Netflix

Netflix is the streaming giant that turned Korean content into a global phenomenon. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, the platform pivoted from DVD rentals to streaming in 2007 and has since become the world's largest entertainment service with over 300 million subscribers across 190 countries. The company's Korean content bet started paying off with Kingdom (2019), the Joseon-era zombie thriller that proved K-dramas could pull international audiences on a streaming platform. Then came Squid Game (2021), which shattered every record Netflix had: 1.65 billion viewing hours in its first 28 days, the platform's most-watched series of all time in any language. The show's cultural impact was immediate and total, spawning merchandise, memes, and a second season that debuted to equally massive numbers in 2024. Netflix has since built the deepest Korean content pipeline in Western streaming. The slate spans genres and formats: Sweet Home, All of Us Are Dead, and Hellbound for horror and sci-fi; D.P. and Bloodhounds for gritty military and action drama; Physical 100 for reality competition; and Sony Pictures Animation's KPop Demon Hunters (2025), which became the most-watched Netflix original title ever with over 500 million views. The platform's Korean film acquisitions have been equally aggressive, with titles like The Call, Space Sweepers, and Concrete Utopia reaching audiences who would never have encountered Korean cinema in theaters. Behind the content, Netflix has committed billions to Korean production. The company opened its first Korean production facility in 2022 and announced plans for additional studio infrastructure to support a growing pipeline of originals. Partnerships with studios like Studio Dragon (CJ ENM) and SLL have given Netflix access to Korea's top writing and directing talent, while webtoon adaptations sourced from Naver Webtoon provide an almost bottomless well of pre-validated IP. Netflix's investment in Korean entertainment has reshaped the economics of the entire industry. Production budgets for top-tier K-dramas now routinely exceed what was imaginable a decade ago, talent fees have skyrocketed, and Korean creators have leverage they never had when domestic broadcasters were the only game in town. For better or worse, Netflix is now the single most important international platform for Korean content, and its commissioning decisions ripple through every production company, talent agency, and streaming competitor in Seoul.