Korea is Series Mania Forum’s first country of honour, organisers of the annual French event said last night. Eight companies will be part of government agency KOCCA’s delegation in Lille towards the end of March.

Korea’s enhanced profile in France runs alongside significant shifts in the country’s production and distribution environment, including soaring budgets and global streaming rights deals.

The eight companies involved in this year’s Korea-focused line-up of events in Lille are Channel A Corporation, CJ ENM, EO Content Group, KBS Media, MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corp), SLL Joongang, Studio S and WHYNOT MEDIA.

The new Country of Honour initiative follows the 2024 MoU between KOCCA and French body CNC to “promote exchanges between Korea and France and to lay the foundation for the growth of the content industry between the two countries”.

Series Mania Forum takes place from 24-26 March. The festival kicks off on 20 March and runs to 27 March.

Series Mania said in last night’s announcement that the Korean content market was estimated at US$43.169 billion in 2024, representing a 5.7% increase from US$40.849 billion in 2023.

Quoting Netflix data, it said viewing time for Korean content in France increased by more than 200% year-on-year.