“What is Korean is global.” Amidst significant global interest in K-content, the global streaming service Disney+ is also stepping up to capture the hearts of global viewers with new original content.
However, the ‘mountain’ to overcome is quite steep. Internally, it must demonstrate resilience in competition with Netflix, which has already secured a leading position in the domestic OTT market through content enhancement, and externally, it faces the challenge of the ‘personal life risks’ of lead actors.
On the morning of the 23rd, at the Walt Disney Company Korea headquarters in the Gangnam Finance Center building in Seoul, Choi Yeon-woo, head of local content at Walt Disney Company Korea, announced the ‘2025-2026 Disney+ Korean Content Lineup’ during the ‘Disney+ Open House’ event, presenting future directions.
Entering its fourth year this year, Disney+ has proven its status as a global platform with the success of ‘Casino’ in 2022, and continues to receive love with ‘Moving’ in 2023 and ‘Killer’s Shopping Mall’ and ‘Lighting Store’ in 2024.
To sustain the momentum of K-content, Choi Yeon-woo identified keywords for Disney+’s future content strategy and direction in the Korean market as ‘Tentpole’, ‘Carefully Selected Selection’, ‘Franchise Series’, and ‘New Opportunities’. He explained, “We are prioritizing the planning of large-scale tentpole content that features solid narratives and high-quality production with top-tier actors and crews. Additionally, to complement the shortcomings of tentpole content, we aim to expand our portfolio through a diverse range of genres, stories, and formats.”
Yoo Jeong-hoon, CEO of Merry Christmas, the production company behind ‘Killer’s Shopping Mall’, evaluated that the boundaries of film series have collapsed since the OTT market has been activated. He stated, “One of the reasons why Korean content is gaining global attention through global platforms is the power of dense stories involving characters and narratives. However, we need to consider whether we can continue to attract global interest with these elements,” and added, “The focus now should be on the ‘universe’. Until now, we have concentrated on the growth and awakening of events or characters and their adventures, but I think we need to consider the ‘universe’ aspect from the design stage of a single piece of content. We should prepare universe-centered content that can be enjoyed from various angles. ‘Killer’s Shopping Mall’ was also produced with this in mind. Rather than seeking new stories every time, I believe that the expansion of the universe aligns with global trends.”
Kim Won-guk, CEO of Made in Korea, also resonated with the ‘expansion of the universe’, stating, “I believe that if we create content that can succeed in Korea, it can also thrive globally. Along with this, we are considering production focused on the expansion of the universe through series and spin-offs.”
Yoo Jeong-hoon emphasized that the speed of content consumption has become important alongside changes in consumption patterns. He noted, “The change in content consumption has shifted to ‘Fast Consumer’ and ‘On-demand’,” and added, “OTT sufficiently meets the ‘on-demand’ needs. Nowadays, rather than elaborating on every detail, I think we need to focus on speed and omit unnecessary explanations. We need methods to move forward quickly rather than reverting to old ways of speaking. While tentpole content is good, it is equally important to discover new directors and actors.”
Kim Won-guk, who boasted about the ‘K-content effect’ amid high interest in K-culture abroad, stated, “When I go abroad, there is interest not only in K-POP but also in K-food. I believe this is largely due to the influence of content delivered through global platforms. I hope that K-content can gain more power worldwide, and that production companies can collaborate to create wonderful projects together.”
The ‘expandable storytelling’ that Disney is known for is also presented as a direction that Disney+ will pursue in the future. Choi Yeon-woo added, “We aim to develop Korean content with global franchise potential through collaboration with domestic production companies and creators. Along with this, we want to provide ‘newness’ by expanding experiments with new formats of content that reflect changes in viewer consumption patterns and preferences,” revealing a commitment to continuous investment for the activation of the creative ecosystem.
Accordingly, the lineup for Disney+ to be released in the second half of 2025 includes ‘Fine: Country Bumpkins’ starring Ryu Se-ryong, Yang Se-jong, and Lim Soo-jung, ‘Polaris’ starring Jeon Ji-hyun and Kang Dong-won, ‘Tangled’ starring Shin Ye-eun, Park Seo-ham, and Park Ji-hwan, ‘Fragmented City’ starring Ji Chang-wook and Do Kyung-soo, and ‘Made in Korea’ featuring Hyun Bin and Jung Woo-sung. Additionally, the lineup for 2026 includes ‘Bewitched’, which has already garnered significant attention with the collaboration of director Han Jae-rim and actors Suzy and Kim Sun-ho, and the survival entertainment content ‘Fate Teller’, which will be presented by Disney+ after a long time.
While various works are being prepared to meet global viewers, the highly anticipated ‘Knock Off’, which was once considered the top project for 2025, was nowhere to be found. ‘Knock Off’ was a blockbuster project with a total production cost of 60 billion won, but its release has been indefinitely postponed due to personal life controversies surrounding Kim Soo-hyun. There are reports that discussions regarding penalty issues due to production delays are also being held internally among the production team.
Between release and penalties. Amidst significant interest in ‘Knock Off’, Disney+’s response remains, “After careful internal review, we have decided to withhold the release. Beyond that, it is difficult to provide any further comments.”
The issue is not limited to ‘Knock Off’. ‘Made in Korea’ also became embroiled in a ‘scandal of extramarital child’ when it was revealed that lead actor Jung Woo-sung is the biological father of a son born to 16 years younger model Moon Ga-bi. Jung Woo-sung’s agency, Artist Company, stated, “The child revealed by Ms. Moon Ga-bi on social media is indeed Jung Woo-sung’s biological child,” and added, “We are discussing the best way to raise the child and will take full responsibility as a father.” However, the already deteriorated public opinion could not be reversed.
After the personal life controversy, he has effectively suspended his activities, and ‘Made in Korea’, in which he appeared, is set to be released in the second half of this year. Questions arose regarding the ‘risk of actor’s personal life controversy’, but Disney+ also avoided direct answers, stating, “It is a part that is difficult to respond to.”
[Geum Bit-na, MK Sports Reporter]
