Journalist
Candice Kim, Lim Jaeho
candicekim1121@ajupress.com, ajupresswogh@ajupress.com
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Buldak dominates global hot-sauce shelves and fuels top line for Korean ramen maker SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - The Chinese have numbing-hot “mala,” the Mexicans have smoky “salsa,” and the Thai have sweet-spicy “sriracha.” But the enduring winner in the global chili-sauce canon is South Korea’s “buldak” — a magical blend of concentrated sweetness and addictive burn that has pushed its maker, Samyang Foods, to the top of the KOSPI’s food sector and made the stock almost unreachable for ordinary investors. The global phenomenon of Buldak Bokkeum Myun — Samyang’s iconic “Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen” — remains unstoppable, and so does its stock. Samyang Foods jumped 5 percent to 1,385,000 won ($1,010) on Monday after reporting stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings. Its ramen rival Nongshim, which gained 9 percent, still trades at one-third of Samyang’s valuation at 462,000 won. “I first tried Buldak back in 2015, and I still remember that shock of heat,” said Lee Yurim (31), an office worker in Seoul. “There was nothing like it back then. The flavor was so intense it hurt, but it was delicious. Ten years later, no other spicy noodle has come close. It’s that specific, fiery yet savory taste that keeps me coming back.” That same fire has now fueled Samyang Foods’ highest-ever quarterly earnings. The company posted 632 billion won ($460 million) in consolidated third-quarter sales, up 44 percent from a year earlier, and 131 billion won ($96 million) in operating profit — a 50 percent jump. Cumulative operating profit for the first nine months reached 385 billion won ($281 million), already surpassing last year’s total of 345 billion won. Overseas demand remains just as hot. Exports soared 50 percent to 510 billion won, accounting for 81 percent of total revenue, the highest share on record. Sales in the United States rose 59 percent to $112 million, while China logged a 56 percent increase to 951 million yuan ($131 million). Heartfelt response from the company to its sudden rise and fame also helped to sustain the brand's overseas popularity. “We’ve never started with marketing first,” the official said. “However, when something goes viral overseas, our marketing team reacts quickly and engages sincerely. For example, when a U.S. girl named Adalynn went viral on TikTok after crying with joy over receiving Buldak for her birthday, our team visited her home in a Buldak truck loaded with a year’s worth of Carbonara Buldak and threw her a surprise party.” The company also addressed the Denmark recall incident earlier this year, where regulators temporarily banned extra-spicy varieties over capsaicin concerns. “That wasn’t a marketing event — it became one naturally,” the official said. “After discussions with Danish authorities and Korea’s food regulator, the products were cleared and sales resumed. We view these moments as opportunities to communicate transparently and show that we take safety seriously.” Emotions aside, brokerages were eager to upgrade the stock. Yuanta Securities raised its target price for Samyang to 2 million won from 1.78 million won, maintaining a “buy” rating. “Even with expanded production at the Miryang plant, inventory declined — meaning demand is outpacing supply,” said Son Hyun-jung, analyst at Yuanta. “From the fourth quarter, we will start to see the impact of U.S. price hikes and higher Miryang utilization. We forecast 2025 revenue at 2.36 trillion won ($1.72 billion) and operating profit at 533 billion won ($389 million), up 37 and 55 percent year-on-year.” Korea Investment & Securities named Samyang its “top pick” in the food sector. “Samyang beat sales consensus by 6.6 percent despite tariff burdens,” said Kang Eun-ji, analyst at Korea Investment. “Tariff impacts will gradually ease through U.S. price adjustments, and American demand remains solid even after recent price increases.” She added that China sales climbed 60 percent to 189 billion won ($136 million), offsetting tariff pressure. At the core of the phenomenon is Buldak’s flavor formula — a calibrated mix of capsaicin heat, sweetness, and umami refined through years of in-house R&D. Although Samyang declined to disclose details, citing trade secrets, the company’s success lies in how the product balances pain and pleasure. The glossy, stir-fried texture and layered flavor made it ideal for the social-media era, fueling viral “spice-challenge” videos across TikTok and YouTube — with celebrity fans from British YouTuber Korean Englishman to rapper Cardi B. On whether the company had faced any supply bottlenecks amid the surging demand, the Samyang official said there were “brief moments earlier this year when orders piled up faster than production could keep pace.” “At the start of this year, we did experience some supply delays as demand spiked,” the official said. “We currently operate three factories in Korea — in Miryang, Iksan, and Wonju — with Miryang having two plants dedicated entirely to exports. We built the second Miryang plant anticipating continuous growth, but it quickly became clear that it might not be enough. So, about two to three months ago, we began constructing a new plant in