[2025 Year-End Review] K-Pop Demon Hunters, K-Pop, and Musical Craze... K-Culture Becomes Mainstream in Global Culture

Top 10 K-Pop Culture Stories of 2025
"No Other Choice" Makes History with Six Tony Awards
K-Pop Craze Continues with Grammy Recognition
Content Production Market Slump and Industry Polarization

'Squid Game 3' Global Promotion Event. Provided by Netflix

In 2025, the central question for Korean popular culture was not “what was a hit,” but rather “how far has the industry expanded.” K-culture, once focused on music and dramas, broadened its scope to include animation, musicals, exhibitions, and museums, blurring genre boundaries even in the global market. K-culture has evolved from being a success story of specific genres to functioning as a comprehensive content ecosystem where multiple industries are intertwined. The achievements were clear, but so were the limitations. 2025 was a year when K-culture not only thrived, but also underwent a critical assessment of its sustainability.

The most symbolic shift this year was the change in starting points. The Netflix animation “K-Pop Demon Hunters” maintained a top spot in global viewership rankings for an extended period after its release, recording approximately 310 million views. A significant portion of viewers came from outside Asia, including the United States, Europe, and Latin America, and some overseas theaters even hosted sing-along screenings. This signaled the full-fledged emergence of an intellectual property (IP) circulation structure, where the success of video content drives music consumption, and original soundtracks (OSTs) in turn extend the lifespan of video IPs.

It was symbolic that the OST “Golden” reached the top of the Billboard and UK charts and was nominated for major Grammy categories. This demonstrates that K-pop is no longer confined to music releases and performances, but has deeply entered the global pop culture landscape by merging with animation, storytelling, and character industries.

The same trend was observed in the performing arts. The original Korean musical “No Other Choice” swept six Tony Awards on Broadway. Beyond the simple feat of winning awards, this was seen as validation that Korea’s creative and production systems can succeed in the global commercial musical market. It was a clear demonstration that the expansion of K-culture is no longer limited to video content.

In the drama industry, the power of long-term IPs was reaffirmed. “Squid Game” Season 3 surpassed 100 million cumulative views within three months of its release, maintaining a top position among non-English language series. The continued success from Season 1 through Season 3 indicates that K-series are now established as long-term revenue assets rather than one-off hits. Traditional games and local cultural elements spread overseas through parodies and derivative works, and based on this, experiential exhibitions and format exports-secondary businesses-also expanded.

Another notable trend this year was the shift in the center of gravity for cultural consumption. The National Museum of Korea surpassed 6 million annual visitors, functioning as a popular cultural platform beyond just an “exhibition space.” Goods inspired by artifacts repeatedly sold out immediately after release, and online sales expanded rapidly. At the special Silla Gold Crown exhibition in Gyeongju, the phenomenon of “open runs” was observed. This signals that traditional heritage is now being consumed as experiences, products, and content, rather than merely being preserved.

The global presence of Korean music remained strong. Major K-pop artists such as Stray Kids and Twice dominated the top ranks of the Billboard and global charts for extended periods, and there were repeated cases of older songs re-entering the charts. This reflects the expansion of fandom consumption from new releases to entire catalogs. With all members of BTS completing their military service and preparing for full-group activities, expectations for next year’s market are also rising.

Group Stray Kids, who dominated the US Billboard charts this year. Provided by JYP Entertainment

However, the other side of these achievements was not all bright. The film industry faced a structural crisis, with declining audience numbers and reduced production, despite success at international film festivals. The number of commercial film releases decreased, and the risks associated with large-scale productions led to restructuring within multiplex chains. The broadcasting production market also suffered from repeated reductions in the number of productions and continued deficits, rapidly depleting industry resources. The gap between successful cases and overall industry health became more pronounced this year.

Polarization within the music industry also intensified. As both album and digital music consumption declined, the market was reorganized around major agencies. The top agencies’ market share exceeded half, while some small and mid-sized agencies were unable to bear production costs and shut down. Global success did not translate into broad-based growth for the industry, instead reinforcing a concentrated structure.

Issues of consumer trust persisted through the end of the year. In the live performance market, repeated controversies arose over restricted-view seats and ticket scalping. Macro-assisted ticket purchases and resale platforms led to scalped tickets selling for dozens of times their original price, prompting the government to consider strong measures such as imposing fines. As content prices have risen, ensuring fairness and accessibility is no longer a secondary issue.

Another hallmark of the year was the accumulation of public fatigue due to repeated celebrity controversies. Scandals related to privacy and ethics had immediate impacts on content release schedules and advertising contracts, once again exposing how vulnerable the content industry is to “individual star risk.”

In 2025, K-culture was undoubtedly one of the most dynamic content forces in the global market. At the same time, challenges related to production structure, consumer trust, and industry distribution were also exposed. If this year was a year of expansion, next year is likely to be a year of reorganization and redesign.