South Korea's content industry demonstrated resilience and continued expansion during the first quarter of the year, posting a 2.7 percent growth rate driven primarily by exceptional performance in the music and animation sectors. The industry's robust performance reflects the ongoing global appeal of Korean cultural content and the nation's strengthening position in the international entertainment market.
According to a comprehensive quarterly report released by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), the content industry generated total sales of 38 trillion won (approximately $27.2 billion) during the January-March period. This figure represents a significant increase from the previous year's 37 trillion won, highlighting the sector's consistent upward trajectory despite challenging global economic conditions.
The information technology sector emerged as the clear leader in terms of sales volume, generating 6.39 trillion won and accounting for 16.8 percent of the industry's total revenue. The publishing sector secured the second position with 6.1 trillion won in sales, while the gaming industry contributed 5.8 trillion won to the overall figures. These three sectors combined represent a substantial portion of South Korea's content industry ecosystem.
The music sector delivered the most impressive performance of the quarter, experiencing explosive growth of 41.2 percent year-over-year to reach 3.6 trillion won in sales. This remarkable surge reflects the continued global popularity of K-pop and Korean music artists on international stages. The animation sector also showed strong momentum, recording a healthy 16.5 percent increase to achieve 289.6 billion won in quarterly sales.
However, not all sectors within the content industry experienced positive growth during the first quarter. The film sector faced challenges, with quarterly sales declining by 9.8 percent year-over-year to 1.3 trillion won. Similarly, the gaming sector saw an 8.3 percent decrease in sales, while broadcasting revenues fell by 6.2 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.
The KOCCA report also highlighted South Korea's expanding influence in global content markets, with the country exporting $3.1 billion worth of content during the first quarter. This export performance was fueled by increasing international demand for Korean television programming and music content across various global markets.
Overseas sales of Korean television content experienced extraordinary growth, skyrocketing by 159 percent year-over-year to reach $294.3 million. Music exports also showed remarkable strength, increasing by 73.9 percent compared to the previous year to achieve $564.3 million in sales. Game exports demonstrated more modest but steady growth, edging up 1.1 percent to $1.6 billion.
Conversely, some content categories faced export challenges during the quarter. Korean animation exports declined significantly by 37.1 percent to $9.9 million, while comics exports fell 15 percent to $58.8 million. These declines suggest varying levels of international market penetration and demand across different content types.
Content companies listed on South Korea's stock exchanges also demonstrated solid financial performance during the first quarter. These publicly traded firms collectively generated 14.7 trillion won in sales, representing a 3 percent increase from the same period last year. More importantly, their combined operating profit rose substantially by 12.3 percent year-over-year to reach 1.5 trillion won, indicating improved operational efficiency and profitability.
Among the listed content companies, IT firms dominated the landscape with combined sales of 4 trillion won, followed by game publishers contributing 3.2 trillion won and broadcasting companies generating 2.3 trillion won. Content firms represented 0.29 percent of total sales and 1.09 percent of total operating profit among all listed companies during the first quarter, demonstrating their growing significance in South Korea's overall economy.
