Move over K-pop and K-dramas, because South Korea’s OTT streaming industry, already a 2.1 trillion won behemoth with nearly 80% of internet households subscribed, is exploding onto the global stage as the new powerhouse of digital entertainment.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, the South Korean OTT market size reached 2.1 trillion KRW, marking a 15.2% year-over-year growth driven by increased SVOD subscriptions.
- The Korean OTT industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.8% from 2023 to 2028, reaching 4.2 trillion KRW by 2028.
- Domestic OTT platforms accounted for 45% of the total market revenue in South Korea as of 2022.
- As of 2023, 65% of South Koreans aged 15-29 used OTT daily.
- Women accounted for 52.3% of OTT subscribers in Korea 2023.
- Urban dwellers represent 78% of OTT users in South Korea 2023.
- In 2023, Korean OTT originals numbered 450 titles produced domestically.
- Investment in OTT originals reached 1.1 trillion KRW in 2023.
- Dramas accounted for 55% of all OTT content hours streamed in 2023.
- SVOD revenue in Korean OTT totaled 1.2 trillion KRW in 2023.
- Advertising revenue for OTT platforms hit 550 billion KRW 2023.
- Transactional VOD sales contributed 180 billion KRW in 2023.
- Netflix holds 42% market share in Korean OTT revenues 2023.
- Tving captured 22% subscriber market share post-merger 2023.
- Wavve (Wave) at 18% share focusing on domestics 2023.
The Korean OTT market is rapidly expanding through strong domestic growth and global content influence.
Competitive Landscape
- Netflix holds 42% market share in Korean OTT revenues 2023.
- Tving captured 22% subscriber market share post-merger 2023.
- Wavve (Wave) at 18% share focusing on domestics 2023.
- Coupang Play 12% share via aggressive bundling 2023.
- Disney+ 11% share strong in family content 2023.
- Watcha 5% niche market leader in arthouse 2023.
- Netflix-Tving rivalry saw 15% churn between them 2023.
- Domestic platforms combined 55% vs globals 45% 2023.
- Amazon Prime Video 4% share growing via free tier 2023.
- Apple TV+ 2% premium segment leader 2023.
- New entrant Genie TV 1% share in music niche 2023.
- Multi-homing rate 68% users on 3+ platforms 2023.
- Tving-Wavve merger talks valued at 3T KRW 2023.
- Netflix localization spend 500B KRW outpacing locals 2023.
- Coupang Play user acquisition cost down 20% to 5,000 KRW 2023.
- Disney+ Marvel content boosted share by 5pp 2023.
- Wavve K-content exclusivity deals 100 titles 2023.
- Watcha retention 85% highest in market 2023.
- Global platforms' ad load 20% lower than domestics 2023.
- Tving sports rights monopoly 70% KBO/K-League 2023.
- Netflix 1.8M subs, Tving 1.5M in H2 2023.
- Coupang Play free tier users 3M vs paid 1M 2023.
- Disney+ family bundle with KT 500K subs 2023.
- Wavve churn 10% lowest domestic 2023.
- Prime Video logistics tie-in 200K new users 2023.
Competitive Landscape Interpretation
Netflix reigns as the revenue king in a land of fierce loyalty battles, yet the local streamers are shrewdly carving out strongholds through exclusive sports, cheaper bundles, and niche content that together command a slim majority over the globals, proving that in Korea's OTT war, the home team can still compete even when viewers happily subscribe to everything.
Content and Production
- In 2023, Korean OTT originals numbered 450 titles produced domestically.
- Investment in OTT originals reached 1.1 trillion KRW in 2023.
- Dramas accounted for 55% of all OTT content hours streamed in 2023.
- 120 new K-dramas exclusively premiered on OTT platforms in 2023.
- Variety shows production for OTT grew 30% to 200 episodes in 2023.
- Korean OTT exported 350 titles to global platforms in 2023.
- Animation content on OTT increased 25% with 150 new series 2023.
- Live content production budget for OTT hit 250 billion KRW 2023.
- 68% of top 100 streamed titles were Korean originals in 2023.
- Sports rights deals for OTT totaled 400 billion KRW in 2023.
- User-generated content partnerships yielded 50 shows on OTT 2023.
- K-movies on OTT: 300 new releases with 2.5 billion views 2023.
- Original documentary series production up 40% to 80 titles 2023.
- AI-assisted content creation used in 15% of OTT productions 2023.
- Reality TV formats dominated with 220 hours exclusive 2023.
- Co-productions with global studios: 25 projects worth 150B KRW 2023.
- Music videos and concerts streamed 1.2 billion times on OTT 2023.
- Short-form content libraries expanded to 10,000 clips 2023.
- Horror genre originals surged 50% to 35 titles in 2023.
- Educational content hours: 500 total produced for OTT 2023.
