South Korean Drama Groups Seek 1 Trillion Won to Restore Production and Jobs

A Five Year Plan to Keep Korean Dramas in Production

Twelve South Korean television industry groups are seeking 1 trillion won, about US$746 million, in government support over five years to help finance roughly 40 dramas annually. Their proposal would pair 200 billion won in public money each year with an equal contribution from broadcasters and streaming platforms, creating an annual production budget of 400 billion won.

The groups, representing producers, writers, directors, actors, cinematographers and other crew, made their joint appeal on November 4 at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul. They warned that fewer commissions, rising costs and shrinking broadcaster investment were weakening the workforce and production companies behind K-dramas.

Their concern reaches beyond whether another Korean series becomes a global hit. Fewer productions mean fewer jobs between major successes, fewer opportunities for new writers and actors, and fewer chances for assistant crew members to advance into directing.

Government figures show why the debate requires a closer look than either international success or falling drama counts alone can provide. Traditional broadcasters are losing revenue and staff, while spending by some other television businesses is increasing. Across the wider content industry, comics and music are growing even as film and broadcasting face pressure.

What Would the Money Pay For?

The proposed support system would help finance about 40 dramas a year with budgets averaging 10 billion won each. The associations describe these as productions with modest or medium budgets. Together, they would require around 400 billion won annually, split equally between government support and investment from broadcasters and platforms.

Over five years, the requested public contribution would total 1 trillion won. With the matching private investment, the model would support production spending of 2 trillion won. The groups want domestic broadcasters and online video services to invest together so that funded dramas have a route to scheduling and distribution.

The associations also called for a national target to restore annual drama output and a coordinated response involving the culture ministry, the broadcasting regulator and the National Assembly. No approval, application timetable or detailed eligibility rules for the proposed fund have been announced in connection with the appeal.

How Much Has Drama Production Fallen?

Korea IR Service put drama production at 141 titles in 2022 and about 115 in 2025, a decline of approximately 18%. The industry associations cited a steeper fall of about 30% over the two years after 2022. Their estimate covers a different period from the 2025 figure.

The longer decline at the three major terrestrial broadcasters, KBS, MBC and SBS, is sharper. Their drama schedules fell from 91 titles in 2012 to 32 in 2023, a reduction of 59 titles, or nearly 65%. Some channels have also stopped scheduling weekday dramas.

The main developments span more than a decade:

• 2012: KBS, MBC and SBS scheduled 91 dramas between them.
• 2016: Netflix launched in South Korea.
• 2022: Korean drama production reached 141 titles, according to Korea IR Service.
• 2023: Drama scheduling at the three major terrestrial broadcasters stood at 32 titles. Netflix pledged US$2.5 billion for Korean content over four years.
• 2024: Broadcasting employment fell by 872 people, according to the government broadcasting survey.
• 2025: Drama production stood at about 115 titles, according to Korea IR Service.

Song Byeong-jun, chairman of the Korea Drama Production Association, said declining production removes jobs and creative opportunities. He warned that the departure of experienced staff and the breakup of production teams make it harder to rebuild capacity, even when business conditions improve.

Broadcasters Have Less Advertising Money to Spend

The broadcasting regulator's 2025 Broadcasting Industry Survey, published on December 31, 2025, provides a detailed picture of the financial pressure. Covering 424 broadcasters and related operators, it records conditions during 2024.

Terrestrial broadcasting revenue, including mobile broadcasting services, fell 5.4% to 3.5337 trillion won. Terrestrial television advertising revenue dropped 9.9% to 835.7 billion won. Advertising accounted for 23.7% of terrestrial revenue in 2024, compared with 47.4% in 2014.

For a broadcaster, advertising helps pay for the programmes it commissions. When that income falls while drama budgets rise, the broadcaster has less room to finance new series. The industry groups say this squeeze has reduced both investment and the number of slots available for dramas.

The regulator recorded a second consecutive annual decline in total broadcasting revenue, which fell 0.7% to 18.832 trillion won in 2024. Across broadcasting businesses, advertising revenue declined 7.4% to about 2.3073 trillion won.

Spending Is Moving Between Parts of the Industry

Total spending on producing and buying broadcast programmes rose 2.5% in 2024 to 4.0732 trillion won, according to the regulator. Terrestrial broadcasters moved in the opposite direction, cutting that expenditure by 6% to 972.7 billion won.

Programme providers, businesses that supply channels carried by television distribution services, increased their spending by 5.9% to 2.2837 trillion won. Content providers for television delivered over internet networks increased spending by 6.3% to 700.3 billion won.

The figures describe a market in which money is moving unevenly. More spending across broadcasting can coexist with fewer commissions from the traditional networks that previously provided regular work for drama teams. The expenditure totals also cover programmes beyond dramas, including production and purchases.

Korea IR Service identified pay for leading stars as the main driver of drama production costs in 2025, as streaming services competed for talent. A larger budget can therefore be absorbed by a smaller number of expensive projects while other productions struggle to secure financing.

