaborations.”
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