Author (s): Angie Marcela Páez Monroy (LinkedIn)
Abstract
The global ascent of South Korean television content—collectively known as Hallyu or the Korean Wave—has undergone a structural paradigm shift driven by global Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming platforms. While early international successes relied on regional licensing agreements that fueled local economic ecosystems, the contemporary era is defined by deep integration with global networks like Netflix. This paper explores the economic and cultural duality of this phenomenon. On one hand, global partnerships have generated unprecedented synergy, contributing substantially to South Korea’s GDP and diversifying the cultural formats accepted globally. On the other hand, the aggressive acquisition of intellectual property (IP) by transnational platforms threatens to lock domestic production into a cycle of structural dependency, formalizing a new era of platform imperialism. By analyzing contrasting audience receptions and structural market bottlenecks, this article outlines the complex dynamics shaping the future of K-media.
Keywords: Hallyu, OTT Platforms, Intellectual Property, Platform Imperialism, K-Beauty, Media Economics.
1. Introduction
The globalization of South Korean cultural exports has evolved from a regional phenomenon into a dominant force in the international media landscape. Initially characterized by the terrestrial broadcasting of romance melodramas across East Asia, the contemporary “Korean Wave” (Hallyu) is now inextricably linked with digital distribution networks. The entry of global Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms has fundamentally shifted the traditional media market paradigm, restructuring how content is financed, distributed, and consumed globally.
However, this rapid digital expansion exposes a deep structural duality. While global distribution has unlocked unprecedented international audiences and catalyzed significant macroeconomic growth, it has simultaneously introduced intense competition and systemic vulnerabilities regarding intellectual property (IP) ownership. This article examines the multi-faceted impact of global streaming platforms on the South Korean media ecosystem, evaluating the economic spillover effects, domestic structural constraints, the threat of platform imperialism, and the shifting cultural nuances of global viewership.
2. The Economic Spillover of Transnational
Distribution
Prior to the total dominance of global streaming networks, international syndication rights served as immediate economic catalysts for broader domestic industries. The transactional nature of early Hallyu distribution created a direct pipeline between content consumption and the export of tangible consumer goods.
A prime example of this mechanism is observed in the traditional licensing models utilized in the Chinese market:
“Streaming platform iQIYI, which obtained exclusive broadcasting rights to the series in China, reportedly earned about 35 billion KRW in subscription fees from viewers of Descendants of the Sun, with paid subscribers increasing sharply from 10 million to 15 million” (National Folk Museum of Korea, 2025, p. 146).
This surge in subscription revenue did not remain isolated within the digital platform. Instead, it triggered an immediate boon for overseas sales of cosmetics, fashion, and accessories worn on-set. The rapid rise of international users on Korean e-commerce sites seeking direct purchases marked the full integration of “K-beauty” and fashion as vital, high-revenue components of the broader Hallyu wave.
In the modern landscape, this localized synergy has scaled to a macro-environmental level through partnerships with global behemoths. As Chung (2022) notes, while global platforms easily enter traditional markets and shift their paradigm—thereby threatening local market share and elevating competition—the relationship is not entirely parasitic. In the case of South Korea, Netflix and the domestic media industry created a powerful synergy effect, successfully promoting K-media globally while making a highly noticeable contribution to the nation’s GDP.
3. Domestic Market Bottlenecks and Competition
Despite the international triumphs of K-media, the domestic infrastructure of South Korea’s digital media market faced distinct historical bottlenecks that delayed the organic rise of independent, local OTT platforms. Although South Korea was a pioneer in internet infrastructure and launched early iteration OTT video services ahead of many global competitors, these platforms struggled to achieve a full-swing growth trajectory during their crucial early years.
This developmental stagnation stems from the deeply entrenched nature of traditional pay TV bundles. As Dwyer et al. (2018, p. 14) observe, it was incredibly difficult for emerging domestic OTT services to secure a critical mass of subscribers because the leading market players—namely, cable TV and IPTV providers—simultaneously provided internet and television services as a single utility package. Consequently, traditional pay TV maintained a firm grip on consumer habits, creating a unique environment where the competition between traditional pay TV and early OTT providers never reached the hyper-intense levels seen in Western markets, ultimately leaving a vacuum that global platforms would later exploit.