Jiaxing, China, which will serve the domestic Chinese market by late 2026 or early 2027. This will free up Korean capacity for other global markets.” The brand’s explosive performance also coincides with a generational shift in leadership. Jeon Byung-woo, the 36-year-old third-generation heir, was promoted to Executive Director this month for driving Buldak’s international expansion and overseeing construction of the new Jiaxing, China factory. Jeon also led global marketing collaborations and product diversification, cementing Buldak’s place as a global megabrand. Analysts say Samyang has moved beyond simple volume growth toward structural transformation. “Strong sales despite expanded capacity show that global demand is still exceeding production,” said Son. “The company is now improving both sales efficiency and profitability.” With the Miryang No. 2 plant ramping up and the China factory set to begin operations in 2027, Samyang is poised to dominate ramen aisles — and hot-sauce shelves — worldwide for years to come. 2025-11-17 16:44:27 -
Samsung showcases AI-powered 6G communication in Silicon Valley SEOUL, November 14 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics on Friday hosted the Silicon Valley Future Wireless Summit 2025, showcasing its latest strides in artificial intelligence-driven communication systems and reaffirming its position at the forefront of next-generation 6G technology. The event drew more than 100 leaders from global telecom carriers, equipment manufacturers, government agencies, and academia. Samsung used the summit to present its advances in AI-native communication systems — technologies that integrate artificial intelligence directly into network infrastructure — and to demonstrate its AI-RAN (AI-based Radio Access Network) platform, which autonomously optimizes network performance using self-learning algorithms. The conference covered topics such as extended reality, sensing-communication convergence, AI-enabled wireless optimization, and predictive network maintenance, the company said. Jeong Jin-guk, executive vice president and head of Samsung's Advanced Communications Research Center, said the company aims to “maximize user experience and network efficiency by integrating AI into communication systems” and pledged to continue strengthening global partnerships to advance next-generation network technologies. 2025-11-14 16:53:40 -
Beloved bagel chain becomes flashpoint in Korea's labor reckoning SEOUL, November 14 (AJP) - On most mornings, the line outside London Bagel Museum used to stretch down the block, a testament to the artisanal bakery chain’s grip on South Korea’s cafe-obsessed culture. Now the street is quiet, its pause in foot traffic reflecting a deeper national unease. The sudden death of a 26-year-old employee at the chain has ignited a furious backlash over long-standing labor abuses in the country’s food and beverage sector, where exacting hours, precarious contracts and relentless customer demand have long been treated as the price of success. According to data released by the National Assembly, London Bagel Museum recorded 63 industrial accidents approved for state compensation between 2022 and September 2025 — more than far larger food conglomerates such as SPC Samlip. Labor authorities have begun expanding inspections across the chain’s affiliates, citing evidence of repeated violations. The victim, a young worker at one of the brand’s busiest locations, had reportedly logged up to 80 hours in the week before he died, with months of 58-hour averages preceding it. The company has denied wrongdoing, attributing discrepancies to “attendance system errors,” while declining to hand over full timecard records to investigators. Employees say the problem runs deeper. Workers have described signing one-month “split contracts” designed to evade overtime obligations and being ordered to publicly read written apologies during morning meetings for small mistakes — a form of humiliation management that labor organizers say is common in the franchise sector. The scandal has revived memories of earlier tragedies. In 2022, a young worker was killed in a mixing machine at an SPC Group factory, prompting promises of sweeping reforms and a pledge to spend 1 trillion won ($730 million) on safety upgrades. Another worker died less than a year later. Watchdog groups note that only 0.3 percent of the promised funds appear to have gone toward hiring safety personnel. Behind the recurring crises is a structural problem, experts say: the nation’s labor protections were designed for mid- and large-sized companies, not for the patchwork of tiny franchise units that dominate the booming F&B landscape. “The core problem is that Korea’s labor law focuses on regular employees in larger firms, while most franchises operate with fewer than five workers,” said Lee Joo-hee, a sociology professor at Ewha Womans University. “These workers — often young and temporary — end up excluded from even basic protections like limits on working hours.” Government data show F&B employees work an average of 50.2 hours a week, the highest of any service industry. More than one-third are part-time or irregular workers. Yet the domestic bakery market has continued to swell, reaching 8.4 trillion won ($6.3 billion) last year, fueled by demand for premium brands like London Bagel Museum and SPC’s La Granus. Labor activists say that unless the government addresses the proliferation of subcontracting, unstable employment arrangements and enforcement gaps, the tragedies will only continue. The Labor Ministry is now reviewing new regulations that would mandate direct employment and full disclosure of work-hour data across the industry. For now, the crowds have thinned, and the country’s most sought-after bagel shop has become an unsettling symbol of a deeper crisis. What once looked like a booming culinary success story is now a stark reminder of the workers who kept it running — and the system that failed them. 2025-11-14 16:28:48 -
