Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Disney+ bets big in 2026: Can it win over Netflix subscribers?
IU, left, and Byeon Woo-suk in a scene from Disney+’s upcoming series “Perfect Crown” / Captured from Disney+ YouTube
By Baek Byung-yeul
With 12 million fewer subscribers than market leader Netflix, Disney+ is betting its survival in Korea on a star-studded 2026 lineup to prove that K-content fans will switch platforms if the storytelling is powerful enough.
Disney+ is leaning into its long-term strategy of producing top-tier Korean originals, aiming to close the gap with Netflix as the latest industry data shows Korean content remains a key driver for subscriber growth.
In 2025, Netflix effectively solidified its dominant status, with its monthly active users in Korea soaring to 15.59 million as of December, according to market researcher Mobile Index.
Disney+ remains the smallest among the major streaming services, with 3.22 million subscribers — only a slight increase from 2.93 million in December 2024. During the same period, other competitors saw far stronger growth. Korean platform Coupang Play jumped from 7.09 million to 8.43 million subscribers, while Tving edged up from 7.25 million to 7.34 million, leaving Disney+ on the sidelines in the heated competition.
For Disney+, the problem isn’t creating hits like "Moving" (2023) — it’s producing them often enough to keep subscribers. Netflix keeps audiences hooked with a steady flow of reality shows, while Disney+ frequently sees viewers drop off after a major series ends.
This sentiment is echoed by international observers. At a Disney+ Originals Preview event in Hong Kong last November, an Indonesian journalist noted that Netflix’s dominance in Southeast Asia stems from its perceived consistency in delivering compelling K-content.
"In Southeast Asia, people choose Netflix because it simply has more Korean content to watch," the journalist said. "But fans follow great stories, not just a brand name. If Disney+ spends more on Korean content and keeps making strong originals, fans will naturally switch over.”
To spark this migration and bridge the massive subscriber gap, Disney+ is focusing on two main goals for 2026. The platform aims to dominate the romance genre while also expanding into unscripted variety shows.
The platform's rom-com lineup is particularly formidable. By pairing global icon IU with Byeon Woo-seok for "Perfect Crown" and Shin Min-a with Lee Jong-suk for the fantasy webtoon-based "The Remarried Empress," Disney+ is targeting the core K-drama fandom that Netflix has long dominated.
Other highly anticipated dramas in the lineup include "Gold Land," "Bloody Flower," "Made in Korea" Season 2 and "Delusio," starring big names Suzy and Kim Seon-ho.
Perhaps more significant is Disney+'s foray into reality shows, as it will launch “Battle of Fates,” a survival show pitting 49 shamans. By hiring the production team behind Netflix’s megahit “Culinary Class Wars,” Disney+ is directly challenging Netflix in the survival genre.
Industry observers view 2026 as a pivotal year for Disney+, which has realized that a few annual hits cannot compete with Netflix’s constant, massive investment. But with a user base only a fifth the size of its rival’s, Disney+ still has a steep climb ahead. Whether this new approach will close the gap remains to be seen.