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 Pictures
Netflix is spending $2.5 billion on Korean content material and sees alternatives past the Asian area, stated Don Kang, Netflix’s vp of Korean content material.
Over the following 4 years, Netflix will make investments $2.5 billion in varied forms of Korean content material spanning TV collection, movies and nonfiction exhibits, Kang instructed CNBC’s “Squawk Field Asia.” He stated it should double the variety of nonfiction exhibits it’s producing, from about 4 in 2022 to a minimum of eight this 12 months, reflecting the Korean viewers’s demand for selection exhibits.
These embrace the truth present “Bodily 100” it launched earlier this 12 months, which contains a hundred contestants battling one another in a collection of bodily strenuous challenges.
“I believe that was actually the primary nonfiction present to have world viewing, getting individuals actually excited,” he stated. Korean competitors or nonfiction exhibits do not usually journey very far outdoors Korea and the Asia-Pacific area, however Kang stated the success of “Bodily 100” is a “actually optimistic signal.”
“Bodily 100” topped Netflix’s weekly viewership for non-English TV exhibits for 2 weeks in 2022. One other Korean selection present that earned world success in 2022 was actuality relationship present “Single’s Inferno,” which Kang stated featured within the world prime 10 checklist.
Increasing to a world viewers
Kang stated he labored on the worldwide distribution of Korean exhibits earlier than becoming a member of Netflix in 2018. “Again then it was principally romantic comedies” that obtained traction, he stated. 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 by means of subtitles and dubbing, which removes language as a primary barrier to entry and “makes a world of distinction,” he stated.
“You may’t underestimate the … various tastes that folks have all around the globe,” Kang stated, citing the thriller collection “Squid Sport” for example. Netflix had thought of altering its title to one thing with extra context for worldwide viewers, however finally stored its authentic “catchy title that provokes curiosity,” stated Kang.
Netflix’s slate of Korean content material introduced to this point 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 exhibits.
Kang stated Korea has the flexibility 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 probability of being liked by audiences … around the globe.”
