"Made with AI, not humans.".. The air raid of 'AI short-form' that has taken over SNS [★22nd Anniversary]④

*This content was translated by AI.

• StarNews 22nd Anniversary Special Plan [Asking the Path of K-Content in the Age of AI]

[Editor’s Note] Artificial intelligence (AI) has deeply penetrated our daily lives. Now, AI is also reshaping the landscape of content. Beyond being a simple auxiliary tool, it is driving changes across the entire K-content ecosystem, from directing techniques in films and dramas to production cost structures. While expectations grow for technological innovations that break the limits of direction, concerns are also rising regarding content copyright issues and the encroachment on human jobs. In commemoration of its 22nd anniversary, StarNews examines the current state of K-content entering the early stages of the AI era, explores the challenges we must address, and looks ahead to future prospects.

Even 'Manager Kim' action scenes and child actor roles.. Is AI the 'relief pitcher' for K-content? ①

Broadcasting stations in deficit times.. Can AI solve skyrocketing production costs? ②

"Change the technology, protect the story".. Survival methods for K-content in the age of AI ③

"Made with AI, not humans.".. The air raid of 'AI short-form' that has taken over SNS ④

As you scroll through your SNS feed, you frequently encounter characters with stunning visuals rivaling those of actors, set against lavish fantasy backgrounds. These are short-form content pieces created using generative AI. While there may be some awkwardness in certain details, the story progression is addictive. Once you start watching, you become curious about what happens next. That is why it is difficult to stop viewing easily.

Recently, such AI short-form content has been noticeably increasing. As video generation AI models have rapidly advanced, the influence of AI content is growing in the global short-form market, centered on China and the United States.

Why is AI short-form content growing so quickly? It is not solely due to technological advancements. The industrial efficiency that allows for a dramatic reduction in production costs and time is cited as a background factor, along with the ability to create genres and worlds that were difficult to realize with existing live-action content.

In commemoration of its 22nd anniversary, StarNews listened to voices from the on-the-ground content production and distribution sectors to examine the changes and prospects surrounding AI short-form content.

The presence of AI content in the global short-form market is growing increasingly significant.

Park Chan-ho, head of the Short-Form Business Team at KT Studio Genie, which oversees media content planning, production, and global distribution for the KT Group, diagnosed: "Actually, until 2025, live-action short-form dramas were mainstream. However, as technology advanced and video generation model tools such as Sora and Kling developed particularly well, AI short-form dramas began to surge starting from China in early 2026, and currently, AI short-form dramas have become the mainstream even in the U.S. market."

Park continued, "In the case of platforms that specialize in serving short-form content (such as ReelShort and DramaBox), live-action drama production has been drastically reduced, with a focus on producing AI short-form dramas. The platform industry is proactively utilizing AI to produce short-form dramas."

IP management company B-able Company, which has signed direct distribution contracts with global platforms such as ReelShort, DramaBox, iQIYI, GoodShot, and NetShort to supply content, is also feeling the market changes. B-able Company also operates 'ShortFlow', a short-form drama IP management and global B2B distribution infrastructure.

Park Ji-hyun of B-able Company explained: "Short-form dramas are not simply cut-down versions of long-form dramas; they are approached as products rather than single works, marking the beginning of this genre." He added, "AI short-form dramas are actually being broadcast on most top platforms. In a recently successful short-form drama platform, 6 out of the top 10 were AI-created short-form dramas."

Demand from overseas platforms has also increased. Park stated, "When overseas platforms request around 50 to 100 short-form content pieces at once, they inquire about whether there is new AI content in about 20% to 30% of cases," and added, "In mainstream consumer markets such as China and the United States, acceptance of AI content is very high."

The biggest reason AI short-form is attracting attention is the reduction in production costs and production periods.

According to industry sources, based on the Chinese market, the production cost for one 50-episode short-form drama was around 100 million to 150 million won under existing live-action standards, but utilizing AI lowers it to the range of 20 million to 30 million won. This means costs can be reduced to less than one-fifth or one-sixth of the previous level. There are also moves emerging to invest these saved production costs in marketing to strengthen market penetration.

Lowering production costs also has the advantage of allowing more works to be created to test market reactions. Short-form dramas have a structure where various works are produced with relatively low costs, and through continuous A/B testing, they find content that consumers prefer.

Ultimately, since the core is return on investment (ROI), it is analyzed that the supply side's demand to increase the possibility of box office success by trying many works by lowering production costs aligns with AI technology, creating synergy.

