Disney (NYSE: DIS) has turned to mobile video on demand services in South Korea to see if the service can help stem the piracy of its movies and TV shows that regularly turn up for free on the internet. On Friday, Disney-ABC International Television, the studio’s international distribution arm, announced that it had struck a deal with the country’s dominant network operator SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) to provide its subscribers with full-length movies and TV shows on their 3G enabled handsets. The content includes more than 30 Disney movies and a number of TV programs, including Wall-E and Desperate Housewives. According to local newspaper, the Korea Times, films will be available on the handsets within two months of DVD releases and will only be available streamed on SK Telecom’s mobile video platforms “Nate and June”. Pricing hasn’t yet been finalized, but is expected to cost 1,000-2000 won (about $1.30) per viewing.

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Piracy remains a huge problem in South Korea for Disney, and indeed other major content providers, which have been abandoning the market’s home video and DVD business as they can’t compete. Disney, however, still believes that consumers will respond to legal services given the “right” one. Speaking of its new mobile partnership, Disney-ABC International Television Asia-Pacific SVP and MD Robert Gilby told the Korea Times, “I am a firm believer, that when given the choice, consumers would choose legitimate services over illegal copies. What we need to do is build those legitimate services, and as the industry grows and we continue to enforce the rights to protect content, I believe customers will move increasingly to legitimate services.”

Aside from its SK Telecom mobile deal, Disney also provides its content to internet protocol television (IPTV) operators KT and SK Broadband and cable television operator Home Choice for VOD services. But the VOD market isn’t faring much better in the face of piracy; SK Broadband chief executive Cho Shin recently conceded the success of IPTV in Korea would depend on getting rid of illegal downloads.

Interestingly, despite the quality of SK Telecom’s Nate and June being considered very good, it is still not mainstream with only 55,000 monthly subscribers. Gilby noted that it was really about finding the right business models to make them “more attractive.”

Photo Credit: Disney-Pixar