Reality check for Korean divorces amid billionaire cases and romanticized shows SEOUL, November 13 (AJP) - Divorce is no longer a social taboo in traditionally conservative South Korea, with a steady stream of reality shows and court dramas themed around marital breakups — and real-life billion-dollar splits among chaebol families such as SK Group and Smilegate drawing intense public attention. But little about divorce is romantic for ordinary couples. Korea’s divorce rate stands at 2.1 per 1,000 people — roughly half the global average of four — yet litigation costs have soared and disputes have grown more combative as dependent spouses push for a bigger share of assets. The latest case to dominate headlines involves Smilegate founder and chairman Kwon Hyuk-bin, whose net worth is estimated at 8 trillion won ($5.8 billion). His wife is reportedly seeking half of Kwon’s full stake in the unlisted gaming company. “The divorce of the century” between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and his ex-wife Roh So-young also returned to the spotlight last month after the Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling ordering Chey to pay 1.38 trillion won ($1 billion). The eye-popping numbers have captivated the public, but family lawyers caution that these cases are outliers in a system where most settlements are far smaller — and where proving financial or domestic contribution remains notoriously difficult. “People see these chaebol divorces and assume they can claim half. We’re already seeing clients ask whether they too can receive this amount,” said Lee Eun-hae, a divorce attorney at VROIN Law Firm. “In reality, it’s very rare. Courts divide assets based on provable contribution — and if one spouse wasn’t engaged in income activities, a 50:50 split almost never happens.” Under Korean law, marital property is divided according to each spouse’s contribution to wealth accumulated during the marriage. Non-monetary efforts such as childcare and household labor are recognized but still undervalued in practice, Lee added. “For non-working spouses, it’s very hard to quantify household or emotional labor,” she said. “Most cases end around a 6:4 or 7:3 ratio, depending on the marriage length and whether there are children involved.” Although Korea’s official divorce rate has dipped in recent years, experts say the trend partly reflects delayed marriage registrations rather than fewer separations. Lawyers and sociologists note that younger couples are more pragmatic — marrying later, divorcing sooner, and often handling breakups discreetly without going through formal litigation. “Younger generations view divorce less as a stigma and more as an option,” Lee said. “Some couples even end their marriage quietly without going to court.” As wealth becomes increasingly concentrated, legal experts say Korea’s family-law framework must evolve to reflect modern partnerships — including fairer recognition of unpaid domestic work and clearer valuation standards in high-asset marriages. 2025-11-13 15:58:26 -
LG, Mercedes-Benz explore deeper 'One LG' partnership for next-gen car parts SEOUL, November 13 (AJP) - South Korea's electronics giant LG Group said Thursday that it discussed expanding its “One LG” partnership with Mercedes-Benz, aligning its affiliates’ combined auto-parts capabilities for next-generation electric and software-defined vehicles. The meeting at LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul, coincided with the visit of Ola Källenius, chairman and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group. Executives from LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Energy Solution and LG Innotek attended to review collaboration in EV components, batteries, vehicle displays, and autonomous-driving sensors. Under the “One LG” initiative, the four affiliates aim to provide integrated parts solutions combining infotainment systems, curved OLED displays, battery cells, and sensing modules. LG Electronics and Mercedes-Benz have already co-developed the panoramic OLED infotainment display used in the EQS model. LG Display has supplied plastic-based P-OLED panels for Mercedes-Benz’s MBUX Hyperscreen, while LG Energy Solution remains a key battery partner. LG Innotek is exploring cooperation in LiDAR and radar modules. Källenius said Mercedes-Benz and LG “share a vision of innovation, quality and sustainability, combining our strengths to set new standards for the global auto industry.” LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan said the company would “further strengthen its strategic partnership with Mercedes-Benz based on its SDV solutions and proven technology.” 2025-11-13 15:09:33 -