Fewer Productions Mean Fewer Ways Into Work

Writer Park Hae-young, known for My Mister and My Liberation Notes and serving as copyright committee chair at the Korea Television and Radio Writers Association, described the loss of work within her own team. Speaking in Korean, she said:

All the assistant writers on my team are out of work, and story creators are moving into other genres such as webtoons and games.

The associations said the contraction makes it harder for new writers to produce a second work, supporting actors to secure their first leading roles and assistant crew members to make directing debuts. Those stages matter because a successful first opportunity usually needs to be followed by more work before a career becomes stable.

Song Young-woong, head of the Korea Broadcasting Performers' Rights Association, said annual collections of copyright usage fees fell from about 47 billion won in 2024 to 34 billion won in 2025. That is a drop of 13 billion won, or roughly 28%. Such payments provide performers with income from the use of their recorded performances.

The government broadcasting survey recorded employment of 37,427 in 2024, down 2.3%. Terrestrial broadcasters employed 12,593 people, a decline of 599, or 4.5%. They accounted for about 69% of the net job losses recorded across the surveyed broadcasting businesses.

Who Keeps the Income When a Drama Succeeds?

The associations also want changes to intellectual property arrangements. Intellectual property, or IP, means legal rights over creative work. For a drama company, those rights can provide income from later licensing, distribution or adaptations after the original production has been completed.

Producers say difficulty retaining these rights and securing later revenue has weakened their ability to finance subsequent projects. Song Byeong-jun called for arrangements under which global streaming services and Korean producers share IP revenue, with profit sharing linked to a production's success.

Streaming platforms are already central to overseas sales. The regulator's survey found that foreign online video services accounted for 71.3% of the relevant export trading partners for finished programmes and formats in 2024. Overseas distributors accounted for 17.1%, followed by broadcasters at 6.6%.

Song Young-woong accused Netflix of avoiding industry discussions by citing its status as a value added telecommunications business outside Broadcasting Act regulation. He called for global streaming services to join formal negotiations over performers' rights. His comments describe the association's position in the dispute.

Netflix's US$2.5 billion investment pledge, announced in 2023 for a period of four years, shows the scale of international demand for Korean content. The associations want more of the income generated by successful productions to help sustain Korean companies and creative workers between projects.

Korean Content Is Growing, Unevenly

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's 2025 Content Industry Survey, covering 2024, recorded content revenue of 157.4021 trillion won, up 2.1%, and exports of about US$14.075 billion, up 5.5%. Comics, including webtoons, recorded revenue growth of 25.1%, while music revenue increased 5.1%.

Film revenue fell 16.3%, film exports dropped 32.5% and employment in that industry declined 8%. Broadcasting revenue fell 1.6% under the culture ministry survey's definitions. The broadcasting regulator's survey recorded a 0.7% revenue decline for its own population of broadcasting businesses.

The two surveys also measure exports differently. The culture ministry survey recorded a 20% increase in broadcasting exports, while the regulator recorded an 8.4% decline in broadcast programme exports to US$611.58 million. Each result belongs to its survey's coverage and accounting framework.

Korea Creative Content Agency figures put broader content industry employment at 693,090 in 2025, up from 688,122 a year earlier, a gain of 4,968 jobs. A Sun Moon University professor assessed the drama industry's difficulties as largely reflecting the decline of terrestrial broadcasting rather than weakness across the entire content sector.

A Proposal Built Around Regular Production

The twelve groups argue that public support should protect a continuing flow of productions, rather than concentrate resources on a few potential blockbusters. Their plan links public funding to private investment, production volume and distribution, with the aim of keeping teams working across multiple projects.

The associations also cited wider economic benefits associated with Korean popular culture. Figures attributed to the culture ministry and the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange put Hallyu related exports at US$18.975 billion, including US$8.788 billion in consumer goods and tourism. Those categories cover a broader economic footprint than direct programme sales.

The groups acknowledged a responsibility to improve production cost structures and establish fairer production practices. They also identified competition from short videos and artificial intelligence as further pressures on audiences and production work.

The practical choice at the centre of their appeal is how to maintain regular drama production when traditional advertising income is shrinking and international platforms command a large share of overseas business. The requested fund addresses financing; their demands over rights and profit sharing address how producers and performers earn money after a drama reaches viewers.

Key Points

• Twelve industry groups seek 1 trillion won in government support over five years.
• The proposal would combine 200 billion won in annual public funding with matching private investment to support about 40 dramas a year.
• Korea IR Service recorded about 115 dramas in 2025, compared with 141 in 2022.
• Drama scheduling at KBS, MBC and SBS fell from 91 titles in 2012 to 32 in 2023.
• Government figures show falling terrestrial revenue and employment, alongside rising programme spending in other parts of broadcasting.
• Producers and performers also seek a greater share of intellectual property income and payments from successful productions.