Entertainment, gaming companies reap unexpected benefits from weak won

By Lee Yeon-woo

Although the sharp weakening of the Korean currency against the U.S. dollar poses challenges for business operations, some industries, including entertainment and gaming, with increased global sales witnessed unexpected benefits. The increased value of sales converted from U.S. dollars to won has contributed to a notable rise in profits.

According to industry sources, Sunday, entertainment companies are expected to benefit the most from the high won-dollar exchange rate. Their global sales in concert tickets, albums and merchandise are mostly settled in U.S. dollars, which puts them in a favorable position.

Among Korea’s four leading entertainment companies, HYBE reports the highest export ratio in sales at 63.7 percent, followed by JYP Entertainment at 55.7 percent, YG Entertainment at 47.3 percent and SM Entertainment at 31.5 percent.

“Trump’s core pledge centers on imposing universal tariffs, but these tariffs do not apply to cultural or content exports,” Shinhan Investment & Securities researcher Ji In-hae said. “In 2025, BTS and BLACKPINK, the major super IPs (intellectual property), are set to make their comebacks. With unprecedented large-scale world tours planned, both performance metrics and investor sentiment are expected to see significant improvement.”

Major gaming companies, whose sales rely heavily on the global market, are also expected to benefit.

“In a strong dollar environment, gaming companies incur costs in won due to domestic labor and benefit from their high share of global sales,” Hana Securities analyst Lee Jun-ho said.

In the third quarter, DoubleU Games derived all of its revenue from the global market. Krafton followed with the second-highest global sales with 90 percent, SHIFT UP with 85 percent and Netmarble with 77 percent.

Foreign investors are also accumulating shares in these companies. This month alone, they net purchased 85.1 billion won in JYP Entertainment, 79.5 billion won in Krafton and 48.1 billion won in YG PLUS.