"Short but Impactful" The Short-Form Drama Boom: China Leading, Will Korea Follow?
Short but impactful "short-form dramas" are changing the landscape of the global content market. In particular, as the short-form platform TikTok overcomes its survival crisis, attention is focused on whether the rapidly growing short-form drama market, primarily centered in China, will benefit from this trend. According to the "2024 China Short-Form Drama Industry Development White Paper" released by the China Internet Video Association on the 22nd, the size of China's short-form drama market reached approximately 50.44 billion yuan (about 10.037 trillion KRW) last year, showing a 35% growth compared to 2023. This surpasses the total size of China's film market in the same year, and it is expected to reach around 19 trillion KRW by 2027. ◆ AI and Localization Strategy: The Key to the Success of Chinese Short-Form Content China's leading short-form drama platform, "Lilshot," produces vertically formatted dramas with each episode lasting about one minute. This short, fast-paced format has become extremely popular among consumers who prefer quick and engaging content. Lilshot has especially gained attention in the U.S. market. In November of last year, it surpassed TikTok to become the most downloaded app in the U.S. with a total of 28.6 million downloads. In-app purchase revenue reached $80 million (approximately 105 billion KRW). Other Chinese short-form drama platforms, such as "DramaBox" and "GoodShot," continue to grow in the Chinese-speaking and Southeast Asian markets as well. The success of Chinese short-form dramas can be attributed to AI technology and localization strategies. AI technology has enabled high-quality content production while reducing costs and production time. Additionally, localized stories that reflect the cultural characteristics of each country, along with strategic partnerships, have accelerated their entry into the global market. Lilshot has attracted consumer interest with its reasonable pricing policy and a diverse range of content genres. Typically, a series consists of 70 to 80 episodes, with the first 58 episodes available for free. Subsequent episodes are offered for a fee, with the total viewing cost around $30 (approximately 40,000 KRW). The average production cost per series is only around $300,000 (approximately 400 million KRW), making it a highly profitable model. ◆ K-Content Takes on the Short-Form Market K-Content, which enjoys strong recognition in the global market, has also ventured into the short-form drama market. Since the launch of South Korea's first short-form drama platform, 'TopReels,' in April last year, 'BeagleU' and Watcha's 'ShotCha' have also actively entered the short-form market. TopReels is operated by Fox Media, a subsidiary of the game distributor NeoRidge, and offers not only original dramas such as "My Revenge Partner" and "Acquired Four Men" but also Chinese short-form dramas. BeagleU is the first domestic short-form platform to enter the Japanese market, offering around 90 dramas in seven languages, including English, Japanese, and Chinese. Recently, it gained recognition for its growth potential by securing an investment of approximately 120 billion KRW from Krafton. In particular, ShotCha has attracted attention as Watcha was the first domestic OTT platform to step into the short-form drama market. TVing is also preparing to enter the market by planning original short-form dramas. However, the lack of independent platforms and limited experience in large-scale production are seen as major obstacles in the Korean short-form market. An industry expert positively assessed the potential of short-form dramas as a new growth driver for the Korean content industry, emphasizing, "Strengthening production capabilities through global collaboration and adopting a content strategy that highlights the unique appeal of short-form dramas are essential." ChatGPT를 사용하여 번역한 기사입니다.
