The rise of short-form content is reshaping the entertainment landscape, especially among younger generations. The trend is seen as inevitable, but experts are concerned about quality and sustainability.
New movie viewing trends
For Mr. Nguyen Hoang (33 years old), owner of a flower shop on Nguyen Van Tuyet Street (Hanoi), see movie summary video Facebook is one of my work habits, along with listening to music.
He said the work from wrapping flowers for customers, receiving orders, shipping orders to importing flowers and doing the books kept him busy all day, with no time or mind left to keep track of a set of products. TV series series, as well as going to the cinema like when he was a student. The movie summary videos help him focus on work and still “watch” a movie.
“Although I know it’s hard to retain as much as watching a normal movie, I don’t have the time, so watching an entire movie is quite a luxury. If I come across a full review video, the movie will still linger in my mind because I have grasped the main plot. It can be entertaining in a limited time,” said Mr. Hoang.
Like Mr. Hoang, Ms. Nhat Le (33 years old), a credit officer of a bank based in Hoang Cau street (Hanoi), does not have much free time to watch movies like before, because in addition to office work, I also have to take care of my small family.
Ms. Le said that the movie summary videos on social networks help her save more time. Besides, according to Ms. Le, most of the movies summarized are good and selective.
Ms. Minh Thuy (36 years old), business director of a dental clinic in Ho Chi Minh City, believes that movie summary videos meet the needs of most working-age people today. It is quick, saves time, and still updates the main content of the movies they love.
“Those videos are suitable for movie lovers like me,” said Thuy.
Not watching as often as the above people, Ms. Van Anh (33 years old), an employee of a seaplane service company in Hanoi, looks for movie review videos to avoid wasting time watching movies that are not to her liking. If she finishes watching a short video and finds the content interesting, Ms. Van Anh will look for the original movie to watch in full.
The above audiences are just a small minority of people who enjoy watching movie recap videos. Looking at the statistics below Facebook movie review videos, anyone can see that they easily get tens, hundreds, even millions of views, with countless discussions. This is a number that any movie producer would love to have for their original work.
Understanding user tastes, famous platforms have made changes to suit the times, for example, YouTube added Shorts, Facebook has Videos and Reels, Instagram also added Reels or the explosion of TikTok globally...
Not only limited to summarizing movies, social networks have also seen a wave of short film production with all kinds of content, mainly controversial content such as mother-in-law - daughter-in-law conflicts, adultery, discrimination between rich and poor... All have in common that they only last a few minutes to a few dozen minutes, easily accessible to the impatient generation of viewers.
This trend is not only developing in Vietnam. According to The Korea Times , many young people Korea are turning away from traditional long-form entertainment, opting instead for short, easy-to-follow content.
Office worker Park Seung Jin (28 years old) watches a series of TV shows continuously during the 20-minute commute from home to the company and vice versa.
In Korea, such videos are called mini-dramas, which help viewers grasp the general plot.
“I feel like watching popular TV series back to back is a waste of time. I even speed up 1.5 times when watching videos that compress 16 TV episodes into one hour,” she said.
Park Jong Hyuk (28 years old) also enjoys watching short content, including movie summaries of about 30 minutes to an hour.
“The reason I watch them is because the apps seem to automatically direct me to the Shorts button when I open YouTube or Instagram. Instead of actively searching for them, I watch whatever shows up,” the viewer shared.
Ha Min Ji (25 years old) spends about 2-3 hours a day watching short form content while riding the subway. She watches whatever content the algorithm suggests.
“It’s convenient because I don’t have to choose which videos to watch. I think choosing which videos to watch is a difficult task. I also like watching short dramas created specifically for social media because they are short, easy to understand and don’t have complicated plots,” the recent university graduate emphasized.
The explosion of new film genres
While Vietnam has traditionally been dominated by review videos and amateur self-produced videos, the rise of short-form content is reshaping the Korean entertainment landscape, especially among the younger generation. What started as casual clips on social media has transformed into a thriving industry, with dedicated platforms and original content across a variety of genres.
