Q4 and annual 2025 content industry trend analysis report. Photo courtesy of KOCCA
LE SSERAFIM performs at the “2025 LE SSERAFIM TOUR ‘EASY CRAZY HOT’ ENCORE IN TOKYO DOME” concert held in Tokyo, Japan on Nov. 19, 2025. Photo courtesy of Source Music
Korea’s content exports rose 5.9% and sales grew 2.6% last year, riding the K-culture boom.
Domestic content industry sales increased 2.6% from a year earlier to 161.48 trillion won ($112 billion), according to the “2025 Fourth-Quarter and Annual Content Industry Trend Analysis Report” released by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) on Tuesday. By genre, music (15.8%), knowledge information (7.8%), comics (7.4%) and animation (6.8%) led industry growth. The report comprehensively analyzed 11 content genres based on company surveys, listed company management data and industry-specific baseline statistics.
In the music industry, major agencies expanded sales and the concert market showed a recovery. In the comics industry, webtoon-driven demand expansion and improved corporate earnings drove growth. The animation industry also posted gains on strong theatrical performance and improved earnings. On the other hand, advertising (-1.7%), broadcasting (-1.3%) and publishing (-1.2%) saw slight declines due to the economic slowdown and shifts in the advertising market.
BLACKPINK held the “BLACKPINK WORLD TOUR IN SINGAPORE” at Singapore National Stadium from Nov. 28–30, 2025. Photo courtesy of YG
Content industry exports during the same period totaled $14.91 billion, up 5.9% from the previous year. Music (32.4%), film (19.9%) and character (12.8%) industries led exports. The music industry posted high growth rates on the back of expanded overseas concerts and the global expansion of K-pop artists. The film industry benefited from strong performances of highly anticipated titles, while the character industry was supported by growing overseas demand for Korean characters. In contrast, content solutions (-10.3%), animation (-7.6%) and publishing (-3.1%) posted declines amid an overseas market slowdown.