An analysis has found that Korean dramas and films among other content are gaining enormous popularity worldwide, following Hollywood content.
Global media market analysis firm Ampere released a report on the 15th (local time) titled, "Korean programs are the most popular content on Netflix, excluding U.S. content."
According to Ampere's analysis based on Netflix viewing data, Korean content ranks second in overall Netflix viewing hours since 2023, with an 8-9% share, following U.S. content (56-59%). This surpasses content from the United Kingdom (7-8%) and Japan (4-5%).
Ampere noted that currently, Korea accounts for 85 of the 500 most popular non-U.S. programs and films on Netflix.
Notable hits include the second season of "Squid Game," which recorded 619 million streaming hours in the latter half of last year, as well as the romance drama "Mom's Friend's Son" and the cooking entertainment show "Culinary Class Wars."
Additionally, Ampere reported that dramas released years ago, such as the first season of "Squid Game," "The Queen of Tears," and "Crash Landing on You," continue to be consistently viewed worldwide.
This success is attributed to long-established content production and licensing strategies. Ampere pointed out that more than half of the top 100 Korean works on Netflix in the latter half of last year were original productions, with 31% being exclusive to Netflix, most of which were provided by Korea's content powerhouse CJ ENM.
It forecasts that Netflix's decision to invest $2.5 billion (about 3.57 trillion won) in Korean content by 2028 will help maintain the Korean content boom.
It also noted that Korean content companies are riding the global "Korean Wave," highlighting the large investments by CJ ENM and expanding collaborations with overseas studios.
Ampere's research manager, Orina Zhao, said in an interview with the Hollywood media Variety, "Korean content has played a pivotal role in Netflix's global success by generating sustained viewing times with hits like 'Squid Game' and 'Kingdom.'"
She added, "Netflix will continue to invest in high-quality Korean works, including original productions and licensed content."