Samsung expands Galaxy XR use to corporate training, moving beyond gaming and entertainment SEOUL, November 12 (AJP) - Samsung is taking its extended reality (XR) headset beyond gaming and entertainment, introducing immersive corporate training programs that blend artificial intelligence with XR through its “Galaxy XR” device. Starting this month, Samsung Human Resources Development Center began using the Galaxy XR for employee education programs, covering meditation, company history, leadership, language, and debate sessions. About 20,000 employees—from new recruits to executives—will undergo training using the headset annually. The Galaxy XR, which Samsung co-developed with Google and Qualcomm and released in October, runs on the Android XR platform. It enables users to interact with 3D environments through voice, gaze, and gestures, allowing them to simulate presentations, hold meetings, or revisit historical milestones such as the founding of Samsung in 1938. Samsung first hinted at broader ambitions for XR at its October launch event, saying the device could go beyond gaming to include sports experiences, industrial simulations, and medical or educational applications. The company also highlighted its potential in B2B services—such as training workers for hazardous sites or conducting medical education in controlled virtual settings—reflecting the group’s long-term strategy to build an ecosystem around spatial computing. Through the AI-powered system, participants can receive real-time, personalized feedback from virtual avatars and repeat exercises in realistic environments without the pressure of live evaluation. The XR-based training is designed to increase engagement and overcome the limitations of conventional classroom learning. Samsung said it will continue working with experts and develop new content optimized for next-generation XR devices. The company aims to integrate feedback from trainees and expand AI-XR education into additional fields in partnership with Samsung Electronics. 2025-11-12 15:47:51 -
Wedding costs fully disclosed in Korea as marriage aversion among 30s deepens SEOUL, November 12 (AJP) - Bulging wedding costs stand as a growing reason for South Koreans in their late 20s and 30s to put off tying the knot, deepening the country’s demographic woes and prompting antitrust authorities to enforce full disclosure on wedding charges. Starting Wednesday, wedding service providers in South Korea — including studios, dress rental shops and makeup salons — must disclose all pricing terms, including refund policies, before signing any contracts. Responding to mounting complaints about sticker shock in the country’s notoriously expensive and opaque wedding procedures, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced revisions to the Mandatory Disclosure Regulation for Key Advertising and Pricing Information. All wedding-related businesses, from venues and planners to photo studios, must now post prices for base packages, optional add-ons, cancellation penalties and refund terms on their official websites or on the state-run Price Information Portal (price.go.kr). Violations can result in administrative fines of up to 100 million won ($73,000), with a six-month grace period before full enforcement begins. Weddings have increasingly turned into a luxury — and a reason many couples skip the ceremonial procedure or forgo marriage altogether. A 2025 survey by the Korea Population, Health and Welfare Association found that 42 percent of unmarried Koreans have “no plans to marry,” with one in four citing financial burden as the main reason. Including housing, the average cost of marriage now exceeds 360 million won ($266,000), while a single wedding ceremony in Seoul costs about 26.6 million won ($19,600) on average. According to the latest data from the Korea Consumer Agency, the cost of a wedding in the affluent Gangnam district averaged 33.36 million won as of June, compared with the nationwide average of 20.74 million won. The figure covers the wedding hall fee and the bundled package of photography, dress rental and makeup. A separate survey by matchmaking firm Gayeon placed the average cost of the bundled package alone at 4.79 million won. Consumer complaints filed with the Korea Consumer Agency jumped 63 percent between 2021 and 2023. Korea’s long-standing “showcase wedding” culture — where families compete to stage lavish ceremonies and photo shoots — has fanned wedding inflation and forced many to swallow the extra burden to avoid ruining one of the biggest days of their lives. Couples say the new rule could correct the exploitative nature of the market. Kim Ga-hyun (30), who is preparing for marriage, said financial stress often leads to conflict among families and fights between couples. “Wedding costs keep snowballing and cause arguments,” she said. “Knowing prices upfront can be helpful since we at least know what we’re getting into.” Eunhye Lee, director at the Korea Wedding Planners Association, said the policy will bring mixed results for the industry. “From a consulting perspective, price disclosure actually makes it easier for us to explain total package costs to clients,” she said. “But many vendors are hesitant because each service combines both product and quality, so it’s difficult to set a uniform standard.” Still, the move is welcomed by consumers. Seoul resident Kim Kyu-bin (29), who married in 2023, regrets the rule came too late. “The extra bill arrived only after I fell in love with a dress. Knowing the price ahead would help plan the wedding more realistically.” How pricing disclosure will help rationalize costs, contain inflation, or even bolster the country’s record-low marriage rate — 3.8 per 1,000 people — remains to be seen. 2025-11-12 15:41:08 -
