"Norway Became a Tourism Powerhouse Thanks to 'Frozen'?Korea Must Boost K-Power Through Content Competitiveness" [K-Pop Demon Hunters Challenges] ③

Homegrown OTT Must Grow to Counter Netflix's Dominance
The "K-Pop Demon Hunters" Boom Is a Golden Opportunity to Scale Up Downstream Industries

Author Youngshin Cho, media industry critic of "After Netflix," is being interviewed by Asia Economy at a book cafe in Jongno, Seoul. Photo by Younghan Heo

"The Disney film 'Frozen,' released in 2013, became a global box office hit, resulting in the so-called 'Frozen Effect.' Norway experienced such a surge in tourists that it will begin imposing a tourism tax next year. In the same way, the impact of the Netflix animated film 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' could be a golden opportunity to grow not only K-content but also related downstream industries."

Youngshin Cho, media industry critic and author of "After Netflix," said in a recent interview with Asia Economy, "Just as Pixar's feature-length animated film 'Coco,' released in 2017, sparked a tourism boom in Mexico, Korea must now consider, at a national level, how to leverage the heightened recognition brought by 'K-Pop Demon Hunters,' which is based on Korean themes."

He pointed out that, just as the success of one title in the content industry does not guarantee the success of the next, a strategic approach and careful consideration are needed to ensure that the impact generated by 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' is distributed broadly throughout the country. In particular, since 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' has demonstrated that "with strong planning, it is possible to become number one globally," he emphasized that this is an opportunity to foster homegrown online video services (OTT) that can compete with Netflix and enhance the self-sufficiency of Korean content.

Cho stressed, "If 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' represents K-pop breaking through a critical threshold in terms of global popularity, the domestic video industry has yet to reach that point. The video industry is an area where hardware and software come together to create a finished product. With Netflix's dominance continuing and little time left to mount effective resistance, we must respond proactively so as not to miss this golden opportunity."

He argued that if the content market becomes Netflix-centric, it will be difficult to guarantee both the quantity (number of productions) and the price (P) of K-content. Therefore, a homegrown OTT platform capable of counterbalancing Netflix is essential, as is a platform that can host content unable to make it onto Netflix. Such a domestic OTT platform is a prerequisite for freeing K-content from Netflix's dominance and creating a structure in which Korea can maintain control and generate profits. Although a merger between local OTT platforms Tving and Wavve will not immediately turn their cumulative losses into profits, he suggested that continued government support for content could provide the breathing room needed to foster self-sufficiency.

Cho added, "To compete with North American companies on a global scale, Korea would need to launch large-scale projects worth at least 50 billion to 100 billion won on a continuous basis, but we are not yet in a position to do so. Instead, it would be effective to target the Asian market with K-content projects in the 25 billion to 30 billion won range, maintaining a lead over other Asian companies, and then partnering with them to enter the global market together."

He continued, "Some have expressed disappointment that 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' was not produced in Korea, but 'Frozen' and 'Coco' were also not produced in their respective countries. What matters now is to ride the wave of excitement around 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' and consider how to boost downstream industries and develop the next business opportunities." He added that as interest in the Korean language grows thanks to 'K-Pop Demon Hunters,' Korea should seize opportunities in the education sector, and that a national effort is needed to benchmark Norway, which, by sustaining the 'Frozen' boom for over a decade, saw the number of visiting foreigners (5.6 million in 2023) surpass its population (5.57 million) and revitalized its tourism industry.