As of December 2025, total monthly payments for the seven major AI services in South Korea—including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude—reached an estimated 80.3 billion won (approx. $58 million). This officially leapfrogged Netflix’s average monthly domestic revenue of 75 billion won.
The Data: From Novelty to Necessity
The growth in AI spending has been nothing short of explosive. While Netflix remains a household staple, AI has successfully penetrated both the personal and professional lives of South Koreans.
- Transaction Explosion: Credit card transactions for AI services surged from a mere 52,000 in January 2024 to a staggering 1.66 billion in December 2025.
- Individual vs. Enterprise: * Private Users: Spend an average of 34,700 won (~$25) per month.
- Enterprise Users: Spend an average of 107,400 won (~$77) per month.
- The “Caveat”: While the AI figure includes corporate spending, the fact that it has surpassed a mass-market consumer giant like Netflix underscores AI’s arrival as a “utility” rather than a “toy.”
Market Share: The “Big Three” Dominance
Despite a surge in domestic Korean AI models like NAVER’s HyperCLOVA X, global giants still command the majority of the paid subscription market in Korea.
| AI Service | Market Share (by Payments) |
| OpenAI (ChatGPT) | 71.5% |
| Google (Gemini) | 11.0% |
| Anthropic (Claude) | 10.7% |
| Others | 6.8% |
Why is South Korea Leading This Trend?
South Korea’s rapid adoption of paid AI services is driven by a unique “high-pressure” productivity culture:
- OpenAI’s First Satellite: In 2025, OpenAI established its first legal entity in Seoul, noting that South Korea has the highest number of paying ChatGPT Plus users outside the United States.
- Government Backing: President Lee Jae Myung’s 2026 budget tripled AI spending to 10.1 trillion won, aggressively pushing AI integration into daily public life and schooling.
- The “Passive vs. Active” Shift: Economists suggest that South Korean consumers are pivoting from “passive watching” to “active creation,” prioritizing tools that enhance their earning potential over services that simply occupy their leisure time.
Conclusion: The New Subscription Pillar
The “Netflix of AI” is no longer a hypothetical—it is a reality in South Korea. With over 70% of South Koreans reporting they are comfortable using AI-driven services, the subscription economy in 2026 is no longer about who has the best movies, but who has the most capable model. As AI subscriptions become a fixed monthly “utility bill” alongside internet and mobile data, the streaming industry faces a new, formidable competitor for the consumer’s wallet.
