Many assistant writers are out of work, while experienced production staff are leaving a field where they can no longer use skills built over years, industry representatives said.
The groups attribute the strain to rising costs amid competition from well-funded global streaming platforms, weaker investment capacity at domestic broadcasters and difficulty securing intellectual property rights. They say advertising income no longer covers the cost of making dramas.
K-dramas had become a global success, with Hallyu-related exports reaching $18.975 billion in 2025. That total included $8.788 billion in consumer goods and tourism exports, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange.
Production reached 141 titles in 2022 as well-funded global streaming platforms entered the market.
Costs then climbed sharply. The Korea Drama Production Association said the average episode cost about ₩1 billion in 2024 and could cost up to ₩2 billion. Dramas costing around ₩600 million an episode in 2020 were costing ₩3.5–4 billion by 2024.
Output fell about 30 per cent from 141 titles in 2022. Three domestic broadcast networks reduced their drama output from 91 titles in 2012 to 32 in 2023, and some channels stopped showing weekday dramas altogether.
Studio Dragon made 19 dramas in 2025, 42% fewer than the 33 it made in 2022. Its revenue declined from ₩753.1 billion in 2023 to ₩550.1 billion in 2024 (−27.0%), then to ₩530.7 billion in 2025 (−3.5%).
As of January 2024, nearly 20 completed dramas were waiting to be broadcast, tying up about ₩300 billion, the production association said.
Against that backdrop, representatives of twelve organisations gathered at 11am on the 4th in the press conference room on the 19th floor of the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Their event was titled “Joint Press Conference to Overcome the Crisis in the K-Drama Industry”.
The organisations included the Korea Drama Production Association, the Korea Drama Producers Association and the Korea Broadcasting Writers Association. Together, the twelve groups represent drama producers, directors, writers, actors, cinematographers and crew.
They urged the government on Wednesday to support Korean television drama production, warning that the country’s production base risked collapse. They also asked the government and the National Assembly for a medium- and long-term investment and support system worth 1 trillion won.
Song Byung-jun, head of the Korea Drama Production Association, said the decision by organisations that had sometimes held different positions to speak together showed the urgency of the moment. He said the industry should prepare for the next ten years of K-dramas.
Park Hae-young, the writer of My Mister and My Liberation Notes and head of the Korea Broadcasting Writers Association’s copyright committee, pointed to unemployed assistant writers struggling to find work.
Kim Tae-bong, head of the Korea Broadcasting Cinematographers Association, said the decline in output was driving trained staff from the industry. The groups said lower production removes jobs and creative opportunities, while the loss of skilled people and teams further weakens overall capacity.
Kim Jong-chang, president of the Korea Drama PD Association, said the industry did not need to fear changes in the broadcasting environment or seek a return to the past. He called on the government to provide support, arguing that dramas have value as a public good as well as an industry.
Bae Dae-sik, secretary-general of the Korea Drama Production Association, said annual government support of 200 billion Korean won over five years could allow production of around 40 additional mid- to low-budget dramas, each worth 10 billion Korean won.
The call for investment comes as the government’s 2027 budget proposal reduces the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s broadcasting and video budget by 4.5 billion won, from 91.8 billion won to 87.3 billion won.
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