Industry

I never get tired of writing about Korea and Korean content. And by Korean content, I do not mean only K-drama, even though drama has played a crucial role in the global rise of the Korean Wave. I mean the entire cultural ecosystem that South Korea has exported with extraordinary consistency: series, films, reality shows, music, beauty, food, fashion, language, lifestyle and, above all, storytelling.

I feel this even more strongly after returning from Busan, a fascinating city that opened my eyes to a world I had long loved from a distance. Being there made me understand that Korea’s global success is not just a media phenomenon. It is cultural, emotional and deeply contemporary.Today, millions of fans around the world are fascinated not only by K-pop, K-drama or Korean beauty, but by Korea itself. They want to understand its food, language, cities, aesthetics, contradictions and stories. The question many of us in the international content industry keep asking is simple: why do we love so much of what comes from South Korea?

Some of the answers can now be found in the latest figures presented by the tireless Maria Rua Aguete, Head of Media & Entertainment at Omdia, during a conference held this week at the International Streaming Summit — OTT·FAST 2026 — in Busan. The data, based on new analysis from Omdia and Digital i, confirms what many viewers and industry professionals have already felt instinctively: South Korean content is no longer a niche, nor simply a trend. It is one of the most powerful global forces in entertainment.

According to the analysis, South Korean content generated 12.1 billion hours of viewing on Netflix worldwide between April 2025 and March 2026. This makes South Korea the most-watched content origin on Netflix outside of the United States. In other words, Korean content now ranks second only to American content among all content origins on the platform.

The figures are striking. Korean content generated 44% more viewing than Japanese content and almost twice as much viewing as content from the United Kingdom. These numbers highlight the growing influence of South Korea not only as a producer of successful individual titles, but as a global content powerhouse capable of competing with some of the world’s most established audiovisual markets.

“South Korea has established itself as the leading source of globally successful content outside the United States,” said Maria Rua Aguete. “Generating 12.1 billion hours of Netflix viewing in a single year demonstrates the scale of international demand for Korean productions and highlights the growing importance within the global content industry.”

The success of titles such as Squid Game, Daehongsu (The Great Flood) and Pokssak Sog-atsuda (When Life Gives You Tangerines) shows how Korean storytelling has moved far beyond one single genre or formula. While the first wave of global attention was often associated with high-concept drama, romance or survival thrillers, the Korean content ecosystem is now proving its ability to travel across genres, tones and formats.

This is one of the key reasons behind its international strength. Korean content is emotionally precise, visually sophisticated and narratively bold. It is able to combine melodrama with social critique, genre entertainment with psychological depth, humour with tragedy, intimacy with spectacle. It does not seem afraid of emotion. On the contrary, emotion is often placed at the centre of the story, but without abandoning structure, pace and production value.

“The streaming era has changed the rules of global entertainment,” said Rua Aguete. “Great stories can now travel instantly across borders, and South Korea has been one of the most successful examples of how strong storytelling, production quality and distribution can combine to build global audiences.”
This sentence captures the essence of the Korean phenomenon. Streaming has removed many of the traditional barriers that once limited the circulation of non-English-language content. Subtitles and dubbing have become part of everyday viewing habits. Younger audiences, in particular, are increasingly open to stories that come from different languages and cultures, as long as they feel authentic, emotionally engaging and visually compelling.

But Korea’s success is not only the result of distribution. It is the outcome of a highly strategic and sophisticated content ecosystem. As Rua Aguete emphasized, South Korea combines world-class creators, strong intellectual property, innovative production techniques and growing international distribution capabilities. This combination has transformed individual hits into a sustainable industry model.
“What began with a small number of breakout global hits such as Squid Game has evolved into a sustainable content ecosystem capable of delivering international success across multiple genres,” said Rua Aguete. “That consistency is helping Korea strengthen its position in the global streaming market.”

This consistency is crucial. Many countries produce occasional global hits. South Korea, however, has managed to build a recognizable creative identity while continuing to diversify its output. Korean series and films often feel local and universal at the same time. They are deeply rooted in Korean society, but they speak to global anxieties: inequality, family pressure, ambition, loneliness, love, survival, justice, memory and desire.

That is why the Korean Wave is not merely a wave anymore. It is an infrastructure of imagination. It is a system that connects creators, platforms, fans, brands, tourism, music, fashion and digital communities. A viewer may begin with a drama, then move to a song, then to a recipe, then to a trip to Seoul or Busan, then to learning a few Korean words. Content becomes a gateway to culture.