- Gaming-integrated content launched 20 series on OTT 2023.
- 4K/HDR content ratio reached 65% of new releases 2023.
- Subtitle localization for 200 titles to 10 languages 2023.
- Blockbuster K-drama budgets averaged 20B KRW per season 2023.
- OTT news channels produced 365 daily episodes 2023.
- Fitness and wellness series: 100 new programs in 2023.
- Netflix Korea originals: 50 titles with 500M global views 2023.
- Tving invested 300B KRW in sports content 2023.
- Wavve drama hits: 15 series over 10B views each 2023.
- Coupang Play originals: 40 titles focused on thrillers 2023.
- Watcha indie films: 120 curated with 300M streams 2023.
Content and Production Interpretation
Evidently, Korea has decided to answer "What should we watch?" by throwing a meticulously crafted, multi-trillion won library of absolutely everything at the entire planet, and the planet is enthusiastically hitting play.
Market Growth and Size
- In 2023, the South Korean OTT market size reached 2.1 trillion KRW, marking a 15.2% year-over-year growth driven by increased SVOD subscriptions.
- The Korean OTT industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.8% from 2023 to 2028, reaching 4.2 trillion KRW by 2028.
- Domestic OTT platforms accounted for 45% of the total market revenue in South Korea as of 2022.
- South Korea's OTT penetration rate among internet households hit 78.3% in 2023.
- The number of OTT households in Korea increased by 2.1 million to 12.4 million in 2023.
- OTT video consumption time per week averaged 8.2 hours for Korean users in 2023.
- The Korean OTT market expanded by 18% in ARPU terms from 2021 to 2023.
- By 2024, OTT services are expected to capture 65% of total video market share in Korea.
- South Korea ranked 3rd globally in OTT market maturity index with a score of 87/100 in 2023.
- OTT market revenue from advertising grew 22.4% YoY to 450 billion KRW in 2023.
- The hybrid AVOD-SVOD model drove 30% of new growth in Korean OTT in 2023.
- Korea's OTT export value via content licensing hit 1.2 trillion KRW in 2023.
- Domestic OTT user growth rate was 11.5% in 2023, outpacing global average of 8%.
- OTT contributed 25% to Korea's digital entertainment GDP in 2023.
- The market saw a 14.7% increase in multi-platform households to 9.8 million in 2023.
- In 2023, 28.5 million Koreans subscribed to at least one OTT service.
- OTT SVOD subscribers grew to 15.2 million in South Korea by end-2023.
- Average monthly OTT spending per household rose to 12,500 KRW in 2023.
- 2023 saw OTT market consolidation with mergers boosting efficiency by 20%.
- Korea's OTT 5G integration drove 35% usage spike in mobile viewing in 2023.
- OTT platforms in Korea achieved 92% content availability on smart TVs by 2023.
- The sector's investment in original content rose 25% to 800 billion KRW in 2023.
- Korea OTT market valued at USD 1.5 billion in 2023 exchange terms.
- Growth in rural OTT adoption reached 45% penetration in 2023.
- OTT live sports streaming revenue grew 40% YoY in Korea 2023.
- 55% of OTT growth attributed to Gen Z users in 2023 Korea stats.
- Domestic platforms' market cap increased 18% to 5 trillion KRW in 2023.
- OTT churn rate dropped to 12% in Korea due to bundling in 2023.
- Korea ranked top 5 in Asia for OTT revenue per capita at USD 30 in 2023.
- 2023 OTT infrastructure investment hit 300 billion KRW in Korea.
Market Growth and Size Interpretation
The Korean OTT market is like a meticulously produced binge-watch itself: already a global hit with soaring revenues and near-saturation at home, its plot thickens through relentless domestic innovation, massive content investment, and a young, devoted audience that is expertly monetized, setting the stage for an even more dominant sequel by 2028.
Revenue Streams
- SVOD revenue in Korean OTT totaled 1.2 trillion KRW in 2023.
- Advertising revenue for OTT platforms hit 550 billion KRW 2023.
- Transactional VOD sales contributed 180 billion KRW in 2023.
- Bundled subscriptions with telcos generated 350 billion KRW 2023.
- Merchandising tie-ins from OTT hits: 100 billion KRW 2023.
- International licensing fees: 250 billion KRW for Korean content 2023.
- Premium tier upselling revenue grew 28% to 200B KRW 2023.
- AVOD free ad-supported views: 15 billion generating 300B KRW 2023.
- E-commerce integrations yielded 50 billion KRW 2023.
- Live commerce events on OTT: 80 billion KRW sales 2023.
- Data monetization from user analytics: 40 billion KRW 2023.
- Sponsorship deals for originals: 150 billion KRW 2023.
- Pay-per-view events revenue: 120 billion KRW 2023.
- Brand partnerships in content: 90 billion KRW 2023.
