Younghee, the enormous robotic doll from Netflix thriller “Squid Sport,” exhibited on the Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea. “Squid Sport” was a world success and stays Netflix’s most-watched present of all time.
Chung Sung-jun | Getty Photos
Netflix is spending $2.5 billion on Korean content material and sees alternatives past the Asian area, mentioned Don Kang, Netflix’s vp of Korean content material.
Over the subsequent 4 years, Netflix will make investments $2.5 billion in numerous sorts of Korean content material spanning TV sequence, movies and nonfiction reveals, Kang instructed CNBC’s “Squawk Field Asia.” He mentioned it’s going to double the variety of nonfiction reveals it’s producing, from about 4 in 2022 to a minimum of eight this 12 months, reflecting the Korean viewers’s demand for selection reveals.
These embrace the fact present “Bodily 100” it launched earlier this 12 months, which incorporates a hundred contestants battling one another in a sequence of bodily strenuous challenges.
“I believe that was actually the primary nonfiction present to have international viewing, getting folks actually excited,” he mentioned. Korean competitors or nonfiction reveals do not sometimes journey very far exterior Korea and the Asia-Pacific area, however Kang mentioned the success of “Bodily 100” is a “actually constructive signal.”
“Bodily 100” topped Netflix’s weekly viewership for non-English TV reveals for 2 weeks in 2022. One other Korean selection present that earned international success in 2022 was actuality relationship present “Single’s Inferno,” which Kang mentioned featured within the international prime 10 listing.
Increasing to a world viewers
Kang mentioned he labored on the worldwide distribution of Korean reveals earlier than becoming a member of Netflix in 2018. “Again then it was principally romantic comedies” that acquired traction, he mentioned. Distribution was restricted to close by nations like Japan and different Southeast Asian nations because of language and cultural variations in different areas, he added.
However Netflix invests in localization via subtitles and dubbing, which removes language as a primary barrier to entry and “makes a world of distinction,” he mentioned.
“You may’t underestimate the … various tastes that individuals have all around the globe,” Kang mentioned, citing the thriller sequence “Squid Sport” for instance. Netflix had thought of altering its title to one thing with extra context for worldwide viewers, however in the end saved its authentic “catchy title that provokes curiosity,” mentioned Kang.
Netflix’s slate of Korean content material introduced up to now for this 12 months additionally diversifies away from romance, together with genres like drama, apocalyptic in addition to social commentary and intrigue alongside its nonfiction reveals.
Kang mentioned Korea has the power to inform tales that convey its distinctive tradition, but in addition resonate with the common feelings of world viewers. “When a present is liked by a Korean viewers, it has a really, very excessive chance of being liked by audiences … around the globe.”