[Edaily Starin Choi Hee-jae Reporter] The methods by which Korean dramas are expanding into overseas markets are rapidly diversifying. Moving beyond simply selling intellectual property (IP) rights to Asian markets such as Japan and China, a “localization strategy” tailored to the media environments and viewer demographics of each country is now in full swing.

◇Expanding into South America and India with Well-Crafted IP… Targeting Emerging Markets
According to the broadcasting industry on the 12th, the Mexican remake (Cuando fui bonita) based on the MBC drama “She Was Pretty” (2015) will premiere on the 28th of next month on the local terrestrial channel Canal 5. With this, “She Was Pretty” has expanded its remake reach to the Central and South American markets, following China, Japan, and Türkiye.
It is also significant that a 10-year-old series, produced before the era of global over-the-top (OTT) services, is being reborn in an emerging market. This is because a business model has been established that allows for long-term revenue generation through local production and distribution while maintaining control over the intellectual property (IP), even for works whose run in Korea has ended.
This case demonstrates that the overseas expansion of K-drama IP has taken a significant step forward. Various works—including *Signal* and *Voice* (Japan), *Why Secretary Kim?* (Philippines), *One Hit Scandal* (Thailand), and *My Uncle* (China)—have proven their competitiveness through overseas remakes. Recently, following plans for an American remake of *SKY Castle*, the scope of expansion is broadening to include emerging markets such as Mexico and India.
MBC, which holds the rights to the *She Was Pretty* IP, stated, “This Mexican remake is a meaningful example demonstrating that a single drama IP can continue to generate value in new markets even 10 years later,” adding, “We plan to expand our global IP business by identifying competitive library IP and implementing platform-tailored strategies.”
Efforts to target emerging markets through global OTT platforms are also gaining momentum. CJ ENM recently entered into a strategic partnership with Amazon Prime Video India to supply approximately 100 pieces of K-content to the Indian market over the next two years, including 26 new titles such as “Yumi’s Cells 3” and “The Legend of the Cook.”
Although India is one of the world’s largest growing OTT markets, it is considered a challenging market for Korean content companies to enter directly due to significant language and cultural barriers. CJ ENM aims to expand the long-term consumer base for K-content by leveraging global platforms with a strong local user base to supply not only its flagship IPs but also popular titles from its library. In particular, new releases will feature not only English subtitles but also dubbing in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. The company plans to enhance accessibility by focusing on “language localization.”
Seo Jang-ho, Head of the Platform Business Division at CJ ENM, stated, “Through this partnership, we will introduce CJ ENM’s K-content to more Indian viewers and expand the global reach of Korean storytelling.”

◇Moving Beyond Exports to Enter Local Ecosystems… The Phased Evolution of K-IP
Industry analysts note that the K-drama IP business has moved from the “export” phase to the “localization” phase. While K-content previously focused on selling distribution rights primarily within Asia, it has proven its competitiveness through successful remakes in developed markets such as the U.S. and Japan. Recently, it has fully embraced a “two-track” strategy of localizing production and diversifying distribution channels in regions such as South America and India.
This trend is significant because it reflects the evolution toward a “one-source, multi-use” (OSMU) model, where a single well-crafted IP generates overseas revenue through remakes and global OTT distribution. A structure is taking root that extends the content’s lifecycle while generating additional revenue in new markets.
An official from a drama production company explained, “Barriers to entry into emerging markets—which were difficult to access in the past—have lowered due to the spread of global OTT platforms and the rising global recognition of K-content,” adding, “It has become even more important to integrate local production and distribution to penetrate the content ecosystems of each country.”
Pop culture critic Jeong Deok-hyun predicted, “We have entered a phase of globalization where we are not merely selling IP but also accumulating know-how and networks through the local production process,” adding, “As this experience accumulates, it will enable even more aggressive and proactive global IP business operations in the future.”