South Korea's creative content industry - Statistics & Facts

South Korea’s creative industry has become the center of attention thanks to "hallyu," the Korean wave. "Hallyu" refers to the popularity and success of South Korean content around the globe, with K-pop and South Korean dramas at the forefront. The government has strongly subsided and supported the industry, which is one of the reasons why it became as prominent as it is today. In 2020, the total sales revenue of the South Korean content industry lay at around 128.3 trillion South Korean won.

Publishing

When breaking down the sales revenue of the content industry by segment, the publishing industry was only recently overtaken in 2020, accounting for nearly 17 percent of total sales revenue. While the print industry is struggling in most technologically advanced countries, South Korea’s strong education market is a driving force for the industry.

TV and movies

South Korean dramas, also known as K-dramas, were at the forefront of "hallyu," and were especially popular in numerous Asian countries. In 2022, South Korean dramas were found to be “very popular” by around 36 percent of respondents during a global survey held across 26 countries about the popularity of K-dramas. The film industry also recently gained recognition after the South Korean movie "Parasite" by Bong Joon-ho won the Academy Award for Best Picture, among others, in 2020. It was the first time a non-English movie won this award.

Music

Nowadays, K-pop is becoming increasingly popular around the world. In 2019, South Korean K-pop girl group BLACKPINK became the first K-pop band to be performing at Coachella, one of the biggest music festivals in the United States. Meanwhile, the K-pop boy group BTS is continuously breaking records and became the most popular Korean music artist worldwide.

Webtoons

Webtoons are a trend to keep an eye on. Originating in South Korea, readers access them online, preferably on mobile screens. While some only tell short stories out of the lives of the creator, others are telling fantasy stories over several months or years. The trend is becoming increasingly popular around the world, and a growing number of popular webtoons are being adapted as movies and TV shows. According to a survey conducted in 2020, "The Sound of Your Heart" was the most popular webtoon in South Korea. Running from 2006 to 2020, it was first adapted as a TV series in 2016.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Jul 20, 2023

Key insights

Sales revenue
137.5tr KRW
Export value
12.5bn USD
Import value
1.2bn USD
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