Korean Netflix users showed a much weaker preference for Korean content in the third quarter of 2026, according to a report from the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA). Domestic content’s share of preference among Korean users fell to 58.58%, down 10.33 percentage points from the second quarter, when it stood at roughly 68.91%.
The fall was steeper still for Korean productions that are not Netflix originals. Their share dropped from 52.06% in the second quarter to 37.67% in the third, a decline of more than 14 points. Put another way, Korean users drew a larger share of their top-ranked viewing from foreign titles in the third quarter than in the second. Korean users’ preference for Asian content as a whole also slipped, from 77.9% to 70.51%. The figures appear in KOCCA’s Broadcasting, Video and OTT Trends report, and the third-quarter analysis covered the period from 1 July to 17 September. KOCCA measures preference as the share of total popularity points that each category earns among titles entering regional top 10 lists. Under the system, the top title in a ranking receives 10 points, the second receives 9, and so on down to a single point for the title in tenth place. A falling share therefore means fewer Korean titles reaching the upper end of Korea’s own Netflix charts, rather than a fall in total viewing time.
Korea now trails several other major markets on this measure. Domestic content took 82.46% of preference on Netflix in the United States in the third quarter, 72.89% in Japan and 63.37% in India, all ahead of Korea’s 58.58%. In Mexico and South Africa, local content was below 10% in the second quarter and rose above 10% in the third. KOCCA singled out Japan, where local content has long centred on animation but is now expanding into live-action drama. “The most notable development is the rapid growth of Japan’s local content,” the agency said.
For Korea, the agency said the share of preference for local content has kept declining. It linked the trend in part to supply, noting that traditional broadcasters are producing significantly fewer new local titles than before, which leaves streaming platforms with a thinner pipeline of Korean dramas and entertainment shows to promote. KOCCA said the market now needs close analysis to understand what is driving the shift in viewing habits.