4. The Intellectual Property Battleground: Platform Imperialism
With the entry of dominant transnational platforms, the structural mechanics of the Korean media industry were fundamentally rewritten. The traditional, virtuous cycle—where the influx of foreign sales revenues directly nurtured the domestic industry’s independent growth—has been replaced by a highly competitive IP procurement model.
In this new ecosystem, intellectual property has become the central axis of capital accumulation and power expansion for global platforms. The aggressive acquisition of global streaming rights by foreign entities risks shifting the balance of power permanently away from local creators. J. H. Park et al. (2023, p. 84) warn that in these hyper-competitive IP battlegrounds, a platform’s strategic utilization of the Korean Wave to secure exclusive global rights can ultimately work to consolidate “platform imperialism.”
Under this model, while South Korean production houses receive substantial, guaranteed budgets to produce high-concept content, they surrender the underlying IP rights. This prevents local creators from capturing residual profits, merchandising revenues, or long-term backend capital, turning domestic talent into contractual labor for foreign digital empires.
5. Cultural Sensitivities and the Bifurcation of Audience Reception
The transition to global OTT platforms has not only altered the financial architecture of K-media but has also bifurcated its creative outputs, establishing a clear distinction between traditional “Korean drama” and globally optimized “Hallyu drama.” This division implies that the global reception, viewing experiences, and cultural sensitivities of the audience are no longer uniform.
As S. Park and Hong (2023, p. 6965) analyze, while the dystopian thriller Squid Game achieved historic global numbers, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha—a series exhibiting completely opposite characteristics—simultaneously ranked exceptionally high, even dethroning Squid Game in specific regional markets.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha honors the conventions of traditional Korean television by focusing on romance, community, and slices of life in a small seaside village. Its triumph as one of Netflix’s most-watched non-English shows raises critical academic questions regarding audience composition: Is the audience for these two content archetypes the same?
The data suggests a nuanced consumer base. While Squid Game appeals to a globalized audience drawn to high-stakes, universal critiques of capitalist anxiety, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha activates a distinct pocket of cultural sensitivity, drawing viewers who seek the emotional safety, interpersonal warmth, and relational values native to traditional Korean storytelling.
6. Conclusion
The integration of South Korean media into global streaming platforms represents a complex macroeconomic and cultural shift. Visually and economically, the partnerships have proven to be an undeniable engine for global branding, directly stimulating South Korea’s GDP and cementing cross-industry phenomena like K-beauty on a global scale.
However, the structural realities of the industry require careful policy and creative oversight. The historical dominance of domestic pay TV bundles inadvertently slowed local OTT development, leaving the market vulnerable to the aggressive IP acquisition strategies of global platforms. If South Korean media is to avoid the traps of platform imperialism, domestic creators and policymakers must find a structural equilibrium—one that leverages the global reach of transnational platforms without permanently relinquishing the intellectual property that fuels the industry’s long-term independence and creative diversity.
REFERENCES
Chung, S. (2022). How South Korea ’ s Media Industry
is Impacted Through Digital Trade – Rise of Netflix – Graduate School of
International Studies.
Dwyer, T., Shim, Y., Lee, H., & Hutchinson, J.
(2018). Comparing Digital Media Industries in South Korea and Australia: The
Case of Netflix Take-Up. International Journal of Communication, 12,
4553–4572.
National Folk Museum of Korea. (2025). Encyclopedia
of Hallyu. Jang Sang-hoon (Director General, National Folk Museum of
Korea). https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/
Park, J. H., Kim, K. A., & Lee, Y. (2023). Netflix
and Platform Imperialism: How Netflix Alters the Ecology of the Korean TV Drama
Industry. International Journal of Communication, 17, 72–91.
Park, S., & Hong, S. K. (2023). Reshaping Hallyu: Global Reception of South Korean Content on Netflix. International Journal of Communication, 17, 6952–6971.
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