TikTok-driven K-culture consumption is projected to create approximately 40.64 trillion won ($29.4 billion) in economic ripple effects for South Korea by 2030, up 29% from 31.37 trillion won ($22.7 billion) this year, according to joint research by TikTok and global consulting firm Kearney. The report, titled "K-Culture on TikTok: Driving Global Economic Impact," surveyed 3,300 consumers aged 16–49 across 10 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, and examined K-pop, K-media and intellectual property content, K-beauty, K-food, K-fashion and K-tourism. Kearney said Korean culture has entered a K-Culture 4.0 phase centered on short-form platforms and user-generated content (UGC), following stages driven by television, social-media fandom and global streaming. The study found that 88.7% of respondents discover K-culture on TikTok, 69.5% have developed stronger preferences for it, 61.4% say related content increases their purchase intentions and 55.7% have spent money on related products or services. Consumer spending is expected to reach 13.92 trillion won ($10.1 billion) by 2030 from 10.75 trillion won ($7.8 billion) this year, while production-inducement effects are projected at 26.72 trillion won ($19.3 billion) and employment-inducement effects at approximately 118,865 jobs. K-beauty is expected to have the largest direct economic impact at 3.27 trillion won ($2.4 billion), K-tourism is forecast to grow 44.0% and generate about 30,384 jobs, and K-food is projected to lead production-inducement effects at 6.28 trillion won ($4.5 billion), narrowly ahead of K-beauty at 6.24 trillion won ($4.5 billion).