‘squid gameIt was not an isolated and unrepeatable case.. According to data provided by Netflix, more than 60% of its subscribers have tried a Korean title in 2022. Two novelties from last year, “We are dead” and “Woo, an outstanding lawyer”, entered the top 10 most watched. non-English series followed in the history of the platform. Why is K-content captivating the world?
“Many Korean creators working with emotions that are actually universalNetflix Korea’s vice president of content, Don Kang, explains in a virtual chat with some European media from Berlinale: “But we don’t make TV shows and movies with this universality in mind. We don’t try to intuit how a TV show, character, story will be accepted outside of our country. “We’re honest with the public. It’s even better if we’re successful outside of Korea, but that’s not the goal.”
An industry veteran, Kang has worked in international distribution for seven years and is enthusiastic about the streaming revolution. Not long ago, it was difficult for a Western audience to access Korean cinema (almost entirely confined to the festival grounds) or the often long, often romantic K-dramas of the Asian country as television fiction. A series can now premiere worldwide on the same day, and Global phenomenon in record time; This is the case of “La gloria”, the most watched non-English series on Netflix in the first week of January 2023.
Netflix’s massive Korean offering of over thirty titles for this year includes the second episode of “La gloria” (March 10), as well as new seasons of “Sweet home” or “DP: The Deserter Hunter.” Although in Korea sequels aren’t overly genre Kang says they start making exceptions if “the public really likes something.” “But it also has to be a really strong, creative excuse, something that really justifies it.”
romance
Among the real novelties, “Time is calling you”, “Behind your touch”, “Intense love course” or the strong claim “Doona!” about an ordinary college student (Yang Se-jong). ) is in a relationship with a former K-pop idol (Suzy, a little self-taught).
survival
And in dramas like “The Monster of Old Seoul” (“A great fantasy production set in 1945, during the liberation days of Korea”), the themes of “The Squid Game”, namely survival and The class distinction will reappear. , the post-apocalyptic “Dark Knight” or rather the pre-apocalyptic “Farewell World”.
‘Thriller’ and dramas
But the 2023 shipment was marked by the desire to seek: new stories and new ways of telling. Kang lauds “The Masked Girl,” a “thriller” “filled with social criticism and purely cinematographic language.” We’ll see it throughout the year, from political dramas (something like ‘Queenmaker’, ‘Borgen’ in Korean) to a hospital drama going through a documentary series from the creator of ‘We are dead’ (‘Daily dose of sun’). true crime’ (“In the name of God: Holy treason”) about the so-called four Korean prophets.
reality
“There will be more types of offers,” Kang confirms. “And that includes some ‘reality shows’ [como el intrigante ‘Zombieverse’, especie de ‘Supervivientes’ en clave apocalipsis zombi]. We’d like to know that “Physical Ability: 100” currently tops the global Top 10 non-English language series. This is where our pursuit of diversity pays off and the public seeks the most diverse Korean culture. We came to the Berlinale for the world premiere of the director I admire, Sung-hyun Byun’s ‘Boksoon Must Die’, which is about a woman trying to balance her life as a murderer and a single mother. Victoria & Albert in South Kensington [Londres] currently hosting an exhibition on Korean popular culture. People are interested in us. Exciting!”.
Bong Joon-ho’s debut
After ‘Boksoon Must Die’ (March 31), other original Korean movies such as ‘Ballerina’, femme fatale from ‘Burning’, and ‘Ballerina’, a revenge ‘thriller’ from the director of ‘The Telephone’ starring Jeon Jong-seo, will be on our screens. or “Yellow Door: Searching for Director Bong’s unreleased short film” is a documentary about the first and barely-watched short film from Oscar-winning director of “Parasites” Bong Joon-ho. A thousand reasons not to say “goodbye Netflix”.