Korean content was the second most watched globally on Netflix last year after that of the U.S., a report by the London-based market analysis company Ampere said on April 15. (Screen capture from Netflix's website)

By Lee Dasom

Korean content was the second most watched on Netflix worldwide following that of the U.S.

The London-based global market analysis company Ampere on April 15 said this in its report "South Korean shows are the most popular non-US content on Netflix."

It said, "Since 2023, South Korean content has been second only to US content for total viewing hours recorded, and consistently represents 8%-9% of viewing hours on Netflix, ahead of UK content at 7%-8%, and Japanese content at 4%-5%."

"South Korea currently accounts for 85 (or 17%) of the top 500 most popular non-US shows and films on Netflix."

Season two of "Squid Game" topped Netflix's global charts in the second half of last year with 619.9 million hours streamed.

Other hits that were steadily viewed on the streaming platform included the romcom "Love Next Door," cooking reality show "Culinary Class Wars," the first seasons of the K-dramas "Squid Game" and "Queen of Tears," and "Crash Landing on You."

On the reason for Korean content's success, the report said, "Netflix's success with South Korean shows and films reflects its established content production and licensing strategy."

"Netflix's $2.5bn commitment to South Korean content from 2024 to 2028 will help maintain this content boom."

This table shows viewing share in Netflix by country of origin based on a report by the London-based Ampere, a global market analysis company. (Ampere's official website)