Disney+ stages dramatic comeback after losing nearly 1 million users in Korea

4.06 million → 3.13 million → 4.01 million.

Disney+, which has long struggled to establish a firm footing in South Korea's streaming market, has made a surprise recovery to 4 million monthly active users.

After briefly surpassing 4 million users in February for the first time in about two years, the platform's user count had plunged back to the low 3 million range before staging a dramatic rebound.

Disney+ is widely regarded as a platform particularly prone to so-called "grasshopper" subscribers — users who sign up for a month or two and then cancel. At one point, user sentiment turned sharply negative, with comments such as "there's nothing to watch because original content gaps are too long" and "Disney+ might as well leave Korea," fueling speculation that the service could exit the Korean market altogether. The key question now is whether the platform can sustain the momentum from this recovery.

According to IGAWorks' Mobile Index, Disney+'s MAU reached 4,011,263 last month — the first time the figure has topped 4 million since February, about six months ago.

Earlier this year, Disney+ recorded an MAU of about 4.06 million in February, surpassing the 4 million mark for the first time in roughly two years since the release of "Moving." After spending more than two years mired in the 2 million range, the platform drew renewed attention when original titles including "Made in Korea" and "Unmyeongjeonjaeng 49" gained unexpected popularity. A six-month subscription compensation promotion run by KT Corp at the time also contributed to the user increase.

The boost, however, did not last long. By June, Disney+'s MAU had plummeted to 3.13 million, shedding nearly 1 million users.

Last month's recovery is largely attributed to the late-July release of "Killers' Shopping Mall Season 2," one of Disney+'s most popular original series, which analysts say drove a significant surge in subscribers.

Prospects for this month also look positive. "Made in Korea Season 2," released Sept. 9, has been drawing in new subscribers and has held the top spot as the most-watched title on the platform since its debut.

However, many in the industry caution against reading the rebound as a sign of stable, sustained growth. Disney+ is considered to have unusually volatile monthly MAU swings compared with other streaming platforms, largely because a disproportionate number of users subscribe only in the month a new original title drops and then cancel once they have finished watching.

"The fact that nearly 1 million users can come and go within just a few months shows how many people sign up only when there's something to watch, binge it, and then cancel," an industry official said. "For this to translate into a steady, stable upward trend, Disney+ would need to continuously offer content compelling enough to keep users subscribed through the following month — and that is precisely the platform's biggest weakness."