Why has Korean content become the new battleground for OTT platforms?

When Korean dramas began finding an audience in India during the Covid-19 lockdowns, they were largely treated as a streaming curiosity—a niche phenomenon driven by urban, younger viewers willing to navigate subtitles.

Five years later, that description no longer holds. While Netflix established an early lead through Korean originals and exclusive global distribution rights, MX Player, ZEE5, Prime Video and JioHotstar gradually expanded their Korean libraries.

Prime Video India’s latest multi-year partnership with South Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM is perhaps the clearest indication of where the market is heading. The deal brings more than 100 Korean titles to Indian audiences, including 26 new releases over the next two years. The content will be available with English subtitles and dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. 

“The popularity of Korean content has been remarkable across our Prime Video markets. Compelling narratives, diverse genres, and memorable characters that transcend borders have fueled a K-content wave that continues to gain momentum year on year,” says Shilangi Mukherji, Director and Head, SVOD Business, Prime Video India.

The significance lies not merely in the size of the catalogue, but in the creation of a year-round pipeline of Korean programming. The partnership was announced in July 2026.

The bet comes at a time when Korean content has become a persistent part of India's streaming diet, with platforms increasingly treating it not as catalogue filler but as a strategic content category capable of attracting and retaining audiences.

Meanwhile, India's media and entertainment industry reached ₹2.78 lakh crore in 2025, growing 9% year on year, according to the FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Report 2026. Digital media emerged as the industry's largest segment, crossing ₹1 lakh crore for the first time, driven by rising digital consumption, advertising and subscriptions.

That expansion is also changing who consumes international content. Korean dramas are no longer confined to metros or English-speaking audiences. As platforms improve dubbing and recommendation algorithms surface international titles alongside Indian programming, K-content is increasingly finding audiences in smaller towns and cities.

For Gen Z in particular, the distinction between Indian and international content is becoming less rigid. Korean dramas combine global production values and storytelling with themes—family, relationships, ambition, social hierarchy and community—that can feel surprisingly familiar to Indian audiences.

A habit that survived Covid

Netflix's latest data offers a glimpse of how deeply that behaviour has taken root. In 2025, at least one Korean title featured in India's Weekly Top 10—across shows or films—every single week, the streaming platform said. The frequency was around 1.5x that of 2021.

The longevity of the audience is equally significant. Since 2021, Squid Game: Season 1 has appeared in India's Weekly Top 10 for 43 weeks, followed by All of Us Are Dead at 28 weeks and Business Proposal at 19 weeks. Squid Game: Season 2 and True Beauty each recorded 18 weeks, while When Life Gives You Tangerines, My Demon and Queen of Tears registered 14, 12 and 10 weeks respectively.

That breadth matters. India's K-drama consumption is no longer being driven by one or two global blockbusters. It has evolved into a repeatable viewing habit spanning thrillers, romance, fantasy, coming-of-age stories and family dramas.

The pandemic may have accelerated the discovery of Korean entertainment in India, but the post-Covid data suggests something more durable has happened.

For streaming platforms, the significance is not simply the number of views. It is the frequency with which Korean titles return to the conversation. That makes K-content particularly valuable in the streaming business where the challenge is not only to acquire customers but to give them enough reasons to remain subscribed between major Indian originals, blockbuster films and live sports events.

"Korean content has moved well beyond being a novelty or a catalogue addition—it is now a genre in itself," says Vikram Malhotra, Founder and CEO of Abundantia Entertainment. "It commands a loyal and highly engaged audience that actively follows new releases while continuing to discover and revisit older titles."

According to Malhotra, that consistency makes Korean entertainment strategically important because it can support both acquisition and retention. Its highly engaged audience also makes the category attractive to advertising-supported platforms.

The race is about IP, not just inventory

The strategic logic is increasingly clear. As premium Indian originals become more expensive to produce and harder to differentiate, acquiring established international IP gives platforms another route to engagement—without carrying the full cost and risk of developing every property themselves.

Many Korean web series and films being licensed are also two to five years old, potentially making them more cost-effective than commissioning new originals, according to industry observers.

Prime Video's CJ ENM partnership fits squarely into this strategy. Its value is not simply the number of titles acquired, but the ability to maintain a steady supply of proven Korean entertainment while strengthening the platform's proposition beyond its Indian originals.

The competition, therefore, is shifting from who can produce the biggest Indian show to who can build the most compelling portfolio of global IP. “This also explains why the Korean content race is becoming less about individual hits and more about access to a pipeline. For platforms, a multi-year studio relationship offers a degree of continuity in a market where blockbuster Indian originals are expensive and time taking,” says Pep Figueiredo, COO, PTPL India and former SonyLIV executive. 

Localisation is taking K-content beyond metros

A few years ago, subtitles were a natural filter. Today, dubbing is helping remove that barrier.

Prime Video's new CJ ENM slate will be available in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu in addition to English subtitles. That is more than a convenience feature. It signals that platforms believe Korean storytelling can travel beyond India's English-speaking metros and reach regional-language audiences at scale.

The growing penetration of K-content into smaller towns changes the commercial proposition. Once international content becomes accessible in familiar languages and is surfaced through recommendation engines, the addressable audience expands dramatically.

Divya Dixit, CEO of RECZ, says localisation has been central to this transformation. "What began as library expansion has transformed into a loyal fan ecosystem that actively seeks new K-dramas and films," she says. "Global hits like Squid Game, Crash Landing on You, Queen of Tears and The Glory have significantly expanded the audience beyond urban Gen Z to mainstream Indian viewers, aided by high-quality Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubbing."

Recommendation algorithms have reinforced that shift. Viewers increasingly discover Korean titles alongside Indian programming rather than entering the platform with a predetermined intention to watch Korean content.

The language barrier, consequently, is becoming less decisive than genre and storytelling. Netflix's own Korean content strategy illustrates why platforms are willing to make long-term bets on the category. The company has not only benefited from the global success of Korean titles but has also increasingly treated Korean IP as exportable entertainment.

One example is Made in Korea, a South Original that travelled to 54 countries and reached No. 1 on Netflix's Global Top 10 Non-English Films list, according to Netflix. That kind of cross-border performance changes the economics of Korean content.

A successful Korean title is no longer valuable only because it works in South Korea or India. It can travel across markets, generate discovery and strengthen the platform's international content proposition simultaneously. Hence, Korean content can function as both a local acquisition tool and a global export asset, industry experts say. 

The value goes beyond viewing

The commercial value of Korean entertainment also extends beyond streaming.

The rise of Hallyu has created interconnected demand for Korean beauty, fashion, food and travel. Streaming platforms sit at the centre of that ecosystem because hit shows can create cultural conversations that extend far beyond the screen.

Figueiredo sees this as a broader evolution of the Korean content business. "India's Hallyu fanbase unlocks lucrative ancillary revenue streams and symbiotic cross-promotional ecosystems," he says, pointing to the role of Korean IP in creating opportunities beyond viewing.

For advertisers, the value can be equally significant. A highly engaged fandom provides platforms with a defined audience that returns repeatedly around content launches, rather than a one-off burst of viewing. This becomes particularly relevant as streaming platforms experiment with advertising-supported models.