Recent Release | 17 Aug 2022
A PLATFORM FOR KOREAN OPPORTUNITY: Assessing the economic, societal and cultural impact of YouTube in South Korea in 2021
Economic Consulting Team
Oxford Economics
As the status of K-pop rises worldwide, the influence of K-culture is also increasing day by day. Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, was the first video to record 1 billion on YouTube in 2012, launching the ‘Billion View Club’ and establishing K-pop’s global presence.
Oxford Economics worked closely with YouTube in the second quarter of 2022 to develop a rigorous approach to measuring the video platform’s economic, social, and cultural impact across South Korea. Our study quantified jobs and GDP outcomes and examined the ripple effects on adjacent industries and individuals’ quality of life. We surveyed 3,000 YouTube users, 800 creators, and 500 businesses across the country, and interviewed business leaders to glean insights into how the platform is playing a role in their day-to-day operations.
The source of YouTube’s economic footprint in South Korea is the advertising revenues it generates for creators and media companies, and the advertising-derived royalty payments made to the music industry, as well as off-platform revenues earned by creative entrepreneurs that are stimulated by their YouTube presence. In our modelling framework we also capture the indirect and induced economic impacts of these revenues, that ripple through Korean supply chains and are boosted by the wage expenditure of those employed.
We found that YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed over ₩2 trillion to South Korea’s GDP and more than 86,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
In the report, we present the results of our economic modelling and wider research, accompanied by additional evidence and case studies from some of South Korea’s most notable YouTube stars and creative entrepreneurs, including: The Pinkfong Company, Tzuyang, CJ ENM, 3PRO TV, and Quebon AI Math.
Download the report in Korean
Fill out the form to download the full report written in Korean.
About the team
Our economic consulting team are world leaders in quantitative economic analysis, working with clients around the globe and across sectors to build models, forecast markets and evaluate interventions using state-of-the art techniques. Lead consultants on this project included:
James Lambert
Director of Economic Consulting, Asia
+65 6850 0125
James Lambert
Director of Economic Consulting, Asia
Singapore
James is the Director of Oxford Economics’ economic consulting services in Asia.
James moved to this role from Oxford Economics’ London office, where he headed up a team dedicated to exploring the economic impact of technology. He delivered high profile studies on the growth of the digital economy, the impact of automation and the implications for the labour market.
Prior to joining Oxford Economics, James spent over six years in the Government Economics Service. He worked in economics teams of the Cabinet Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Transport. There, he gained experience in microeconomic analysis and impact assessment as well as international macroeconomics, economic risk analysis and energy security. In the FCO, James spent three years working on economic issues in East and South East Asia. He also previously worked for the International Labour Organization.
Andrew P Goodwin
Director of Applied Economics, Europe & Middle East
+44 (0) 203 910 8050
Andrew P Goodwin
Director of Applied Economics, Europe & Middle East
London, United Kingdom
Andrew is Director of Applied Economics, Europe & Middle East, and is based in our London office.
Since joining Oxford Economics in 2013 Andrew has led studies across a range of subject areas for public and private sector clients. These include projects for the Global Infrastructure Hub and PwC to forecast global infrastructure needs; economic impact studies in the aviation, maritime and defence sectors; work for cultural institutions such as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the British Library; analysing the impact of R&D support for clients including BEIS and the Centre for Process Innovation; and labour market studies for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, the Department for Transport, and the Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning.
Before joining Oxford Economics, Andrew spent six years working as a Government economist at the Home Office and Department for Transport. Prior to that Andrew worked at DTZ Research and Consulting, where his responsibilities included analysing local economies and economic forecasting. Andrew holds an MSc in European Economic Integration from the University of Kent, where his dissertation analysed drivers of growth for European cities, and a BA in Economics with European Study from the University of Exeter.
You might be interested in
Post
True Cost of Compliance – 2023 Report
This 2023 report updates our 2020 research on the detection and prevention of financial crime, and it's cost to the UK financial services sector. We surveyed 300 senior compliance executives about their costs and compliance activities, and used these results to estimate the costs across the UK Financial Services sector.
Find Out More
Post
Illicit Tobacco Consumption in Türkiye
This report examines the size of the illicit tobacco market in Türkiye as well as and the impact it has on government tax revenue. Commissioned by Philip Morris International, this report particularly highlights the rising prevalence of cut tobacco, whose consumption almost doubled between 2019 and 2021. Total tax loss due to illicit consumption of tobacco products reached TL 18,327mn in 2021, doubling from TL 9,744mn in 2019. Illicit cut tobacco accounted for 86.4-95.9% of annual tax loss during this period.
Find Out More
Post
Adecco Labour Market Outlook
Oxford Economics provided economic and labour market insight and forecasts for the Spring 2023 edition of Adecco’s Labour Market Outlook.
Find Out More
Post
The case for a permanent investment deduction
Investment incentives are set to fall in the UK • In April 2023, the Corporation Tax rate is set to increase from 19% to 25% at the same time as the end of the super-deduction regime.
Find Out More