Short dramas in South Korea remain niche for now
In South Korea, short drama series have not yet managed to move beyond a niche audience, although local creators are increasingly working with this format amid rising investment. This was reported by The Korea Herald. The format competes with popular long-form Korean dramas, while younger audiences increasingly choose short, dynamic video content on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Niche plots and audience habits
Lee Sung-min, an associate professor in the Department of Media Arts and Sciences at Korea National Open University, said that short dramas are currently difficult to consider mainstream, both in terms of sales and market size and cultural influence. In his view, the format's spread is hindered by many projects' focus on narrow subcultural themes.
According to the expert, short dramas aimed at women often focus on overly sexualized romance, while projects for male audiences focus on niche themes, including regression and modern fantasy. Lee also noted that such series feature plots in which the main character sexually threatens another person or gives them drugs. In his assessment, such scenarios may make a broader Korean audience uncomfortable.
The director of the Seoul Institute for Digital Industry and Policy, Noh Chang-hee, explained the limited spread of short dramas by viewers' established habits. According to him, Koreans mostly perceive dramas as long-form content and watch short videos primarily on platforms such as YouTube.
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Growth of Chinese platforms
Despite these obstacles, experts consider 2026 a possible turning point for the segment due to active promotion and greater accessibility of such content. According to Mobile Index, Chinese short-drama platforms ranked in the top three for entertainment app downloads in South Korea in August. DramaWave was downloaded 840,000 times, NetShort 800,000 times, and DramaBox 740,000 times.
These figures exceeded the download numbers of major Korean streaming services: Tving received 570,000 installations, while Coupang Play received 540,000. Lee Sung-min linked the growing interest to large-scale viral marketing that encouraged users to install the apps.
Directors join the format
Director Lee Byeong-hun, known for the 2019 box-office film “Extreme Job,” released the short drama “My Baby Daddy Is My Best Friend” on the Lezhin Snack platform in February. Director Lee Joon-ik also turned to the format: his short-form film “My Father's Table,” starring Byun Yo-han and Lee Jung-eun, was shown in cinemas on September 9. This was the first screening of a short-form series on the big screen.
In 2024, Krafton invested 120 billion won, or $88 million, in Spoon Labs, the operator of the Vigloo platform. The investment was intended to create synergy between gaming and video content, including through adaptations of game intellectual property and interactive projects. Amid rising production costs for traditional series, short dramas may become an alternative line of work for Korean creators.