AI detectors questioned for efficacy while Korean universities wrestle with AI use SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - South Korean universities and companies are increasingly adopting detecting tools to identify AI cheats to prevent foul plays in admissions and evaluations, especially after the large-scale AI-employed test cheating that recently disgraced one of the country’s top elite universities — but many find the services largely lacking. Tools are used randomly and trusted blindly, while most universities have yet to reach any consensus on AI usage for class materials and evaluations. For job seekers, the consequences can be personal and severe. Kim Ye-ji (28), a job applicant in Seoul, said she feared being unfairly screened out after spending nights perfecting her self-introduction essay. “I can’t imagine how frustrating it would be if the AI detector labeled my own writing as machine-written,” she said. “It’s already hard enough to get a few big-company interview chances — losing one that way would feel devastating.” According to a survey by Incruit, 27.5 percent of companies already screen for AI-assisted writing in self-introduction letters, though few verify detection results before disqualifying applicants. Similar tools are now used across college assignments and corporate reports. At the same time, AI-driven cheating is spreading faster than detection technology can keep up. The number of remote and large-scale lectures in major universities has surged since the pandemic, creating blind spots in monitoring. At Yonsei University, the number of large classes with more than 200 students rose from 75 in 2020 to 104 last year, while online courses jumped from 34 in 2023 to 321 this semester, according to public education data. Professors say the rapid rise in online lectures and corporate remote interviews has created an environment ripe for AI misuse — but current detection tools remain inconsistent and poorly integrated into learning systems. “AI detectors can often identify which model — whether GPT, Gemini or Claude — generated the text, since each has distinct patterns,” said Billy Choi, professor at Korea University’s AI Research Institute. “But once a human edits the content, those patterns collapse, and that’s when detection errors occur.” He added that improving such tools is “technically simple but financially demanding,” requiring additional training data and costly fine-tuning by developers. At universities, the debate is shifting from “whether to use AI” to “how to use it meaningfully.” “AI tools are not impossible to ban completely,” said Jin Lee, professor of cultural content studies at Hanyang University. “Instead of policing students for using AI, professors need to rethink how assignments are designed — focusing on how meaning is created through AI use, not just whether it was used.” Lee added that the ethical burden of detecting AI use can no longer fall solely on students. “We can’t 100 percent verify if something was written by AI, and questioning students based on suspicion alone is meaningless,” she said. “The conversation should move toward helping students use AI responsibly while developing their own voices.” Universities such as Yonsei and Korea University have issued internal guidelines urging faculty not to grade students solely based on detector results. Others are exploring hybrid evaluation systems — combining oral defenses, peer review, and in-class writing — to balance technology with fairness. Still, pressure to detect AI-generated content continues to mount as academic-integrity concerns rise worldwide. In the United States and Europe, several institutions have already limited use of detection tools such as ZeroGPT and Turnitin due to accuracy concerns. 2025-11-11 17:35:38 -
Korea's National Dance Company "Double Bill" blends the worlds of discipline and freedom SEOUL, November 10 (AJP) - What looks like total chaos — fourteen dancers leaping, crawling, and tossing one another in midair amid tightly arranged metal tables — is, in fact, a work of meticulous control. A single misstep could mean a ruined sequence or even a serious injury. Discipline is the axis of American choreographer William Forsythe’s “One Flat Thing, Reproduced.” The tables impose strict rules: confined space, exact timing, predetermined pathways. The dancers must sense one another with the precision of orchestra players, never missing a cue. “Choreography,” Forsythe once said, “is not the same as dance. It is the architecture of the desire to dance.” That philosophy surfaced in every moment — a balance of control and risk, rule and release. Within its rigidity, the work radiated beauty, revealing how the body seeks freedom even inside the tightest constraints. It showed how far movement can reach within limits, how precision and trust can generate their own kind of emotion. When the lights rose again, the stage transformed for Kim Sungyong’s “Crawl,” a work built around the opposite idea: freedom. Open