Netflix to launch personalized short-video feed Clips for Korean users as mobile strategy expands

Netflix will roll out “Clips,” a vertical video feed on its mobile app that shows users short edits of series and films, for Korean users as part of its push to make the mobile experience “richer and more intuitive,” the company’s product director said Tuesday.

The feature will launch in Korea “soon,” Lee Kang-ee, director of product discovery and promotion at Netflix Korea, said at a conference at Yonsei University, where the company’s Korean office outlined its marketing and product strategies.

The personalized feed, which allows users to save and share recommended series and films on Netflix, was launched in the United States in April.

“On mobile, users tend to want things immediately — to make a choice quickly and feel satisfied in a short amount of time,” Lee said.

Clips, along with other changes to Netflix’s mobile app, including genre-based entry points at the top of the screen, is part of that effort, she said.

Lee and Kim Mi-hoo, Netflix Korea’s director of marketing, said the success of Korean originals like "Teach You a Lesson" and "Culinary Class Wars" (2024-) has come not only from the quality of the shows themselves, but also from marketing that sparks conversation and product features that help the right viewers find them.

As an example, Lee pointed to the different ways audiences watch and choose content across markets. In Korea, some viewers use subtitles to study foreign languages, while in Latin America, dubbed versions, including Spanish and Portuguese dubs, are more widely watched.

Netflix also adjusts the text introducing a title. In Korea, descriptions may highlight well-known actors in domestic content, while for global audiences who may not recognize those names, they may focus more on the mood or story.

The visual interface also varies. For “Culinary Class Wars,” for instance, Netflix highlighted celebrity chef Paik Jong-won and a chef pulling noodles by hand for Korean viewers. For overseas audiences, the platform leaned more heavily on images of appetizing food.

“For foreign viewers without that background knowledge, emphasizing the more essential elements of the content proved more popular,” Lee said.

Kim, meanwhile, pointed to Netflix’s emphasis on sparking conversation through campaigns that take place in public spaces — from BTS performances to “Squid Game” (2021-25) installations in central Seoul's Gwanghwamun area —  as well as using direct channels of communication with viewers to draw them into a series or film.

“What has a stronger impact than any advertisement is when a friend or family member says, ‘Did you watch this? It’s really good,’” Kim said. “Our role is to create an environment where fans of the content can participate and generate that conversation themselves, so that K-content and our titles can stand at the center of global culture.”

"“There's a saying in the company: that a large fandom can solve almost any problem," Kim said.