A report by the Korea Press Foundation, based on the Digital News Report 2025 from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, highlights YouTube’s role as a news source in South Korea.

The findings are based on an online survey of 98,072 people across 48 countries, including 2,038 respondents from Korea.

The survey reveals that 50% of Koreans consume news through YouTube, ranking the country fourth globally alongside the Philippines.

Usage is particularly high among individuals aged 50 and older.

Specifically, 61% of those in their 50s and 53% of those aged 60 and above use the platform for news.

In contrast, younger age groups show lower consumption rates, with 32% of individuals in their 30s and 44% of those in their 20s reporting usage.

🔗 Source: The Korea Times

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ South Korea’s portal-dominated news landscape creates unique digital dynamics

South Korea’s high YouTube news consumption (50% vs. global average of 30%) reflects the country’s broader pattern of accessing news primarily through intermediaries rather than directly from publishers 1.

This trend has deep roots in Korea’s digital ecosystem, where for years platforms like Naver and Daum have dominated online news access, functioning as both aggregators and search engines with usage rates of 65% and 38% respectively 2.

The remarkably low rate of direct visits to news websites (only 6%) is tied for lowest globally alongside Thailand, contrasting dramatically with countries like Finland where direct access reaches 65% 1.

This intermediary-dependent news ecosystem creates a distinct challenge for Korean media companies: they must adapt to platform-specific audience behaviors while having limited direct relationships with their readers.

The longstanding dominance of these aggregators has established entrenched consumption patterns that newer platforms like TikTok and Instagram are now disrupting, particularly among younger audiences.

2️⃣ Political polarization in media consumption reflects broader societal divides

The 20-point gap between conservative and progressive YouTube news consumption in Korea (63% vs. 43%) stands in stark contrast to the global average difference of just 1 percentage point, revealing an unusually polarized media landscape 3.