The BTS comeback live concert held at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on June 21 symbolically demonstrated the current state of Korea's content industry. The group's performance, marking their return after three years and nine months, was streamed live to approximately 190 countries through Netflix and ranked No. 1 in the Netflix film category across 77 countries immediately after its release.
When Netflix landed in the Korean market in 2016, few predicted that the platform would become a "global window" for live-broadcasting Korean content to the world a decade later. Over the past 10 years, Netflix has invested heavily in Korea, reshaping the media ecosystem. This column examines the light and shadow that emerged through that process from legal and industrial perspectives.
Legal Risk Management Takes Root
The most encouraging change brought by Netflix's entry is that a culture of "legal risk management" has begun to take root in domestic production. Korea's drama production environment was once characterized by so-called "jjokdaebon" (last-minute scripts) and overnight shoots. However, when Netflix offered full production funding in exchange for compliance with strict global guidelines — including "Script Clearance," a pre-production review of legal risks in screenplays — a wind of change began to blow.
Production companies now review scripts and footage to preemptively block potential disputes over copyright, trademark and defamation. A culture has taken hold that covers everything from trademark clearance for shop signs accidentally captured during filming, to verifying whether fictional characters resemble real individuals, to securing copyright for a single passage of background music. This represents an invaluable intangible asset in that it has formed a "legal shield" enabling K-content to be distributed stably in global markets without copyright infringement controversies.
The Risk of Becoming a 'Subcontract Factory'
Behind the glamorous achievements lies a concern that Korea's content industry is being reduced to a "subcontract factory" for giant capital. Netflix adheres to a "buy-out" contract model in which it covers the entire production cost in exchange for exclusive ownership of IP (intellectual property) and global distribution rights. This means production companies lose full rights to their output, no matter how creative their planning.
Even when a title becomes a mega-hit worldwide, the enormous added value generated from derivative works — merchandise, game adaptations and remakes — all accrues to the platform. Domestic production companies hit a structural wall: despite producing innovative content, they remain at the level of "production agencies" making content to platform specifications without enjoying the trickle-down effect of revenues. This "IP dependency" also makes it difficult for homegrown OTT platforms to secure original IP, weakening the self-sustaining capacity of Korea's domestic media ecosystem.
Creators Left Without Fair Compensation
These structural problems are directly tied to individual creators' livelihoods. Under the traditional broadcasting system, post-airing compensation mechanisms such as rerun fees functioned, but global platforms effectively lack equivalent compensation structures. The 2023 strike by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which demanded additional compensation for streaming revenues, carries significant implications. The guild secured bonus provisions through collective bargaining.
The European Union also codified creators' right to "appropriate and proportionate remuneration" through its 2019 Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. Under this directive, in some European countries including Germany, platforms such as Netflix have introduced performance-linked compensation systems that pay additional royalties to creators when viewership exceeds certain thresholds.
In Korea, a "Video Content Compensation Consultative Body" was launched in 2024, and legislative discussions on an "additional compensation claim right" for audiovisual content are underway, but progress remains stalled.
The Next Decade Must Be Different
Netflix has contributed significantly to expanding the reach of Korean content over the past decade. Now is the time for the platform to seriously address how fairly it will distribute those revenues and coexist with creators. For a sustainable ecosystem, it is necessary to build social consensus on creators' "additional compensation claim rights" and to provide policy support so that joint IP ownership and revenue sharing become viable options.
If the past 10 years were about K-content captivating the world, the coming decade must be a period in which Korea evolves beyond a mere production base into an equal "global partner." Only when fair rules enabling platforms and creators to coexist are established will the vitality of K-content endure into the next generation.
