Netflix Vs. Disney Plus: Is Disney Plus Surpassing Netflix In The K-Drama Market? A Close Look At The Current Landscape & Fans’ Opinions

Netflix vs. Disney Plus is a question that is on many K-Drama fan's minds. Over the years, Netflix has undoubtedly established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the K-Content industry. With enormous budgets, the biggest stars, and world-class teams, Netflix original K-Dramas have long been the blueprint, the standard of quality. However, things are changing. There’s a new player in the game, and it may already be surpassing Netflix when it comes to K-Dramas. We’re talking, of course, about Disney Plus, the latest OTT power player in the K-Drama original market, and Disney Plus is coming for the throne. Netflix's First Foray Into Original K-Dramas Netflix Netflix’s first step into the world of original K-Dramas came in 2019 with “Kingdom” - the webtoon-based K-Drama that took the world by storm. Starring Hallyu’s best - Ju JiHoon, Bae DooNa, Ryu SeungRyong, and more, the first season of “Kingdom” was a cultural reset, to say the least, bringing fresh impetus to the K-Zombie trend. At this point, Netflix had already established itself as a go-to platform for K-Dramas, constantly expanding its catalog of acquired titles available for streaming worldwide. From old classics to the new and trendy, Netflix was responding to the demand of international fans, thereby not only targeting the up-and-coming Hallyu audience but also amplifying it, effectively globalizing K-Dramas even further. With Netflix becoming a reliable streaming source of all your favorite K-Dramas, it was but natural that their first original K-Drama would be met with keen interest from global fans. It certainly helped that the original webtoon already had an established fanbase who tuned in, but in all earnest, “Kingdom” was a fantastic first step into Korean originals for Netflix. Netflix's Big Hit Netflix At the time of its airing, “Kingdom” quickly became one of the most critically acclaimed TV shows worldwide. It was also highly rated, with an average audience score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing. With season 2, this score went up to 95%. Now, not only did “Kingdom” appeal to the existing K-Drama audience, but it was also a global phenomenon that changed the course and perception of K-Dramas among a wider audience, including non-fans. The popularity of “Kingdom” was succeeded by several other original titles that impressed viewers, such as “Sweet Home” and “D.P.” but what truly put Korean Netflix originals on the map was “Squid Game” in 2021 - the same year that Disney Plus launched in South Korea. In the truest sense of the word, “Squid Game” went global, garnering attention from the remotest corners of the world, even from those who had never even heard of Korean dramas before. This was a critical moment for the K-Drama industry because now, expectations were higher than ever and attention was focused like never before. Naturally, in 2021, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, OTT platforms were racing to invest in Korean content, hoping to replicate the momentous success of “Squid Game”. It’s not surprising, therefore, that Disney Plus wasn’t planning on falling behind. Disney Plus Enters The K-Drama Game JTBC First, Disney+ brought on board highly anticipated titles like “Snowdrop” in an attempt to gather an audience banking on the popularity of superstars like BLACKPINK’s JiSoo and Jung HaeIn and slowly eased its way into originals, starting with “Rookie Cops” in 2022. However, it didn’t make much of a stir despite being popular among dedicated fans. “Rookie Cops” was followed up by shows like “Grid”, “Soundtrack #1”, “Kiss Sixth Sense”, and so on. Once again, while they were considerably successful among K-Drama fans, it wasn’t quite revolutionary. What was even more disappointing was that these K-Dramas were not available for streaming globally, even if it was a region where Disney Plus had already launched its services. In areas where it was streaming, the difference in airing dates drew criticism. Fans were miffed at the discrepancy, which made them turn away from Disney Plus and, by virtue of comparison, prefer Netflix. At this time, Netflix continued its streak of success with highly innovative shows like “Hellbound”, “All Of Us Are Dead” and “The Glory”, which brought novelty and excellence to the table, sans compromise. Such K-Dramas enjoyed viral success consistently, making Netflix an invincible opponent in the K-Drama market. The streaming giant went a step further by committing a staggering 2.5 billion USD investment into Korean content in 2023, a testament to their strong belief in the