What’s become increasingly clear in recent years is that the world has gone into a K-Pop frenzy. Today, there are plenty of K-Pop collaborations with North American artists. At the same time, artists such as Lady Gaga even features K-Pop vibes in her own music. Indeed, the K-Pop brand of entertainment has taken over the globe. And for streaming giant Netflix, capitalizing on the K-content means they’re essentially giving subscribers what they want.
Take A Look At Netflix’s Current K-Pop Slate
If you can’t get enough of K-content, Netflix has certainly got you covered. It doesn’t matter whether you’re into romance, dramedies, thrillers or action. One of the Netflix’s original Korean series is Kingdom, which ran for two seasons. Meanwhile, other popular Korean dramas available to stream include Crash Landing on You, Signal, Prison Playbook, When the Camellia Blooms, Mr. Sunshine, and Itaewon Class. As for films, there’s Pandora, Forgotten, Lucid Dream, Tune in for Love, High Society, The Drug King and many others.
Netflix Has Been Testing The Waters In Korea For Some Time Now
In the beginning, there was no way of gauging how well Korean dramas are doing on Netflix. Nonetheless, the company remained optimistic. “When we started three years ago, we had a high degree of confidence that Korean drama would work well in Asia, but we had no internal metrics of our own,” Netflix Korean content director Kim Minyoung explained to Variety in a 2019 interview. “Now that we do have the data, our task is to find titles that both address existing Korean drama franchises and draw in new audiences.”
Kim also explained that Netflix has been determined to strengthen its presence in Korea, which includes working with local television stations and production companies. Kim added, “We are building a team of experts in Korea who are helping Korean content and creators get into the global spotlight.”
If you must know, Netflix didn’t exactly do well in Korea when it first entered the market. However, according to allkpop, the company managed to grow its subscriber base after releasing Okja in June 2017. And with the growing current demand today, increasing its commitment to K-content is undoubtedly the right move.
For Netflix, Providing More K-Content Makes A Lot Of Sense
“K-content is also popular globally, and we're investing heavily in Korean stories,” the company revealed in its shareholder letter for Q4 2019. Netflix’s investment comes in the form of a partnership with a major Korean studio.
“In this past quarter, we inked a TV output deal with JTBC, a leading Korean media company, and a strategic partnership with CJ ENM’s Studio Dragon, Korea’s largest TV studio,” Netflix also stated in its shareholder letter. “These deals will enable us to bring more K-dramas to fans all over the world.”
Meanwhile, in a press statement, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, remarked, “This partnership with CJ ENM and Studio Dragon demonstrates our commitment to Korean entertainment and allows us to bring more top-tier Korean drama to Netflix members in Korea and all over the world.” The deal also means that CJ ENM would to right to sell as much as 4.99 percent of Studio Dragon shares to the streaming giant.
Over the years, Netflix has already released some of Studio Dragon’s, including Mr. Sunshine, Romance is a Bonus Book, Hi Bye, Mama!, and Stranger. The company is also behind the hit Netflix favorite Crash Landing on You. In addition, the studio also collaborated with the streaming giant for the Netflix K-drama Love Alarm.
For Netflix, Studio Dragon has also produced an upcoming show called Start-Up. The series revolves around a group of people pursuing their dreams in start-up companies. According to Netflix, Start-Up is set to premiere this October.
One of Netflix’s most highly anticipated K-Pop films is a documentary that focuses on the lives of South Korean music sensation BLACKPINK. Directed by Caroline Suh, BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky provides never-before-seen-footage of members Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo, and Rosé. Fans will get to see a glimpse of the women during training days. In addition, the documentary would also offer a first look of the group’s recording process as they work on their follow up album. Overall, you can expect the film to reveal some things you didn’t know about BLACKPINK.
In a press statement, Netflix vice president of Documentary Features Adam Del Deo remarked, “Director Caroline Suh’s trusted relationship with Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa offers organic and honest moments that give viewers an authentic inside look into the lives of BLACKPINK, as well as the dedication and grueling preparation each member puts into every hit song, history-making performance and sold-out arena tour.”
Aside from this, Netflix has also confirmed that it is working on a new Korean sci-fi mystery thriller entitled The Silent Sea. The futuristic film stars Korean actor Gong Yoo who rose to fame after starring in the Korean thriller Train to Busan. The film will be released exclusively on Netflix.