South Korea‘s film, television and streaming sector contributed KRW24.08 trillion ($16.4 billion at current exchange rates) to the country’s GDP and underpinned 291,100 jobs in 2025, according to an independent economic study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association.
The report – “Economic Contribution of the Audiovisual Industry in South Korea,” produced by Oxford Economics – was presented at the National Assembly in Seoul before legislators and industry leaders. It assesses the sector’s full economic footprint across direct production activity, supply-chain spending and induced consumer expenditure.
For every KRW1 billion ($680,000) generated directly by the industry, the study calculates a further KRW2.1 billion ($1.4 million) was created across the broader economy, implying a GDP multiplier of 3.1. The employment multiplier stood at 3.4, meaning each 100 direct jobs supported an additional 240 elsewhere. Close to four in five of the sector’s total jobs – 78% – were in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, with micro businesses alone accounting for 36% of the employment footprint. Of the 291,100 total supported jobs, the information and communication sector accounted for the largest share at 116,500, reflecting the digitally intensive nature of the industry’s supply chain.
Television was the dominant segment, contributing roughly KRW15,620 billion ($10.6 billion) – about 65% of the industry’s combined GDP output – and supporting 181,200 jobs. Film added KRW4,960 billion ($3.4 billion) and 77,800 jobs, while video-on-demand contributed KRW3,500 billion ($2.4 billion) and 32,100 jobs. The industry generated an estimated KRW7,170 billion ($4.9 billion) in total tax revenues.
VOD workers were by far the most productive in the sector, averaging KRW437 million ($297,000) in direct GDP contribution per head – roughly five times the national average of KRW92 million ($62,600). Television followed at KRW107 million ($72,800) per worker.
Looking ahead, the report projects VOD as the sector’s fastest-growing segment, with direct GDP and tax contributions forecast to expand at approximately 7.4% and 7.2% annually through 2028, respectively. Film and television are projected to see modest contractions in line with broader shifts in audience consumption toward streaming and digital platforms. The proposed merger of local platforms Tving and Wavve, if completed, would create a combined entity with around 9.3 million monthly active users – potentially Korea’s largest local streamer – and could strengthen the ability of local platforms to compete against global players.
The study also tracks a sharp rise in international reach. Exports of Korean film and TV content reached KRW1.8 trillion ($1.2 billion) in 2024, nearly double the KRW899 billion ($612 million) recorded in 2019 – a compound annual growth rate of 14.5%. To put that figure in context, the report notes it exceeded Korea’s exports of beverages and spirits (KRW1.71 trillion/$1.16 billion) and railway locomotives (KRW1.39 trillion/$946 million). Broadcasting accounted for the bulk at roughly KRW1.5 trillion ($1 billion), with animation and film comprising the remainder.
While Asia still anchors Korean film exports at roughly two-thirds of the total, North America and Europe have each grown to about 14% of the mix, reflecting deeper platform partnerships, improved localisation and rising international familiarity with Korean storytelling.
The cultural spillover into tourism is also quantified in the report. Some 38.3% of inbound tourists said they were motivated to visit Korea after engaging with Korean Wave content, up from 32.1% a year earlier – the most frequently cited reason for visiting the country. A case study on the 2025 Netflix K-drama “When Life Gives You Tangerines,” set in Jeju’s fishing villages, illustrates the mechanism directly: after the series topped global non-English rankings, Jeju posted year-on-year foreign visitor growth every month from April, with January–September arrivals reaching 1.74 million, up 17.5%. The Jeju Haenyeo Museum, featured prominently in the series, saw foreign visits climb 58.9% to nearly 50,000 by November.
“South Korea’s audiovisual industry has become one of the most influential in the world,” MPA chair and CEO Charles Rivkin said. “This report shows an industry that delivers substantial economic value at home while exporting creativity, culture and innovation to global audiences. MPA member studios are proud to partner with Korean creators to bring these stories to screens worldwide.”
“Wherever we travel, policymakers ask how Korea did it,” added Mila Venugopalan, president and managing director of MPA Asia-Pacific. “This report shows that Korea’s success is grounded in strong creative talent, evidence-based policy and international collaboration. It is a model many markets now seek to emulate.”
“Korea’s screen industry combines domestic strength with global reach,” said Bo Son, managing director of MPA Korea. “Its impact extends across employment, exports and long-term economic growth.”
“Korea’s video content industry has evolved beyond the global spread of Hallyu to become a key driver of the national economy,” said Rep. Lim O-Kyeong, a National Assembly member focused on culture, content and sports policy. She added that data-driven analysis of the sector’s impact would play “a critical role as reference material for future policy formulation and regulatory improvement.”
On the talent development front, the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism have committed KRW43 billion ($29.3 million) under a 2026 roadmap to train around 3,400 professionals across AI, creative and export-oriented roles. The programme includes 1,000 VOD specialists being retrained in planning and post-production in partnership with Netflix, and a flagship mentoring initiative targeting 300 aspiring creatives aged 19 to 34.
MPA member studios – Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Studios, Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, and Warner Bros. Discovery – all maintain active ties with Korean producers, broadcasters and distributors.
Despite its headline figures, the report identifies several pressures bearing on the sector’s outlook: theatrical attendance has not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, the mid-budget segment that once defined Korean cinema is contracting under the weight of higher production costs and tighter margins, and an uncertain regulatory environment has dampened investor confidence. The study was commissioned as an evidence base for future policy design and to support the long-term competitiveness of the sector.
