'Essence' takes center stage for K-content at Amorepacific's K-Culture Trend Forum

The 2025 K-Culture Trend Forum, hosted by the Amorepacific Foundation, held panels to discuss the shift in Korean dramas and films.

The 2025 K-Culture Trend Forum, hosted by the Amorepacific Foundation, was held at the Amorepacific headquarters in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [AMOREPACIFIC FOUNDATION]

With the rise of content platforms, audiences are now embracing a time-to-value mindset, prioritizing “viewing efficiency," according to content insiders, prompting creators to focus on the “essence” of their work.

“Not only the time spent watching content is important, but also the time invested in selecting and choosing content has become a crucial factor for viewers," MBC producer Ahn Soo-young said during a forum about K-culture trend held in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Thursday.

"In terms of viewer behavior, audiences once chose content based on cost efficiency, then shifted to prioritizing emotional value. Now, the focus has moved to time efficiency — a concept that resonates strongly with me," he added.

The annual 2025 K-Culture Trend Forum, hosted by the Amorepacific Foundation, was held at the Amorepacific headquarters in Yongsan District. The forum, marking its third edition this year, aims to review pop culture trends of the year and forecast future trends in the content industry.

MBC producer Ahn Soo-young speaks during the second session of 2025 K-Culture Trend Forum hosted by the Amorepacific Foundation and held at the Amorepacific headquarters in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [AMOREPACIFIC FOUNDATION]

A total of four sessions were held, touching on subjects like pop music, drama, variety shows, webtoons and films.

During the sessions, this year’s MVPs were also announced, including actor Kim Tae-ri receiving the honor in the drama category, Netflix’s "Culinary Class Wars" being recognized in the variety show category, and actor Hwang Jung-min named MVP in the film category.

The second session covered drama and variety shows, with Prof. Yun Suk-jin from Chungnam National University’s Department of Korean Language and Literature, producer Ahn, Lee Sang-baek, the CEO of production company Astory — behind the hit series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” (2022) — Hankyoreh reporter Nam Ji-eun and pop culture critic Kim Gyo-seok as panelists.

One of the most notable trends in both drama and variety shows this year was the creation and discovery of unique “characters,” according to the panel members.

Reporter Nam saw that crafting characters with solid traits and narratives is “ironically” a response to the challenges facing the industry, especially in the drama field.

Prof. Yun Suk-jin speaks during the second session of 2025 K-Culture Trend Forum hosted by the Amorepacific Foundation and held at the Amorepacific headquarters in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [AMOREPACIFIC FOUNDATION]

"After focusing on large-scale, high-budget projects like blockbusters, and eventually running out of money, there was a shift toward focusing more on the essence — such as themes, characters and content — rather than scale,” Nam said.

“This led to a deeper exploration of characters, a more diverse analysis of themes and the emergence of characters with strong gender sensitivity, as well as attempts to break conventional views of gender relations becoming more common. This resulted in works focusing on substance rather than appearance.”

For films, this year marked a period of “exploring new strategies” to overcome the challenges the film industry is facing, JoongAng Ilbo reporter Na Won-jeong said during the final session on films.

Na spoke alongside panelists Prof. Jeong Min-ah at Sungkyul University’s Department of Theatre & Film, Kim Won-kuk, the CEO of production company Hive Media Corp, film critic Lee Hyun-kyung and movie columnist Kim Hyung-seok.

Since the pandemic, Korea’s film industry has struggled to regain its audience. In response, it has explored a range of new approaches, creating this year’s trend of “turning everything into a film,” such as sports, K-pop, drama and even trot, according to the panel.

Na pointed out that this year, it became clear that "audiences were more driven by the content itself" rather than the timing of the film's premiere, with a diverse range of genres available, from occult horrors and thrillers to romance and animation.

As audiences increasingly adopt a content-focused mindset, the film industry — especially theaters — has shifted its approach this year, targeting specific audiences and catering to fandom-driven content to fill the seats in cinemas.

Movie columnist Kim Hyung-seok speaks during the last session of 2025 K-Culture Trend Forum hosted by the Amorepacific Foundation and held at the Amorepacific headquarters in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [AMOREPACIFIC FOUNDATION]

“As the cinema space has become increasingly flexible, the crossover phenomenon has become more pronounced,” movie columnist Kim Hyung-seok said, giving examples like theaters broadcasting the Korean Series for baseball fans and screening the last episode of tvN’s romantic comedy series “Lovely Runner.”

“[Following the attempt,] theaters have been planning to screen more films with a specific target or group audience.”

Despite these efforts, the film industry remains in an “ice age.” However, Hive Media Corp CEO Kim expressed positivity about Korean cinema next year, saying that “it has been proven recently that well-made films receive a strong response from the public and audiences.”

He added, “With the investment standards for Korean films rising, the hurdles have become higher. I believe this will drive greater efforts to create better works. In fact, I think this will make the future of Korean cinema even brighter in terms of its artistic achievements.”

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]