Korean film industry seeks lifeline amid crisis of investment, creativity

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a strategy meeting to rationalize core regulations at the presidential office in Seoul, Thursday. From left are Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young, Korea Investment Partners CEO Hwang Mahn-soon, Lee, Eco & Partners CEO Lee Han-kyung and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung. Joint Press Corps

Korea’s burgeoning cultural content industry is facing a serious financial crisis, with the local film sector, which currently relies heavily on a single success formula such as “The Roundup” series, facing structural challenges that many believe cannot be solved by government emergency funding alone.

On Thursday, Chae Hwi-young, minister of culture, sports and tourism, sounded the alarm at a cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Jae Myung, saying that Korea’s cultural industry has become a significant tool to raise national brand awareness, but faces serious challenges.

“K-culture is not merely a cultural phenomenon. It is a core engine of our economy and a future source of growth,” the minister said at the presidential office in Seoul.

“However, the K-culture production scene I have visited indicates a tremendous crisis with no breakthrough in sight. Emergency government funds are desperately required to serve as a catalyst for recovery. Money must circulate first.”

The culture minister highlighted the domestic film industry as the most desperate sector. He noted that the number of commercial Korean films, which previously reached around 60 annually, has plummeted to just a third of that in 2025.

Even CJ ENM, which has invested in and produced over 400 films, only released one homegrown film it invested in this year.

The minister diagnosed the problem as a vicious cycle where global streaming platforms like Netflix make theatrical success difficult, consequently leading to reduced investment, a drop in production numbers and an overall destabilization of the ecosystem.

In a bid to help local production companies find a breakthrough, the culture ministry plans to reduce their investment risks.

Chae said the government plans to increase the loss provision rate — the amount of money set aside to cover potential losses from investments — from the current 15 percent to 20 percent and reduce the government’s share of profits. This will expand the private sector’s share of excess profits from 30 percent to 40 percent.

The minister also called for the relaxing of regulations for broadcasters and blocking of copyrighted content to combat illegal piracy.

Visitors look at a promotional installment for Japanese animated movie "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba — Infinity Castle" at a theater in Seoul, Aug. 31. Newsis

Current box office numbers reveal why the government needs to act fast. The industry here has produced no films attracting 10 million viewers this year. The attendance number of 10 million for a single movie has historically been regarded as a benchmark for success.

The absence this year of a new title in the “The Roundup” series, which dominated the film box office until last year, highlights just how much the industry is currently relying on one hit franchise.

Since “The Roundup” attracted over 12.6 million moviegoers in 2022, the series had surpassed the 10 million mark annually, with “The Roundup: No Way Out” garnering more than 10.6 million and “The Roundup: Punishment” hitting 11.5 million.

The highest-grossing Korean film this year is “My Daughter is a Zombie” with 5.62 million admissions, followed by “YADANG: The Snitch” with 3.37 million. Only these two films have surpassed the 3 million mark so far.

The reliance on a single franchise has weakened the vitality of the local film scene. While Japanese animated features like “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba — Infinity Castle” achieved surprising success this year, homegrown blockbusters aiming for the 10 million club, such as “Omniscient Reader,” have failed to attract movie fans.

A Korean film industry official stressed the need to produce diverse kinds of content to woo movie fans.

“Beyond the government’s necessary financial resuscitation, the industry itself needs to make diverse attempts,” the official said on condition of anonymity.