Ko-pick: Merchandise and Theme Cafes Entice Viewers Back to Korea’s Theaters

Korea’s multiplexes have been seeking different ways to pull audiences back to cinemas. In the 2010s, Korea’s film industry was not only growing but it was booming attracting over 200 million viewers to theaters between 2012 and 2019. Over half of these admiss...

Ko-pick: Sustainability of Korean Independent Films

In parallel with the rise of Korea’s commercial industry and the building of its studio system that has seen Korean cinema flourish both on the local and international stage, Korean independent films have also left an indelible mark both home and abroad. They ...

Ko-pick: From Algorithms to Festivals: How Korean Cinema Finds Its Audience in the AI Era

Algorithms on streaming platforms such as Netflix have profoundly impacted how we view content. This has been a double-edged sword for Korean cinema. On the one hand, for those seeking more Korean content, the algorithms can recommend films and series a subscr...

Ko-pick: How Korean Films Survive in the Era of Short-Form Content

With total admissions for the first half of the year having hit just 42,497,776 marking the lowest since 2004 when the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) started compiling audience numbers, it illustrates just how much viewing habits have changed. After the Covid-19 ...

Ko-pick: KAFA & Festivals: Discovering New Korean Filmmakers

The rise of Korea’s film and wider content industry is attributed to a number of different factors with financing and government policy playing an important role along with a genre-savvy generation of directors entering the industry.

Ko-pick: Tracking Korea’s IP Trends and International Co-productions

While the Korean film industry is struggling to mount a comeback to pre-pandemic levels with admissions down at around 45 percent, there is still a significant appetite for discovering the next “Super IP (intellectual property”). Squid Game, though, an unprec...

Ko-pick: Korea’s Location Shooting Incentives

Korea’s cultural industry is showing few signs of slowing down illustrated through the recent sweep by the stage musical Maybe Happy Ending at the Tony Awards. Once again, the spotlight is shining on Korea’s ever-increasing soft power known as Hallyu.

Ko-pick: Investment & Distribution Structure in Korean Film Industry

One of the main concerns in the film industry at present is the lack of investment. With admissions down approximately 45 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels, investors are looking elsewhere to seek returns on their investment.

Ko-pick: Korean IP Export Trends

As interest in Korean content continues across the globe, Korean IP exports have hit new heights. In 2023, Korea’s copyright exports reached a whopping $3.35 billion while the IP sector for culture and arts generated over a billion dollars in profit for the fi...

Ko-pick: ‘Localizing’ Strategy Trends in Korean Film Industry

Film industries across the globe have been influenced by other national cinemas. Undoubtedly Hollywood has had an impact on global cinema with its storytelling, A-list stars, spectacle and its big budgets – the blockbuster formula. Korean films have proved ver...