Animation, Film, Documentary, and Competition...
K-pop Emerges as a Global Key IP
Attracting Attention as an Appealing Investment Destination with 200 Million Fans
K-pop is reshaping the landscape of the global content market. Its influence has emerged as a core intellectual property (IP) that extends beyond the music industry to encompass the entire cultural sphere. K-pop is expanding into a wide range of genres, including film, drama, documentary, and competition programs, establishing itself as a new source of content that drives global producers and capital, including those in Hollywood.
Netflix is set to release the animated musical 'K-Pop Demon Hunters,' which combines a K-pop girl group with fantasy, in June. Co-produced with Korea's Studio Mir, the story features the group 'Huntress,' who live as idols by day and demon hunters by night. Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung of TWICE participated in the original soundtrack (OST), while actors Ahn Hyoseop, Lee Byunghun, and Kim Yunjin provided voice acting.
'Secret Idol,' a collaboration between Artist Studio led by Lee Jungjae and Andy Serkis's production company The Imaginarium, is a thriller about a spy who infiltrates an international crime syndicate by posing as a K-pop trainee. The film captures both the glamorous K-pop market and the competition and pressure behind the scenes.
Singer-songwriter Anderson .Paak's directorial debut, 'K-POPS!', is a family comedy about an American father who accidentally becomes a member of a Korean K-pop group. The film features cameo appearances by artists such as G-Dragon and humorously explores both the Korean music industry and family narratives. Anderson .Paak and Soul Rashid are among the cast.
Canadian public broadcaster CBC's youth drama 'Gangnam Project' sheds light on the K-pop system and global fandom culture from an outsider's perspective, telling the story of a Korean-Canadian girl who trains as a trainee at an agency in Seoul. The 10-episode series aired starting in March last year.
Apple TV+ recently released the documentary 'Welcome to K-Pop: Idol Story,' which explores both the bright and dark sides of the K-pop industry, which has experienced explosive growth over the past decade. The documentary follows the training process and intense ecosystem of rapper Jessi, as well as groups Blackswan and Cravity.
The same platform is currently producing the global music competition program 'K-Popd,' featuring Megan Thee Stallion and Psy, co-produced by CJ ENM and Eureka Productions. Miky Lee, Vice Chair of CJ Group, singer Lionel Richie, Megan Thee Stallion, and film producer Greg Foster are serving as executive producers. The program will showcase performances by popular K-pop idols, with the winner chosen by the audience at a live show in Seoul.
The rise of works based on K-pop across various genres and formats is driven by the growth of the global K-pop fandom. According to the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KF), as of 2022, the number of Hallyu fans worldwide reached approximately 178 million, a more than 19-fold increase from 9.26 million in 2012. Last year, the number approached 225 million.
Allied Market Research forecasts that the global K-pop event market, which was valued at 8.1 billion dollars (about 11.1221 trillion won) in 2021, will grow at an average annual rate of 7.3% to reach 20 billion dollars (about 27.462 trillion won) by 2031. According to global entertainment analytics firm Luminate, as of 2024, the top 100 K-pop artists recorded approximately 90.4 billion global streams, a 42.2% increase from the previous year.
K-pop is rapidly spreading through global digital platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, and TikTok. Major Korean agencies like CJ ENM, HYBE, SM Entertainment, and YG Entertainment are strengthening collaborations with global OTT platforms, further fueling this trend. The robust global fandom is considered a highly loyal consumer base, which is one of the reasons K-pop is attracting attention as an appealing investment destination.
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