From Netflix’s K-Pop Demon Hunters to a localization-driven IP strategy for domestic prowess

Netflix’s animated feature K-Pop Demon Hunters, hereafter KDEH, has been breaking records day after day. Since its June release, it has accumulated 314.2 million views, shattering Netflix’s all-time records for films and series. At the same time, the OST track “Golden” has held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks, underscoring the far-reaching influence of K-content. This isn’t merely a hit; it signals a revolution in K-culture.

KDEH’s triumph is already rippling into other industries and creating tangible economic value. Snacks and ramen on the show’s shelves have rolled out limited-edition packaging, while pastries and convenience foods inspired by the characters have appeared in convenience stores and bakeries. The fashion industry and museums have moved quickly to ride the KDEH wave, and both domestic and international tourists are flocking to spots such as Namsan Tower and the fortress-path at Naksan Park that featured in the story. Viewers are no longer simply consuming a video; they’re experiencing it in daily life, broadening the touchpoints between content and culture.

Yet some critics argue KDEH represents a “private party” for foreign studios. They point out that Korean capital investment and domestic production involvement were limited, and because the IP owner is a foreign company, the substantial upside isn’t directly returning to Korea’s production ecosystem. One critic, viewing the industry’s wider implications, suggested that while KDEH may not neatly fit into a traditional K-content category from an industrial standpoint, it has sparked positive interest in Korean culture and, taken together with the film’s cultural elements, can be considered K-content.

So how can the “Next KDEH” become bona fide K-content and its gains flow back into the domestic industry? A look back at K-content history shows an evolution from a model focused on domestic consumption to an export-driven model that launched the Korean Wave with titles like Winter Sonata and Dae Jang Geum, which were produced domestically and exported abroad. This progressed into a global-leaning phase where works such as Squid Game, Kingdom, and The Black Chef were conceived and produced in Korea and released on global OTT platforms.

However, in this transition, Korea’s IP leadership was ceded to global OTT platforms, raising pointed criticisms. The broadcast advertising market has contracted for three straight years, and rising production costs have squeezed the profitability of domestic studios, dampening local production demand. In short, while K-content aggressively targets the global stage, the domestic market has often been left in the background.

Analyzing KDEH’s path makes the direction of a true K-content strategy clear: the industry must leverage the IP assets and production competencies accumulated at each stage to actively target global markets, not merely rely on foreign platforms. In practical terms, this means keeping the core IP and rights tightly controlled by domestic producers from the planning phase onward, while developing a globally-minded, “hyper-localization” approach that builds production locally around the world and for distribution through global partnerships.

Netflix’s second-quarter letter to shareholders highlights that about 30% of total viewing time in the first half of 2025 came from non-English-language content, and K-content accounted for roughly 7% of all content. This indicates that Korean IP has largely operated within a subset of the massive global market.

With a vast addressable audience at stake, Korean firms are accelerating their efforts. My company SLL, for example, has already partnered with our US subsidiary Studio WIIP to begin creating English-language content, signaling a new era of hyper-localization—producing with a strong local footprint and IP leadership rather than simply exporting. Other domestic producers are also reportedly pursuing English-language content.

K-content’s international expansion has benefited from sustained support and investment by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA). Moving forward, policy should further empower this trajectory by backing hyper-localization strategies, enabling more global co-productions, and fostering closer public-private collaboration to propel forward momentum.

K-de Hunters has proven that culture, cuisine, fashion, beauty, and tourism—Korean culture in its broadest sense—can function as the most effective, all-encompassing ambassador. It’s time to treat K-content as a national strategic industry and unite public and private forces to push toward a K-culture era valued at trillions of won.