[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has raised concerns that South Korea has no representation in the world’s top 50 global licensors, despite the worldwide popularity of Netflix’s animation K-Pop Demon Hunters (KDH).
According to the report Strategies for the Industrialization of Intellectual Property, the U.S. dominates with 32 global IPs, followed by Japan (7), while Korea has none. The economic value is substantial: Disney generated $62 billion from Mickey Mouse merchandise in 2023, and Japan’s Sanrio and The Pokémon Company posted billions in annual IP-driven sales.
KCCI stressed that although K-Pop Demon Hunters sparked global interest in Korean culture—from K-pop and K-food to landmarks and traditions—most of the revenue flowed to U.S. platforms and Japanese studios. This highlights Korea’s urgent need to create its own “super IPs” and capture value through domestic ownership and derivative products.
The report calls for a comprehensive national IP strategy, including the creation of an IP sovereignty fund to counter global OTT dominance, stronger support for overseas IP rights acquisition, and policies to nurture story-driven Korean IPs capable of competing globally.
알파경제 Paul Lee 특파원(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
