Netflix Has Double Downed on Korean TV Since 2020 | Chart
The growing interest in non-English TV shows among US audiences has been widely documented, and much of this trend can be attributed to Netflix. The platform has leveraged its first-mover advantage by being the first to deliver original programming and heavily invest in foreign-language content. This strategy has helped Netflix shape viewers’ habits, fostering a taste for more linguistically diverse content and cementing its reputation as a leader in international TV in the US.
According to Parrot Analytics’ Content Panorama, 33.8% of all new seasons of Netflix originals released in the US in 2020 were non-English. By 2024, this figure had grown to 50.5%, with non-English titles making up the majority of new releases. Among these, the rise in Korean-language Netflix originals is particularly noteworthy. Between 2020 and 2024, the share of Korean shows more than doubled, accounting for 6.7% of new releases in 2024—trailing only English and Spanish content.
What makes this growth even more surprising is the traditional format of Korean TV productions. Unlike American shows, which are often designed for multi-season arcs, Korean dramas tend to be limited to a single season. This trend is evident on Netflix: only 29% of Korean shows released between 2020 and 2024 have had a second season, compared to 48% of English-language shows, 35% of Spanish-language shows, and 32% of Japanese-language shows on the platform.
However, Netflix is breaking with this one-season tradition to maximize the value of its Korean productions. The second season of its global hit “Squid Game” is scheduled for late 2024, while other popular Korean titles like “Physical: 100” and “Sweet Home” have already released additional seasons.
Netflix’s investment in non-English content has strengthened its position not only in the US but globally. Its multilingual catalog is a key factor in subscriber retention. According to Parrot Analytics’ Streaming Economics, Netflix’s Q3 2024 churn rates by region were impressively low: 2.17% in APAC, 1.41% in Latin America, and 1.88% in EMEA. These rates are even lower than in UCAN, where Netflix maintains the lowest churn among major SVOD platforms.
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