Korean vertical video platform Vigloo is opening an office in L.A. and will double microdrama/vertical series production in 2026. Neil Choi, founder and CEO of Spoonlabs, which operates Vigloo, told ContentAsia about his plans.

How many original vertical series will you make in 2026? How does this compare to 2025 and what other plans do you have for the new year? “Vigloo is accelerating its growth in key global markets into 2026, with plans to double production from the roughly 200 original vertical dramas we released in 2025. To expand further in the U.S., we are establishing our L.A. office by the end of this year. With this presence, we will strengthen collaboration with local production companies and actors, and further advance our localisation strategy through enhanced global co-production capabilities.”

What kinds of stories, genres, or formats are you most committed to... and why? “In terms of genre and stories, definitely romance. In Korea, Japan, and the U.S., the core formula for successful short-form dramas is similar: fast pacing, strong conflict and emotionally charged storytelling. Romance delivers these elements most effectively, which is why we have focused on that genre to date. 
“Preferences within romance, however, differ by market. In the U.S., romantasy, which is a blend of romance and fantasy, has become a major trend led by BookTok [the TikTok community built around books/reading] audiences. Sports and teen romance also perform well, and actor recognition is a significant viewer consideration. 
“In contrast, Korean audiences prefer romance that reflects the sensibilities of love novels and dating reality shows, where on-screen visual appeal plays a key role in viewer choice.
“We continue to closely monitor trends and viewer behaviour through internal data, surveys, and ongoing feedback to ensure we remain aligned with what resonates in each market. We are also producing genres such as mystery and thriller, where we see growing demand. 
“Ultimately, our focus is on delivering content that connects and keeps viewers coming back for more.”

Who is Vigloo’s core audience, and how are you segmenting and prioritising different demographic or regional groups? “Our core audience is women aged above 35, who account for around 70% of total viewership. Our primary markets are the U.S., Korea and Japan, and we produce original vertical dramas in these regions. Approximately 70% of Vigloo’s revenue comes from international markets, so our strategy is centred on global expansion. We recently launched our service in India as well, extending access through local subtitles and dubbing.”

What shows have worked best so far? “Based on Vigloo’s real-time popularity ranking, which updates every hour, romance consistently performs strongest across global markets. In the U.S., rom-coms such as Matrimoney and The Billionaire Cowboy’s Runaway Bride have remained in the Top 10 for several months, while romantasy titles like Mated to My Rival Alpha continue to hold Top 5 positions. In Korea, The Bedmate Game Sharehouse 2 – a scripted romance series inspired by dating reality formats – has maintained a Top 5 ranking not only in Korea but also in the U.S. and Japan since its launch in September. Overall, vertical dramas centred on romance show a high preference globally, confirming sustained demand from audiences worldwide.”

How does Vigloo define its role/brand in the content ecosystem compared to other micro-drama and short-form platforms? “Vigloo is built by a team that has long been part of the global success of K-content. Leveraging Korea’s storytelling and production expertise, we create entertaining and high-quality original vertical dramas designed to resonate with audiences around the world. While we localise for each market, our core strength lies in developing and delivering compelling dramas from concept to execution. This allows us to build a brand that keeps viewers engaged and coming back for more.”

How are you attracting and supporting creators — especially emerging voices — to develop distinctive content for Vigloo? “Vigloo champions bold, original voices – we’re hands-on with creators from day one, helping their visions shine in vertical drama. Through Zoom calls or in-person meetings, we work closely to understand the core of their ideas and refine them so they fit the ‘short but intensive’ entertainment that Vigloo delivers. Because vertical dramas are still a new way of storytelling, we actively welcome emerging creators and studios who are open to fresh formats. Under the Hood, which received strong audience response, is a great example of a collaboration with a rising creator, and partnerships like this help us continue discovering fresh voices.
“Our team includes professionals with deep experience in the entertainment industry, so we understand both the creative process and how to support the business side of it. As we expand in the U.S., including the opening of our L.A. office, we’re strengthening our network with both seasoned talent and new creators who want to break into vertical storytelling.
“We also maintain a transparent relationship with creators by sharing audience data and feedback, identifying what worked well and what could be improved. We strive to build creative partnerships that support growth on both sides.”

What’s the greenlight/commissioning process? “The first step is for our content team to source scripts through multiple channels. Our team, made up of experts with extensive experience in the Korean and global entertainment industry, such as CJ ENM and Disney, conducts an initial review and selects projects with strong potential. In the second stage, key decision-makers, including myself, review the shortlisted titles to determine final production approvals. 
“Throughout the process, we evaluate each project based on narrative quality, viewer engagement, and alignment with Vigloo’s content direction.
“What we define as “Vigloo-style” is content that instantly pulls the viewer and a story that the audience can get excited about. Only the projects that meet these standards move forward into production.”

What’s the acquisition process? “In the U.S. market, we have primarily focused on producing our own originals. However, we selectively source content that aligns with market trends, features strong genre appeal or popular tropes, and helps us test categories before developing our own originals. Going forward, we are actively looking into co-premieres and second-run content that has shown noteworthy performance on other platforms.”

How does audience behaviour data inform commissioning, scheduling and renewal decisions? “All of our decisions are data-driven. We analyse quantitative metrics such as viewership, watch time and revenue by title, as well as detailed indicators like drop-off points and completion rates. This helps us identify specific improvements in story structure or editing flow for future vertical dramas. For example, The Bedmate Game Sharehouse 2 recorded a 95% completion rate, reaffirming the effectiveness of the content format following season one. 
“We also gather qualitative insights through user surveys and comment/review monitoring to understand what genres, themes, and characters resonate with viewers and reflect these learnings in our content planning.
“Our goal is not simply to collect data, but to interpret the viewing experience so we can deliver content that is even more entertaining and more engaging.”

What’s your approach to AI-generated series? “AI is no longer just a buzzword – it’s a creative engine powering new frontiers in entertainment. At Vigloo, we’re proving that with our original series, AI doesn’t replace imagination but supercharges it. The two AI original series released on our app on 2 October are about 30 minutes in length, demonstrating that AI can be a tool that enables small studios and emerging creators to produce large-scale or sci-fi genres.
“While we are still in the early stages of our AI journey, our in-house AI original drama, Met a Savior in Hell, has recorded meaningful paid viewership from global audiences, indicating demand for AI content.
“Our vision is built on the collaboration between AI and human creators. Human creativity is always at the centre, while AI serves as a supportive tool that expands and amplifies that potential. 
“AI lowers barriers to creation, allowing more people to participate as creators and enabling a wider range of imagination and perspectives to be realised as content. Ultimately, what matters is not AI itself, but how creators choose to use it. Empowering creators to imagine more boldly, experiment more freely, and build a more sustainable creative ecosystem is the role we believe AI should play at Vigloo.”

What do you see as your biggest challenge in growing Vigloo’s audience? “The biggest challenge is earning viewer attention in a landscape with hundreds of microdrama platforms. Because the market is still in an early stage, expanding our audience amid this rapidly evolving environment is not an easy task.
“However, over the past year, Vigloo has continuously improved its performance by validating what kinds of stories truly resonate through data. By analysing viewer behaviour and optimising genre, format and style, we have seen steady growth in both key metrics and audience response. 
“Our Q3 revenue in 2025 was more than double that of Q1, and over 70% of our total revenue in the first half came from overseas markets. It’s a fiercely competitive fight for screen time, but Vigloo combines the production expertise of K-content with rapid data learning and localisation capabilities to deliver high-quality storytelling – even in short formats.”

▶ Published in ContentAsia's December 2025 Magazine