Global short-form platform TikTok has delivered visible results in content and creator metrics just four months after it released a $50 million (about 70.5 billion won) investment in Korea's content ecosystem in Apr. Content of 1 minute or longer increased by more than 90%, and the number of monthly active creators grew by 80,000. TikTok said it will speed up both expanding the scope of its creator reward programs and supporting domestic creators' global expansion and business.
◇ TikTok backs and cultivates Korean creators… injecting "$50 million"
Ko Giwon, head of emerging vertical and creator marketing at TikTok Korea, said at TikTok's Singapore headquarters on the 11th, "The $50 million investment released in Apr. was not just about market expansion but an investment to build an ecosystem that supports everything from creator onboarding to content production and marketing," adding, "It has been only four months, but we have seen meaningful changes across several metrics."
In Apr., TikTok held the K-Impact Summit 2026 and released an investment plan centered on strengthening creator rewards. A representative step was rolling out the Creator Reward Program (CRP) 2X, which doubles rewards for Korean-language content compared with before. Under the program, creators who meet conditions such as at least 10,000 followers and at least 100,000 video views over the past 30 days can earn double the previous rewards when they produce Korean-language content of 1 minute or longer.
It also expanded the Special Reward Program (SRP), which pays additional rewards for high-quality content in specific fields. Following entertainment such as TV and film, the scope was widened to sports in May. Because SRP can be applied together with CRP 2X, creators who produce high-quality Korean-language content of 1 minute or longer in the applicable fields can receive up to six times the basic reward. This is among the highest levels of creator rewards globally.
It is also running programs to foster and recruit creators. The Creator Growth Challenge is a program that helps creators active on other platforms settle on TikTok, offering content insight training and benefits tied to follower growth. The Creator Incubator Program is designed to nurture high-potential creators into mega creators with more than 1 million followers. In addition to one-on-one consulting and content strategy support, it provides opportunities to collaborate with TikTok's ad sales team.
◇ More rewards brought more content… Korean content of 1 minute or longer up 90%
The most notable change after the investment release is the growth in long-form content. According to TikTok, Korean-language content of 1 minute or longer increased 90.7%, from about 75,000 pieces on Mar. 31 to 143,000 on Jul. 31. Compared with the more than one year it took to grow from 37,000 to 75,000 early last year, the pace has steepened sharply. In particular, content of 1 minute or longer by creators with at least 10,000 followers, who are eligible for CRP, rose 62%, and average rewards increased 40%.
TikTok notes that high-quality content, which requires more time and effort to produce, is growing rapidly. To qualify for CRP, creators must meet not only the 1-minute minimum length but also thresholds for appeal metrics such as completion rate, shares, and likes, and for technical quality such as resolution, audio, and editing. SRP, which provides additional rewards for content in specific fields such as entertainment and sports, has also shown results. In the first sports SRP cohort, 72 creators participated, and 28 of them received triple rewards. TikTok said it plans to expand SRP this year to beauty, food, running, hobbies, and daily life.
Ko said, "The effort required to make a 10-second piece of content versus a 1-minute piece is not simply six times the length; it demands far more thought and effort from story composition to production," adding, "The rise in Korean-language content of 1 minute or longer means the Korean-language content ecosystem is moving beyond quantitative growth toward qualitative growth with longer arcs."
Creator inflow also increased. TikTok's monthly active creators reached 1.48 million at the end of Jul., up 80,000 from the previous month. The Creator Growth Challenge, which helps creators from other platforms settle on TikTok, drew 647 participants in its first month after launching in May, and the number grew to 925 in three months. The Top Creator Onboarding Program for creators with more than 500,000 followers was also expanded. In the first cohort, 20 channels participated, uploading 821 pieces of content and surpassing 100 million cumulative views. In the second cohort, 55 channels joined, and their combined subscribers on other platforms total 220 million.
◇ Expanding into original content… supporting globalization of K-content
Beyond creator support, TikTok has moved to expand the ecosystem through original content. The soccer talk entertainment show "Tiki Tiki Taka Taka Talk Talk Show," unveiled in May, was TikTok's first original long-form content in Korea, running 15 episodes of 40 to 45 minutes each. It drew a combined 4.3 million live viewers, and 178 official edited pieces from the show recorded 65 million views over 45 days. Building on this, sports content production and activities by related creators expanded, and soccer players who onboarded to TikTok saw their followers increase by an average of 180%.
Behind TikTok's continued large-scale investment in Korea's content ecosystem is strong global demand for K-content. According to TikTok, about 75% of K-content-related production occurred overseas, not in Korea. Overseas users are not just consuming Korean content but reproducing it into content themselves. Interest that started with K-pop and drama is spreading to Koreans' food, beauty, fashion, and other aspects of lifestyle overall, and demand for related content is growing along with it.
Ko said, "TikTok is building a structure that lets domestic creators grow followers among global users beyond Korea and achieve consolidation with global business," adding, "We will not remain merely a platform for consuming content, but move forward as a platform that can expand into businesses leveraging content."