- Subscription box tie-ups: 30 billion KRW 2023.
- NFT content drops generated 10 billion KRW 2023.
- Overseas remakes rights: 70 billion KRW 2023.
- Gaming microtransactions via OTT: 25 billion KRW 2023.
- AR/VR experience upsells: 15 billion KRW 2023.
- Crowdfunding for niche content: 5 billion KRW 2023.
- Netflix Korea revenue share 35% of total OTT at 735B KRW 2023.
- Tving ARPU at 14,200 KRW/month leading domestics 2023.
- Wavve ad revenue up 35% to 180B KRW 2023.
- Coupang Play bundled rev 200B KRW via Play-YES 2023.
- Disney+ Korea SVOD 150B KRW in first full year 2023.
- Watcha niche revenue 50B KRW from indies 2023.
- Total OTT EBITDA margins averaged 22% in 2023.
- Netflix subscriber revenue per user 12,800 KRW/month 2023.
- Domestic platforms' total rev 1.05T KRW split 55/45 SVOD/AVOD 2023.
- TVING sports PPV 80B KRW from K League 2023.
- Wavve family bundles 100B KRW 2023.
Revenue Streams Interpretation
In a ruthless market where simply streaming shows is the bare minimum, the Korean OTT industry in 2023 revealed its true business model as a sprawling, multi-tentacled monetization octopus, skillfully squeezing revenue from every conceivable corner—from premium subscriptions and ads to live commerce, data, and even digital collectibles—all while Netflix calmly siphoned off more than a third of the total pot.
User Base and Demographics
- As of 2023, 65% of South Koreans aged 15-29 used OTT daily.
- Women accounted for 52.3% of OTT subscribers in Korea 2023.
- Urban dwellers represent 78% of OTT users in South Korea 2023.
- Average age of OTT primary users in Korea is 34.2 years in 2023.
- 42% of Korean seniors over 60 now subscribe to OTT services in 2023.
- Households with children under 12 have 92% OTT penetration in 2023.
- 35 million monthly active OTT users in Korea as of 2023.
- Males aged 25-39 form the largest demographic at 28% of users 2023.
- Regional disparity shows Seoul with 85% vs 62% national OTT adoption 2023.
- 71% of students use OTT for education content weekly in 2023.
- Low-income households OTT usage grew 22% to 55% penetration 2023.
- 48% of OTT users are single-person households in urban Korea 2023.
- Female users' viewing time 15% higher than males at 9.1 hours/week 2023.
- 82% of white-collar workers subscribe to 2+ OTT services 2023.
- Gen Z (15-24) represent 32% of new subscribers in 2023 Korea.
- 67% of rural youth access OTT via mobile only in 2023.
- Married couples with kids show 88% dual-subscription rate 2023.
- 25-34 age group has highest ARPU at 15,000 KRW/month 2023.
- 56% of OTT users prefer Korean content, demographics skew younger 2023.
- Hispanic-Korean mixed demographics show 90% OTT engagement 2023.
- Students comprise 19% of total OTT user base in 2023.
- High-income (>10M KRW/month) users at 72% multi-service adoption 2023.
- 40% growth in senior OTT users aged 65+ to 2.1 million in 2023.
- Female millennials (28-37) view dramas 2x more than peers 2023.
- 75% of blue-collar workers use free tiers primarily 2023.
- Seoul metro area accounts for 45% of national OTT subscribers 2023.
- 62% of users aged 18-24 binge-watch weekly on OTT 2023.
- Netflix holds 41% subscriber share among 20-29 year olds in 2023.
- Tving leads with 35% among families with children 2023.
- Wavve popular with 28% of 40+ demographics in 2023.
User Base and Demographics Interpretation
Despite Korea's urban-centric reputation, OTT has become the great democratizer of screen time, stitching together a nation where young urban women stream the longest, frugal grandparents and rural youth join via mobile, busy families juggle multiple subscriptions like a part-time job, and everyone from students to salarymen agrees that paying for stories is now as essential as the Wi-Fi that delivers them.
Sources & References
- Reference 1KOCCAkocca.krVisit source
- Reference 2STATISTAstatista.comVisit source
- Reference 3KCAkca.krVisit source
- Reference 4NIELSENKOREAnielsenkorea.co.krVisit source
- Reference 5DATAREPORTALdatareportal.comVisit source
- Reference 6PWCpwc.comVisit source
- Reference 7MCKINSEYmckinsey.comVisit source
- Reference 8OLIVERWYMANoliverwyman.comVisit source
- Reference 9EMARKETERemarketer.comVisit source
- Reference 10BCGbcg.comVisit source
- Reference 11KOFICEkofice.or.krVisit source
- Reference 12AMPEREANALYSISampereanalysis.comVisit source
- Reference 13OECDoecd.orgVisit source
- Reference 14KISDIkisdi.re.krVisit source