According to Digital i, Korean content generated approximately 10 billion hours of viewing outside South Korea across 20 measured Netflix markets in 2025, underscoring the global strength of Korean productions.
Of that total, 1.5 billion hours (15.2%) came from Squid Game alone, highlighting the outsized impact of the hit series. Even excluding Squid Game, Korean titles still amassed 8.5 billion hours of international viewing across Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
The report also compares Korea’s performance with other major Asia-Pacific content exporters. Japanese productions recorded 7.3 billion hours of international viewing during the same period, while Australian content reached 1.3 billion hours, meaning Korean content generated roughly 7.7 times more global viewing than Australian titles. Although Japanese content continues to perform strongly overseas, no single Japanese title matched the global dominance of Squid Game.
Digital i’s subscriber data further revealed that Squid Game was the only title to rank among the top five first-stream choices for new Netflix subscribers in South Korea, Japan, and Australia. In South Korea, however, The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call and When Life Gives You Tangerines attracted more first-time viewers than Squid Game, despite falling well short of its international reach.
Based on these findings, Digital i argues that content acquisition, licensing, and co-production decisions should not rely solely on total viewing hours. Instead, the company says greater attention should be paid to a title’s ability to travel across international markets, as global reach remains a key indicator of long-term value.