Production speed is also fast. If existing short-form dramas took about three months to six months from planning to completion based on domestic standards, AI short-form dramas can be completed within a month, and in fast cases, even post-production can be finished in 2-3 weeks. Lead time has been shortened by 80% to 90% compared to before.

However, the domestic production environment still differs from China. In Korea, token costs and labor costs are relatively higher than in China, so the method of producing short-form dramas solely with AI is not yet active. Nevertheless, when compared to live-action short-form dramas, it is evaluated that there is still significant potential for utilization because production costs and periods can be reduced substantially by utilizing AI.

The competitiveness of AI short-form does not end at 'cheap and fast.' The actual scale of content is also growing. With the introduction of AI technology, it has become possible to implement blockbuster-level backgrounds such as SF, large-scale fantasy, and period dramas that were difficult to film due to cost issues. From the supplier's perspective, costs are reduced, and from the consumer's perspective, they enjoy the expandability of the story.

Existing short-form dramas had limitations in being confined to specific materials and backgrounds such as office dramas or sensational revenge dramas due to limited production budgets. However, with the introduction of AI technology, it has become possible to implement blockbuster-level scale backgrounds like SF, large-scale fantasy, and period dramas that were impossible to film due to cost issues.

In the industry, backgrounds and scales that could not be filmed due to production costs in the past have expanded significantly, with genres and backgrounds expanding. As content on the scale of 'Game of Thrones' or 'The Lord of the Rings' emerges, consumers are cheering for the expansion of genres and backgrounds. While long-form requires watching long emotional arcs and acting skills, short-form has characteristics that require giving immersion in a short time and inducing payment for the next episode, making it well-suited to AI application with excellent story expandability. In this way, AI is playing a key role in expanding the worldview and genres of short-form content.

How are AI short-form pieces created?

In the planning stage, human roles are essential. For works with existing IP, some AI is utilized to set adaptation directions, but from the story line onward, everything is done by humans, so the utilization of AI at the planning stage is still relatively low.

In the pre-production stage, AI is actively deployed. Once planning and story lines are prepared, various appearances of major spaces and characters are created in advance, and if necessary, references for actors' acting, movements, camera work, etc., are secured through actual filming to be utilized in AI production.

In the actual production stage, the scope of AI involvement is wide. As AI technology has advanced significantly, it has become possible to utilize AI across all areas of content production, from initial concept composition and scriptwriting by creators to character and space design, video generation, voice/music, and final sound work."

However, there are also challenges that AI short-form must overcome in this process. A representative one is homogenization. As AI creates similar appearances and images based on learned data, content may look like 'bungeoppang' (fish-shaped cakes). Regarding this, Park Ji-hyun of B-able Company said, "AI is not yet perfect, and since it is a collection of data, results tend to come out centered on pretty and handsome standard faces, making them feel uniform."

Efforts are also underway to overcome such homogenization. Park stated, "Based on spaces or characters created through AI, we create unique visuals by going through various interpretations and modifications according to the direction of the work and character settings," and predicted, "As more data accumulates and virtual AI technology advances, diversity in characters will be naturally secured."

Ultimately, the area where AI is currently relatively difficult is creating uniqueness and intentional individuality specific to a work. Even when utilizing AI, it is essential for creators to select and modify results by adding their own interpretations and creativity rather than using the results as they are.

While the global short-form market moves quickly, the domestic market is still at a cautious stage.

In the industry, it is seen that Korean consumers have not yet shown high acceptance of AI compared to other countries, so domestic platforms are still in a testing phase by distributing one or two pieces at a time. In Korea and Japan, negative perceptions regarding the completeness of AI content remain, whereas in story-centric consumer markets such as China and the United States, more attention is paid to the fact that genres and backgrounds have expanded rather than somewhat awkward details.

Nevertheless, AI is an unstoppable trend in the short-form market. Everyone recognizes that AI utilization capability is a very important factor in the short-form content market. However, the indiscriminate flooding of Yangsan-type content due to low-cost, short production periods is a concern for market growth. Content production based on differentiated planning must be carried out. In particular, there is a need to consider the AI HYBE-led production system that can highlight differentiation based on K-content's storytelling foundation for Korean AI content.

AI short-form content has now gone beyond being merely a technology to reduce production costs and time; it encapsulates shorter stories in more dazzling worlds with less cost. The remaining challenge is how to harmonize AI efficiency with human creativity. In the new content market that AI will create, attention is focused on what kind of stories will survive.

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*This content was translated by AI.