WelCon Well-made K-Content

K-Drama Gains Ground in the Middle East — A New Market With Proven Demand

  • Type

    Market Issue

  • Genre

    Broadcasting

Detail

Global entertainment and media revenue is projected to grow only 3.7% a year through 2029. Growth is shifting toward emerging markets, with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye among the fastest-expanding globally. Growth alone, however, does not make a market worth entering. What sets the region apart is that demand for Korean drama is already evident: it is the most widely experienced Korean content category, and in Saudi Arabia the one most often seen as mainstream. For buyers the open question is no longer whether K-drama travels to the region — it is how it is delivered once it arrives.

 

00. Why It Matters, Summary, Key Implication

01. Where E&M Growth Is Shifting — Türkiye and the Gulf Lead
02. Gulf Audiences Already Place Drama at the Top
03. K-Drama Demand Extends Beyond the Screen
04. Language, Not Story, Is Where Viewers Drop Off
05. Business Insights
 

Sources:

  • PwC and Omdia, Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2025–2029 
  • KOFICE, 2026 Overseas Hallyu Survey (Middle East)