Related Documents
Report
Interview with Sarah Chung, Senior Manager at Disney Company
The interview underscores that the worldwide surge of Korean content is rooted in a “cocreator” fandom model, where streaming services offering seamless subtitle and dubbing options enable audiences to engage directly with material and co‑produce cultural moments. This participatory dynamic is amplified by nostalgia‑driven “comfort viewing” and the rapid diffusion of fan‑made short‑form clips on TikTok, which together reshape attention spans and create a feedback loop that fuels further consumption. A key finding is that Korean productions are breaking out of traditional genre boundaries, as illustrated by titles such as *The Glory*, *D.P.*, *Sweet Home* and *Gyeongseong Creature*. These series now contend not only with other OTT platforms but also with short‑form ecosystems like TikTok and YouTube, as well as user‑generated content. To secure global reach, Korean studios must prioritize distribution channels that combine extensive international footprints with aggressive off‑platform promotion, while exploiting AI‑driven recommendation engines to surface relevant titles amid an oversupply of options. Looking ahead to 2026, success will depend on a balanced strategy that merges technological adaptability, clear conceptual storytelling, and format experimentation. Integrating nostalgia‑centric comfort viewing with cross‑platform interactive campaigns will allow Korean creators to navigate a fragmented global content landscape and maintain competitive relevance across both long‑form and short‑form media environments.
KOCCA – Korea Creative Content AgencyJan 2025
Report
2024 Analysis of OTT Usage Patterns and Content Consumption in Korea
The analysis evaluates South Korean over‑the‑top (OTT) video consumption, aiming to map content preferences, usage intensity, gender‑based viewing patterns, and drivers of subscription cancellation. It situates Korean OTT behavior within the broader online video market, drawing on multiple surveys conducted between June 2023 and November 2024 and covering a combined sample of roughly 3,200 respondents ranging from teenagers to adults in the 20‑59 age bracket. Domestic dramas emerged as the leading content category, capturing 48 % of viewing share, closely followed by OTT‑produced originals at 45 %. Gender differentials were pronounced: 67.1 % of female respondents reported watching dramas compared with 41.5 % of males, while males favored entertainment programs (58 %), news (33.1 %) and sports (35.2 %). Overall engagement was high, with 81.7 % of users streaming at least once per day and an additional 16.3 % accessing services weekly, indicating entrenched daily consumption habits. Cancellation motives clustered around cost and content scarcity. Sixty‑one percent of respondents cited the burden of usage fees as the primary reason to terminate a subscription, and 51 % pointed to a perceived lack of worthwhile content. Secondary factors included fee increases (31 %), limited viewing time (19 %), and the conclusion of favored series (18 %). These insights derive from data supplied by MezzoMedia, Gallup Korea, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Information Society Agency, and the Korea Creative Content Agency, employing structured questionnaires administered over defined survey windows. The findings underscore the importance of affordable pricing and fresh, locally resonant programming for sustaining OTT growth in Korea.
KOCCA – Korea Creative Content AgencyJan 2024
Report
2024 E‑Sports Viewership and Engagement Trends in Korea
The analysis aims to map current e‑sports viewership and engagement patterns among South Korean audiences, highlighting how consumption devices, platforms, and motivations shape the market and indicating the potential for offline event conversion. Findings reveal a sharply concentrated viewing environment: personal computers account for 38.2 % of primary devices and mobile phones 35.9 %, together representing 74.1 % of usage, while laptops, tablets and televisions capture smaller shares. Platform preference is even more centralized, with YouTube commanding 78.5 % of respondents, far ahead of SOOP (14.1 %) and CHZZK (7.2 %). Regularity of consumption is high; 38.5 % of participants watch e‑sports 1–2 times per week and 20.4 % watch 3–4 times weekly, meaning at least 58.9 % engage at least once a week. Weekday sessions cluster around one hour for the majority, whereas weekend viewing extends, with 22 % spending two hours on weekdays and 28.6 % doing so on weekends; longer sessions of five hours or more occur for 4.7 % of weekday viewers and 8.1 % of weekend viewers. Motivational drivers are dominated by entertainment and self‑improvement: 62.1 % watch because the game is fun, 41.9 % seek to enhance their own gameplay, and 37.5 % cite stress relief. Additional reasons include boredom or free access (27.3 %), support for specific players (22.1 %), and social bonding with friends or coworkers (8.6 %). The survey, conducted between June and August 2024, sampled 1,858 South Korean e‑sports viewers aged ten and older, with data supplied by C&I Research and the Korea Creative Content Agency. A clear majority—62.7 %—expressed willingness to attend live e‑sports events, while 26.9 % remain undecided and 10.4 %
KOCCA – Korea Creative Content AgencyJan 2024
Report
2024 Analysis of Short-Form Video Usage Patterns and Platform Preferences in Korea
The analysis examines how South Korean users consume ultra‑short video content, focusing on platform preferences and viewing behaviors between 2021 and 2023. It demonstrates a rapid shift toward videos of 15 seconds or less, with the proportion of viewers favoring this format rising from 19.7 % in 2021 to 53.2 % in 2023, indicating a strong market demand for bite‑sized entertainment. Survey data collected from 1,883 internet users aged 15‑59 who had watched online video in the preceding week reveals distinct consumption patterns across TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. In 2023, TikTok users watched an average of 15.4 short videos per session, outpacing YouTube Shorts (11) and Instagram Reels (10.6). Content preferences also diverge: humor and gag videos dominate on both YouTube Shorts (48.2 %) and TikTok (40.5 %), while TikTok shows a higher appetite for restaurant‑related (35 %) and challenge‑type (24.5 %) clips, and YouTube Shorts leans toward entertainment (39.1 %) and everyday‑life themes. The study’s scope is national, covering South Korea’s digital‑savvy population within the 15‑59 age bracket over a three‑year period. Methodologically, the findings derive from two primary surveys: a Statista‑sourced panel of 1,883 respondents (2021‑2023) and a separate 5,000‑person sample collected in February 2023 by a Korean business newspaper, both administered online via Opensurvey platforms. The combined data set provides a comprehensive view of short‑form video consumption trends, highlighting TikTok’s leading role in session volume and the growing prominence of ultra‑short formats across the Korean market.
KOCCA – Korea Creative Content AgencyJan 2024