Netflix will introduce "Clips," a short-form video feature offering clips of around 15 seconds, in South Korea in July. The move is seen as an effort to reclaim viewing time lost to YouTube as short-form content consumption grows among domestic users. Image generated by ChatGPT.
Netflix will introduce "Clips," a short-form video feature offering clips of around 15 seconds, in South Korea in July. The move is seen as an effort to reclaim viewing time lost to YouTube as short-form content consumption grows among domestic users. Image generated by ChatGPT.

"Long dramas feel boring — I find myself only looking for series with fewer episodes," said A, a Netflix user in her 40s.

"I've gotten so used to short videos that I sometimes can't even finish a single episode on Netflix," said B, a user in his 20s.

As more users grow accustomed to short-form content, Netflix is bringing its Clips feature to South Korea. The streaming giant will introduce the vertical short-form video service — offering clips of around 15 seconds — in July, in a move widely seen as an effort to reclaim viewing time lost to YouTube.

Netflix will launch Clips, a vertical short-form feature designed for smartphones, in South Korea in July, according to industry sources Thursday.

Clips is a feed of long-form Netflix content edited into short vertical videos. While browsing, users can add titles they like directly to their watchlist and navigate to a title's page to start playing it. Content can also be shared with others.

Netflix plans to add themed collection features based on users' moods and preferred content genres.

Clips launched earlier this year in nine countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. The July expansion to South Korea and Japan marks a further rollout of the feature, with Netflix planning to extend the service to remaining Asia-Pacific markets on a rolling basis.

Netflix logo [Getty Images]
Netflix logo [Getty Images]

Industry observers say Netflix's push into short-form content comes as South Korean users spend more time on YouTube Shorts. Some analysts note that Netflix has identified YouTube — not domestic streaming rivals Coupang Play or Tving — as its primary competitor in the South Korean market.

"Netflix measures its competitiveness by viewing time, not subscriber count," one industry official said. "South Korean users spend a disproportionately high amount of time on YouTube compared to users in other countries, so this looks like a strategy to counter that directly and win back viewing time."

According to market research firm Digital Eye Agency, South Korea ranked first among 20 major countries surveyed for average daily YouTube viewing time, at approximately 161 minutes. Globally, YouTube's viewing time has also overtaken Netflix's: average per-account YouTube viewing time grew from roughly 87 minutes in 2024 to 99 minutes last year, while Netflix's fell from about 100 minutes to 93 minutes over the same period.

Netflix also unveiled "Curated Collections," a content recommendation feature that blends algorithmic technology with human editorial judgment. The company is also expanding its gaming business with a focus on children — the centerpiece being six new mini-game collections, including a "K-Pop Demon Hunters" theme, added to Netflix Playground, a standalone app for children 8 and under that launched in April.


chami@heraldcorp.com