Korean Entertainment Leaders Identify Four Key Trends Shaping 2026: Short-Form, AI, OTT Consolidation, and Co-Productions

Still of ‘Hope' (provided by Plus M Entertainment

Korea's screen content industry enters 2026 in a state of sober self-reflection. In Cine21's annual entertainment industry outlook survey — now in its sixth year — 51 leaders from investment, distribution, production, and talent management companies have delivered a candid collective diagnosis: years of deepening recession have pushed the ecosystem to a structural turning point. Against that backdrop, the survey maps out four defining trends for the year ahead, alongside the titles and talents the industry is watching most closely.

Four Keywords: Short-Form, AI, OTT Consolidation, International Co-Productions

Short-form content appears on the radar for the third consecutive year, having graduated from experiment to established market. Dedicated short-form streaming platforms are proliferating beyond YouTube Shorts and TikTok, and major players traditionally rooted in theatrical distribution — including Showbox — are entering short-form drama production for the first time in 2026.

On AI, more than 90% of respondents described its adoption as either positive or inevitable. Usage now spans the full production pipeline: from early development — script review, world-building, story consistency checks — through to post-production work such as VFX, color grading, and sound mixing. With production costs at record highs, AI-driven budget optimization has emerged as the primary driver of adoption across both studio and independent productions.

OTT consolidation was met with widespread concern. As Netflix's dominance intensifies, domestic platforms Tving and Wavve are in merger talks, while Watcha pursues a management buyout through bankruptcy proceedings. Respondents warned of a narrowing field in which production companies are left dependent on a shrinking number of buyers — a dynamic expected to concentrate investment in safer, more conservative projects and further reduce mid-range content.

International co-production has shifted decisively from option to necessity. Over 90% of respondents said they had pursued or seriously considered co-production partnerships with overseas entities. With domestic market returns increasingly insufficient to offset rising production costs, cross-border collaboration is now widely viewed as the primary mechanism for risk distribution. Recent examples include Studio Dragon's Apple TV+ series The Big Door Prize (produced with Skydance Media) and a wave of Korea-Vietnam co-productions.

The Star Casting Paradox

One of the survey's sharpest structural insights concerns the unraveling of the star-casting formula. More than 90% of respondents agreed that top-tier casting no longer guarantees commercial success — citing the underperformance of high-profile 2025 titles including Disney+'s Polaris (Gang Dong-won, Jeon Ji-hyun) and Ask the Stars (Gong Hyo-jin, Lee Min-ho). Yet the same respondents acknowledged that without star names attached, securing investment and broadcast slots remains extremely difficult. The result is a structural trap: producers know the formula is broken, but lack the market conditions to move beyond it.

Names and Titles to Watch in 2026

Industry attention converges on a handful of key figures. Among directors, Na Hong-jin leads by a significant margin — cited by more than 30% of all respondents — as the most anticipated filmmaker of 2026. His upcoming film Hope, his first directorial work since The Wailing (2016), carries a reported production budget of approximately 50 billion KRW (roughly USD 36 million), the largest in Korean film history. The cast brings together Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Michael Fassbender, and Alicia Vikander, with a summer 2026 release targeted. Lee Chang-dong's Possible Love, which opts for a Netflix release alongside limited theatrical screenings, was flagged as a bellwether for the shifting relationship between streaming and cinema in Korea.

Among actors, Ko Yoon-jung ranked first among female performers. Following strong reception for her Netflix series Can This Love Be Translated? (2026), she is set to lead JTBC's upcoming drama Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness, written by acclaimed screenwriter Park Hae-young, and has also been confirmed for Disney+'s Moving Season 2. Koo Kyo-hwan took the top spot among male actors, riding the momentum of his romance film What If We — which surpassed two million admissions — with four additional lead projects lined up for release in 2026: Gunche, Find the King, Resurrected Man, and The Gardeners.

Outlook

The survey's broader message for international industry observers is that Korea's content market is undergoing a structural, not merely cyclical, reconfiguration. The industry's growing consensus — that story and IP quality, not star power, ultimately determines a project's fate — signals a reorientation of what overseas co-production partnerships will look like going forward. With demand for international collaboration at an all-time high among Korean producers, the conditions for engagement are arguably more favorable than ever for foreign distributors, financiers, and platforms looking to enter the market. How Hope performs at the domestic box office this summer may well set the tone for the industry's investment climate through the remainder of the year.

Sources

• Cine21, "2026 Entertainment Industry Outlook Report" (2026 Lunar New Year Special Issue), 2026.02.19