outstanding storytelling prowess of South Korea. Disney Plus' Big Hit Disney Plus Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Disney Plus was working on their tentpole original production - “Moving”, which was announced back in 2021. The budget for this series was estimated at 50–65 billion KRW or roughly 45 million USD. “Moving” premiered on Disney+ on August 9, 2023, and within 7 days, became the most viewed Korean original series on a global scale for Disney+ and on Hulu in the United States, determined by the total hours streamed. The star-studded masterpiece, based on Kang Full’s webtoon of the same name, won several awards and accolades, marking a turning point for Disney Plus. Quality and hype naturally attracted a global audience, and “Moving” was named by many as the best K-Drama of 2023. On Rotten Tomatoes, “Moving” achieved an audience score of 97%, a huge jump from “Squid Game”, which earned an average audience score of 80% and slightly above “The Glory”, which has 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. As news of the widespread acclaim and exceptional quality of "Moving" permeated the K-Drama community worldwide, fans increasingly embraced the idea of exploring Disney Plus, and their initial skepticism turned into pleasant surprise upon discovering the platform's compelling collection of original K-Dramas. Disney Plus Addresses A Market Gap Kpopmap Interestingly, it was around when "Moving" started blowing up that Netflix witnessed a decline in audience favor. “The Glory” (Part 1 released on December 30, 2022, and Part 2 on March 10, 2023) was the latest K-Drama to rank 1st on Netflix’s global chart of the most-viewed TV shows on the platform. Of course, there were high-quality Netflix original K-Dramas that achieved considerable success in 2023, such as “Bloodhounds”, “Black Knight”, “Mask Girl”, “Doona!” and “Gyeongseong Creature”, but neither was able to beat “The Glory” throughout 2023, which could not have been good news for Netflix. In the absence of a massive hit from Netflix, Disney Plus swooped in to captivate audiences with offbeat, experimental works like “The Worst Of Evil”, “Vigilante”, and, most recently, “A Shop For Killers”. Indeed, while neither of these K-Dramas reached the meteoric success of "Squid Game", “The Glory”, or "Moving," (yet), they effectively garnered a dedicated fanbase with trust in the platform, which contributed to a more positive perception of Disney Plus. Then, Is Disney Plus A Better Alternative To Netflix? Now, Disney Plus K-Dramas have become synonymous with high-quality and compelling storytelling, with terms like "underhyped" being employed to characterize them. This subtle yet noteworthy transformation holds particular significance, especially in the early stages of Disney Plus' journey. One might even compare this to Netflix’s nascent days after the release of “Kingdom”. It is worth noting, though, that much of this fan appreciation is based on promise. Disney Plus’ current lineup of original K-Dramas promises an impressive future. Disney Plus is only starting to establish its track record, so K-Drama fans are looking forward to what the platform may have in store for them next. However, they are not considering Disney Plus as a total alternative to Netflix yet. There are many reasons why this is the case. In addition to the limited catalog of Disney Plus Korean originals at the moment, given that it got its start later than Netflix, some fans are also expressing concerns about Disney Plus' promotional strategies for its originals, citing a lack of comprehensive bonus content compared to Netflix. The marked disregard for a global approach to promotion also seems to disappoint fans. X As a result, many K-Drama fans go as far as to assert that if a Disney Plus original had premiered on Netflix instead, it would have undoubtedly garnered a broader audience and achieved greater global popularity. Thus, the undeniable reach of Netflix remains a significant factor in this context as fans aren’t simply satisfied with the high quality of K-Dramas but rather, in true K-Fandom fashion, are motivated by the actors, their favorite celebrities, being acknowledged for their fantastic work and getting the recognition they deserve. This is an inherently unique quality of the K-Drama fandom and cannot be ignored. So, has Disney Plus really surpassed Netflix in the K-Drama market? It is difficult to say right now, given that Disney Plus’ output of original K-Dramas is not nearly as prolific as Netflix's yet. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that Disney Plus is poised to present formidable competition to Netflix, steadily establishing its reputation among dedicated K-Drama enthusiasts.