Not Only 'Minari'... OTT Giants Eyeing 'K-Content'

Youn Yuh-jung, who played Soon-ja in the autobiographical film "Minari" directed by Korean-American Lee Isaac Chung, became the first Korean actor to win the Best Supporting Actress award at the 93rd Academy Awards.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The hot popularity of K-content does not stop with the film "Minari." From "Kingdom," which sparked the so-called "K-zombie" craze, to "Sweet Home" and "Crash Landing on You," dramas aired in various countries through the global online video service (OTT) Netflix have early on confirmed the success potential of K-content by adding Korean sensibility to solid storylines.

The reason why Netflix, the "OTT giant" with more than 200 million global paid subscribers, has boldly announced that it will invest a whopping $500 million (about 560 billion KRW) solely in Korean content production this year lies precisely here. K-content, which has captivated the world, has now become a key weapon in the global OTT war.

According to the industry on the 26th, the popularity of K-content is also confirmed in the recent moves of global OTTs such as Netflix, Disney Plus, and Apple TV Plus. Netflix, which is pursuing an "original content" strategy, has long positioned Korea as a central hub for content production. The scale of investment in Korean content, which was 15 billion KRW in its first year of entry in 2016, has increased every year, expanding more than 37 times in just five years. This year's investment plan is about 560 billion KRW. An industry insider evaluated, "It is close to the investment amount (about 700 billion KRW) over five years until last year," adding, "It reflects the confidence that content produced in Korea can succeed in the global market."

"Kingdom," which unfolds the familiar zombie story to overseas fans within Korean history, sparked a global K-zombie craze. "Sweet Home," released at the end of last year, was watched by more than 22 million viewers within four weeks of release. In last year's Netflix top 100 popular dramas list, as many as nine Korean dramas such as "It's Okay to Not Be Okay," "Start-Up," and "Hospital Playlist" were included. "Crash Landing on You," which Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings cited as the most enjoyable drama, even ranked first in the Japanese market. Netflix is currently producing a global extended version based on "My Love, Don't Cross That River," the highest-grossing Korean documentary, depicting the love story of elderly couples from six countries.

Disney Plus, the "content kingdom" that challenged Netflix, is also showing interest in K-content. Luke Kang, President of Walt Disney Company Asia-Pacific, stated, "We will produce K-content based on Korean intellectual property (IP) and launch the service in Korea within this year." It is known that internally, they judged securing K-content as essential to dominate the rapidly growing Asian market.

Apple TV Plus has even started producing the original series "Pachinko," which deals with the stories of Korean immigrants after the Japanese colonial period. Youn Yuh-jung, who won the Academy (Oscar) Award for Best Supporting Actress for "Minari," and Lee Min-ho are cast and already filming. Unlike in the past when Korean actors only appeared as supporting roles, it is noteworthy that Korea and Korean codes are embedded at the core of the material.

However, concerns are also rising that K-content is overly dependent on global OTT platforms in the process of expanding worldwide. The so-called Netflix dependency is deepening, raising criticism that domestic production companies may be reduced to subcontracting bases for K-content. Domestic OTTs such as Wavve and TVING lag behind in their own investment scale and still have a long way to go to overseas services. An industry insider said, "The benefits of K-content OTT exports could be monopolized by global OTTs," adding, "There is a need to consider nurturing domestic platforms to prevent digital colonization and the outflow of digital content revenue overseas."