space replaced the rows of tables. Rolling and flexing bodies moved with a breath-like rhythm, expanding and contracting as if discovering the stage anew. Created through Kim’s collaborative method, Process Init, the piece emerged not from instruction but from improvisation. “Sometimes the process felt like walking backward,” Kim said. “But through those pauses and restarts, the work found its own direction.” He fed the dancers simple cues — “heat,” “patience,” “silence” — allowing movement to grow from sensation rather than steps. The result felt spontaneous yet interconnected, a choreography that wrote itself in real time. Audience member Lee Hae-rin, 27, captured the contrast. “Forsythe’s piece felt like every second mattered — like watching precision under pressure. But Crawl was completely different. It felt fluid.” Together, the two works delivered a message that dance does not need to be explained through theory. It can simply display what the body can do — how rules strengthen it, how freedom exposes emotion — leaving room for each viewer’s own interpretation. According to the National Dance Company, about 1,600 people attended the two-day run, a strong turnout for the National Theater. “The contrast between the two pieces was what audiences talked about most,” an official said. “Forsythe is a name you usually see in history books, and this was the first time ‘One Flat Thing, Reproduced’ was performed by Korean dancers — that alone made it special.” For the National Dance Company of Korea, the program was more than a pairing of two works. It demonstrated how discipline and freedom — seemingly opposite forces — can meet onstage and speak the same language. 2025-11-10 19:17:00 -
Behind the buzz over K-Pop Demon Hunters, K-contents score meagerly this year SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Korean contents have enjoyed spectacular global exposure this year through major streaming platforms, but without the halo of K-Pop Demon Hunters — the rare breakout that dominated global charts — the industry can hardly claim meaningful wins amid a dearth of blockbuster titles, mounting production costs, and waning originality. The third-quarter results of CJ ENM, Korea’s largest entertainment and media group, offer a glimpse into this year’s K-drama performance. On Thursday, the company reported consolidated revenue of 1.12 trillion won ($830 million) and a modest operating profit of 17.6 billion won for the July–September period. Its media platform unit logged an operating loss of 3.3 billion won. The film and drama division returned to the black with a profit of 6.8 billion won, helped largely by additional distribution in Latin America and the Middle East. Industry data show that while Korean IP remakes overseas continue to grow — from 22 in 2020 to nearly 40 this year — profitability has narrowed as production budgets balloon and domestic platforms rely more heavily on global OTT partnerships. According to the Bank of Korea, the nation’s royalties balance swung to a deficit of $8.5 billion in September from $0.6 billion in August, reflecting rising payments for foreign IP. On the small screen, the pipeline has been thin and underwhelming. Average TV ratings for Studio Dragon — the flagship behind Queen of Tears and Castaway Diva — fell to 7.5 percent from 9.3 percent in 2023. The number of new titles achieving double-digit viewership dropped from six to three. The studio produced 19 new dramas this year, down from 31 last year and 28 in 2023. “On the surface, K-content still looks strong, but from an industrial standpoint the creative pipeline has weakened,” said Jin Lee, professor of cultural content studies at Hanyang University. “Korean studios are shifting toward co-productions with global OTTs, which help overseas expansion but reduce creative control and profit margins.” TVING, CJ ENM’s streaming arm, saw monthly active users rise 8.6 percent year on year, but its domestic market share remains below 10 percent — far behind Netflix’s 45 percent. “Consumers now watch what they want and leave,” Lee added. “For Korean platforms, sustaining loyalty and cumulative growth has become extremely difficult.” CJ ENM’s film business showed a similar pattern. Among roughly 24 theatrical releases between 2023 and 2024, only eight broke even. Mid-budget films such as Exhuma and The Escape significantly outperformed expectations. Film revenue rose 12 percent on year to 372.8 billion won, but operating margins narrowed to 1.8 percent from 3.2 percent a year earlier. Across the broader market, Korean films attracted 71 million theatergoers in 2024 — up 18 percent on year but still 46 percent below pre-COVID levels. Average terrestrial drama ratings fell to 6.7 percent this year from 8.2 percent in 2023, while cable shows excluding Queen of Tears averaged 4.9 percent, the lowest since 2020. Industry watchers cite complacency and idea fatigue for the slowdown. “Historical or fantasy series are considered safe because they ‘look Korean,’ but over-repetition risks a creativity deficit,” Lee said. CJ ENM said it will continue to deepen partnerships with global media groups while improving returns on content investment. A company official said it aims to “expand global influence through strategic collaboration” and enhance profitability across its content and platform businesses. 2025-11-07 14:31:06