80% of Netflix Members Have Watched Korean Content; 200 Korean Titles Enter Global Top 10

[Financial News] It emerged that around 80% of Netflix members have watched Korean content.
According to the “10 Years of Netflix and Korea” website released by Netflix on the 23rd to mark the 10th anniversary of its service in Korea, 80% of members worldwide have watched Korean content,  and around 200 Korean titles have entered the global TOP 10 since Tudum, Netflix’s official rankings site, introduced its TOP 10 rankings in 2021. The website also found that at least one in three Netflix Korean original titles released over the past three years were projects by emerging directors or writers.
Director Park Yoon-seo, who made a directorial debut with If Wishes Could Kill after working as an assistant director on season two of Kingdom, spoke about getting this opportunity: “The challenge was possible because Netflix puts its faith in new approaches rather than relying on familiar names.” He added, “Just as I was given an opportunity when I was an assistant director on Kingdom, I was glad to be able to give rookie actors an opportunity on If Wishes Could Kill.”

So how many production companies has Netflix partnered with over the past 10 years? Netflix said that from 2016 through 2025, it worked with at least 80 production companies to produce or co-produce at least 200 Korean titles.
At least 25,000 cast and crew members and at least 70,000 supporting performers and day-hire workers took part in producing Korean titles during this period. Filming took place in at least 100 cities and towns across the country.
Netflix also provided training opportunities to at least 6,500 people through programs to strengthen production capabilities in Korea and develop talent from 2021 to 2025.
Line producer Gu Sang-mo learned about all aspects of production from industry professionals while working as a production intern and took part in filming Can This Love Be Translated? in Korea and Italy. He said, “It’s not easy to get experience filming overseas at my career stage, but it broadened my perspective and helped me greatly to work actively on set as I do now.”
Efforts also continued to fully convey the appeal and sensibility of Korean content to viewers around the world. Netflix works with 122 localization partners, including 119 dubbing studios and three specialized subtitling partners, to bring Korean titles to global audiences. The website featured examples of localization, including title translations that convey the sensibility of When Life Gives You Tangerines in different languages and subtitles using different colors for each team in Physical: Asia.
The website also documented how audio descriptions and subtitles for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing have changed viewers’ daily lives. Audio description writer Kang Na-young recalled that audio description was made available at the same time as Kingdom’s release, with no delay, and that audio description users among the writer’s acquaintances welcomed it. Choi Ha-neul, a sign language instructor and barrier-free content monitor, said, “I like being able to share trends with my friends and have common topics to talk about.”

[email protected] Shin Jin-a Reporter