International Streaming Festival 2025, co-hosted by the Korea International Streaming Festival (co-chairs KIM Bok Keun and KIM Seongcheol) and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), has successfully drawn its curtain.
As Korea’s only international festival dedicated to streaming, the event was held from August 22 to 25 at the Busan Cinema Center and Paradise Hotel Busan. Having evolved into a fully independent festival beyond its past role as a side event of the Busan International Film Festival, this year’s edition showcased the future of media-culture-technology convergence on an expanded scale, highlighting the latest innovations in OTT-centered media services and technology.
This year’s festival offered a more dynamic program than ever before, anchored by the Global OTT Awards as its main event, alongside the International Streaming Summit, the Investment Pitch Showcase, screenings, interactive programs, and live performances. By presenting not only globally acclaimed works but also titles rarely accessible to audiences, the festival carried forward its vision:
“To the World of Endless Imagination, and Infinite Streaming — KOREA is STREAMING.”
For the first time, the festival introduced dedicated programs for music and the rapidly growing FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) industry. The International Streaming Summit gathered more than 300 experts and industry leaders to discuss the outlook and future of the FAST market. At the Busan Cinema Center Outdoor Theater, Netflix showcased its audio description technology through scenes from KPop Demon Hunters.
On Media & Brand Day, OTT platforms hosted interactive audience events, including TVING’s outdoor experiential booth inspired by The Great Escape: The Story, and screenings of episodes from the original documentary Life Line, highlighting the stories of firefighters.
In total, eight works from five countries—Korea, Japan, China, the United States, and Kazakhstan—were screened, including those featured in Media & Brand Day, complemented by special guest visits (GV) with filmmakers.
The Global OTT Awards, hosted by actor JOO Jong-hyuk and announcer LEE Hye-sung, brought together creators and stars from around the world. With thousands of audience members in attendance, showcasing the festival’s global appeal, When Life Gives You Tangerines emerged as the biggest winner with three awards, while celebrated actors PARK Eunbin, OH Jung-se, YEOM Hye-ran, KANG You-seok, CHUNG Su-bin, and LEE Su-hyun, joined by international stars including SAKAGUCHI Kentaro, Suri LIN, SHI Pengyuan, and BAI Jingting, lit up the ceremony.
The festival’s finale was the OST Concert: OTT, Streaming, contacT, featuring live performances of beloved OSTs from popular titles such as When Life Gives You Tangerines and Lovely Runner. The concert showcased EVE, HONG Isaac, Elaine, LUNCH BAND, and Nerd Connection, providing a spectacular close to the four-day celebration.
The International Streaming Festival has distinguished itself as a new kind of cultural celebration—one where streaming platforms directly curate screenings and events, and engage freely with audiences.
Executive Committee Co-Chair KIM Bok Keun remarked: “Streamed contents carry limitless potential beyond genre boundaries. Through this festival, we plan to introduce an even greater variety of works in the future.” He added: “As the global status of K-culture continues to rise, international interest in the International Streaming Festival is also growing. We will develop this event into a global hub that not only embraces diverse content genres but also leads the global streaming industry.”
With this year’s success, the festival is already preparing for a richer and more diverse edition in 2026, promising to reach even more audiences worldwide.
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Winners List – 2025 Global OTT Awards (Competitive Categories)
• Best Creative: When Life Gives You Tangerines (Fan Entertainment, Baram Pictures, NETFLIX)
• Best OTT Original: Nine Puzzles (Disney+)
• Best Asian Contents: The Outlaw Doctor (PTS Taiwan, Chunghwa Telecom, GrX Studio)
• Best Reality & Variety: World of Street Woman Fighter (CJ ENM)
• Best Director: Northward (iQIYI) – YAO Xiaofeng
• Best Writer: When Life Gives You Tangerines (Fan Entertainment, Baram Pictures, NETFLIX) – IM Sang-chun
• Best Lead Actor (Male): What Comes After Love (Coupang Play) – SAKAGUCHI Kentaro
• Best Lead Actor (Female): Hyper Knife (Disney+) – PARK Eunbin
• Best Supporting Actor (Male): GOOD BOY (SLL) – OH Jung-se
• Best Supporting Actor (Female): When Life Gives You Tangerines (Fan Entertainment, Baram Pictures, NETFLIX) – YEOM Hye-ran
• Best Newcomer (Male): Resident Playbook (eggiscoming, tvN, TVING) – KANG You-seok
• Best Newcomer (Female): Friendly Rivalry (STUDIO X+U (LG U+)) – CHUNG Su-bin / Born for the Spotlight (Third Man Entertainment, Netflix) – Suri LIN
• Best Visual Effects: I Am Nobody: The Showdown Between Yin & Yang Season 2 (YOUKU)
• Best Original Song: Who Saw the Peacock Dance in the Jungle? (TBS) – “Elf” by Ado
• Innovation Story Award: Life Line (TVING)
• New Tech Award: BINGE Korea (NEW ID)
• Rising Star Awards: Family Matters (Coupang Play) – LEE Su-hyun / A Life for A Life (iQIYI) – SHI Pengyuan
• People’s Choice Awards: The First Frost (YOUKU) – BAI Jingting / Northward (iQIYI) – BAI Lu
International Streaming Festival 2025
○ NAME: International Streaming Festival 2025
○ DATE: August 22 (Fri) – August 25 (Mon), 2025 (4 days)
○ VENUE: Busan Cinema Center and surrounding areas (Haeundae-gu, Busan)
○ PROGRAM: Global OTT Awards, Investment Pitch Showcase, Media & Brand Day, OST Concert International Streaming(OTT·FAST) Summit, Series screenings
○ HOSTED BY: Ministry of Science and ICT, Busan Metropolitan City
○ ORGANIZED BY: Korea International Streaming Festival Committee, National IT Industry Promotion Agency(NIPA)
