Netflix's subscriber in South Korea skyrocketed during the pandemic

Netflix saw a surge in the number of subscribers in South Korea last year. The increase occurred at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as lockdowns have been imposed.

Netflix’s new record in S. Korea

As per Yonhap News Agency, Netflix’s subscriptions in the region soared mainly due to the change in people’s habit of viewing. Their use of media and entertainment devices has become more intense since everyone is just staying at home and with nothing else to do.

The high record of subscribers was revealed on Feb. 15 by the market research group Nielsen Korea. The firm reported that the streaming giant’s Korean division gained more monthly unique visitors in November last year. This showed a surge of 54.2% compared to the January stats of that same year.

What’s more, Netflix Korea was said to be ranked second after YouTube in terms of frequency and number of users. To show the growth of the streaming site in S. Korea, it was disclosed that Netflix's total advertising expenses in the country shot up to KRW20.2 billion, which is around $18.33 million. This is a big improvement from KRW8.8 billion that was earned in 2019.

As Netflix takes advantage of the situation where families were forced to stay at home, it provided more videos for viewing. The demand for more shows also increases, which is a good sign for the company.

It should be noted that the country’s overall TV viewing grew by 48% because of the COVID-19 crisis. By age group, since younger generations are also at home now, viewers in their 20s and 30s have increased by 83.1%, and this is almost half of 2019’s record of only 46.9 percent.

Netflix’s earnings in S. Korea

Meanwhile, Pulse News reported that Netflix’s earnings in S. Korea have already reached $500 million. Users have paid the subscription rates using their credit card, and this proved that the streaming site successfully infiltrated the Korean TV market.

Finally, based on the retail data coming from WiseApp, the local credit and debit card payments for Netflix amounted to KRW517.3 billion or $469.5 million in 2020. This is a big jump from KRW248.3 million in 2019