Sensor Tower: South Korean short-drama app revenue hit a record in August
In-app purchase revenue rose about 28% on July, and two short-drama apps now sit 7th and 8th in Korea's entertainment top 10 by in-app revenue.
What this basis means: Third-party research vendor estimate. The vendor is named wherever the source identifies it.
In-app purchase revenue of short-drama apps in South Korea reached a record in August 2026, up about 28% on July, according to a Korean-language analysis published by Sensor Tower on 22 October.
For January to September 2026, two short-drama apps ranked 7th and 8th in Korea's entertainment top 10 by in-app purchase revenue, together taking 9.4% of the top-10 total. The share was 2.9% in 2024, with one app, and 6.0% in 2025, with two. By year-to-date in-app revenue, the ranking was NetShort, DramaBox, DramaWave, Vigloo and FlickReels. Vigloo is the only domestic app in the top five.
Sensor Tower said 53.7% of Vigloo's audience is aged 18 to 34, against about 35.5% for the four foreign apps compared. Korea accounts for 40.5% of Vigloo's global in-app revenue, the United States 17.7% and Japan 11.6%.
Companies Sensor Tower, NetShort, DramaBox, DramaWave, Vigloo, FlickReels