Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos flew to Seoul over the weekend to celebrate a decade of Korean programming, days after the streamer replaced its content chief and announced layoffs of about 1,000 employees. Netflix held a two-day fan festival called “Netflix Janchi” on October 24 and 25 at Oil Tank Culture Park in the city’s Mapo district.
Over 10,000 fans attended, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and Sarandos took the stage alongside stars of the platform’s biggest Korean titles. Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun and Park Hae-soo of “Squid Game” appeared, as did Ahn Hyo-seop from “KPop Demon Hunters” and cast members from “D.P.” and “All of Us Are Dead.”
Sarandos recalled that Netflix arrived in 2016 with big ambitions but never expected Korean stories to land “right at the center of global culture.” He described South Korea as one of the company’s most valuable partners and promised continued work with local creators. Earlier in the week he toured the National Museum of Korea and met producers.
Netflix backed the celebration with figures. The company said it has produced or co-produced at least 200 Korean titles with about 80 local production companies since 2016. Over 80 percent of its subscribers worldwide have watched Korean content, and Korean titles logged 12 billion viewing hours globally between April 2025 and March 2026. Four of the platform’s ten most-watched non-English series are Korean, and all three seasons of “Squid Game” sit in that group.
The trip carried added weight. Netflix recently removed chief content officer Bela Bajaria in favor of Peter Rice, and its shares fell after third-quarter results that analysts had considered decent. Trade coverage read the Seoul visit as a signal that Korea stays central to the company’s content plans, whatever else changes in Los Angeles.
The company offered no new investment figures at the event, a gap that leaves open how much it will spend in a market it once called one of its biggest financial bets. Netflix also supplied all the performance data, and independent verification was not part of the announcement. For now, Sarandos’ message to Korean creators was one of continuity. Whether the money follows that message, the company has yet to say.
