TikTok, the global short-form video platform, will invest $50 million (approximately 75 billion won) this year to strengthen Korean content. The company sees Korean content as driving global trends and plans to boost creator compensation and development.
"It is hard to find any other market in the world that simultaneously has all three — professional content infrastructure, a fast-growing creator community, and a powerful fandom — besides Korea," Jeong Jae-hun, head of operations at TikTok Korea, said at a media briefing during the "TikTok K-Impact Summit 2026" held at the Eliana Hotel in Gangnam, Seoul, on Wednesday. "TikTok plans to invest more than $50 million this year to add momentum to Korea's competitiveness," Jeong said.
The investment primarily targets creators and professional content partners. As a flagship initiative, TikTok launched its "Creator Rewards Program: 2X" the previous day to support creator growth. The Creator Rewards Program offers monetary compensation to creators who meet requirements such as having at least 10,000 followers and posting original content of one minute or longer. The newly launched 2X program doubles the rewards for content uploaded in Korean. "Other countries also run reward programs, but Korea is the first to offer double compensation," said Ko Ki-won, head of emerging verticals and creator marketing at TikTok Korea.
In addition, TikTok will expand its "Special Rewards Program," which offers up to triple rewards for TV and film content, to include the sports category starting in May. The company also plans to run consulting programs for creator development, divided into tiers for early-stage creators and growth-stage creators. TikTok will also expand partnerships with organizations and companies in sports, news, and entertainment. Among domestic sports organizations, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and K League currently provide dedicated content on TikTok, and the company plans to pursue similar partnerships in other sports.