The survey conducted by the Korea Communications Commission and the Korea ICT Promotion Association, released on December 30, 2024, clearly shows this trend. The share of short-form content among the types of streaming services that people use the most is expected to increase significantly from 58.1% in 2023 to 70.7% in 2024. This is in contrast to other types of content such as original shows and movies on streaming sites, which only showed a slight increase or decrease of around 5%.
The success of short films like Night Fishing (2024), 12 minutes long, starring My Free Diary Son Suk Ku, demonstrating the potential of short-form content in 2025. The 1,000 won ($0.70) film, originally scheduled for a two-week run at local CGV theaters, was extended, attracting 40,000 viewers. The success prompted CGV to launch its “Deep Dive: Winter” campaign, which includes three 15-minute ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) experiences for 1,000 won.
Korean streaming platforms also announced the launch of their short video services.
Watcha launched Shortcha, a dedicated short drama service, in September 2024. The service offers short dramas that are less than a minute long. It features content from countries including South Korea, China, Japan, and the United States. In early 2025, new series I Became a Cult Leader's Wife (tentative translation: I Became the Wife of a Cult Leader) officially debuted to the audience on this platform.
Tving is also introducing a short-form service in December 2024. Users will be able to easily switch between long-form and short-form content within the app. The service will initially focus on highlights from its vast library, which includes original series, dramas, variety shows, educational programs, and KBO League baseball and professional basketball games. Tving plans to launch original short-form content in the new year.
Additionally, dedicated short-form platforms like Top Reels and PulsePick launched in April and December 2024. Focusing on fast-paced, two-minute dramas, these platforms attract significant viewership.
PulsePic, a PulseClip platform, is backed by creators of popular webtoons Solo Leveling , which offers more content, including variety shows. The platform is expanding its short-form content library with the successful launch of shows like variety show Charlie Kim's Laughter Factory, featuring comedian Kim Jun Ho, and Single Man and Woman, starring familiar actor Yoon Hyun Min.
Sustainability concerns
Experts agree that the rise of short-form entertainment in today's media landscape is a natural evolution. However, they express concern about some downsides to this trend.
Cultural critic Jung Duk Kyun analyzed: "It is natural for the format of content and the content itself to change as new media emerges. Just like we used to only watch movies on the big screen, now there is daily content such as dramas and series, with the advent of TV. The same is true with the emergence of new forms of content. Right now, since it is the early stages of new content emerging, there is a lot of stimulating content to attract attention, but I don't think that only such content will continue to be produced in the future."
Meanwhile, Yun Suk Jin, a cultural critic and professor at Chungnam National University, said the shift to short-form content is largely due to economic pressures as traditional long-form content is becoming increasingly difficult to produce profitably.
Having an advantage in many aspects, Mr. Yun raised concerns about the quality and sustainability of this type of content.
“Maintaining quality short-form content is a challenge. While short-form content is easy to capture attention and easy to produce, it is difficult to create something that is both interesting and sustainable. To compete effectively, creators must focus on developing strong stories in a shorter format, balancing instant gratification with overall storytelling,” the expert warned.
Talking about the unexpected success of the short film Night Fishing , Mr. Yun argues, reflects an interest in short-form storytelling rather than the creation of an entirely new market.
“While the term ‘short film’ may be new, the concept of short films and independent films has been around for a long time. The key is to find ways to strengthen your competitive position. It is short-sighted to focus only on short-term profits. Build “A sustainable business requires long-term planning and investment. Unfortunately, many manufacturing companies do not invest in the necessary infrastructure,” he said.
Besides, not all audiences like movie summary videos. For them, watching movies is not only to know the content, but more importantly, to experience and fully enjoy each level of emotion from the characters, as well as to reflect on the messages that the director and screenwriter convey.
As a dentist in Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Minh Khue (33 years old) does not have much free time. However, she does not watch movie summary videos because to her, they are a waste of time.
“I tried watching it once but felt it was a waste of time and left no lasting impression, just like watching the news. Watching a movie brings a completely different experience, not so empty and superficial,” Ms. Khue explained.
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