The Vice-President of Netflix Original Content in South Korea told us about the recent success of Korean series on the platform with the general public.
We knew there would be a before and after Squid Game on Netflix. However, the popularity of Korean content is not limited to the planetary success of this series, the second season of which is currently in full swing!
Enriched each week with new additions, the Netflix catalog of South Korean productions is enjoying growing success with subscribers to the platform. When some thought it was just a temporary fad, the k-dramas phenomenon continues to see its popularity increase over the weeks.
In order to better understand the reasons for this incredible enthusiasm, we were able to discuss exclusively in France with Don Kang, the Vice-President of Netflix original content for South Korea!
How to explain the current craze for Korean productions, and particularly for romantic dramas produced by Netflix?
Don Kang (Vice President of Netflix Original Content in South Korea): There is no particular reason, at least none that seems to me to justify this enthusiasm. We recently talked about this with director Park Chan-wook, and it is true that the expectations of Korean audiences are generally very high, thus obliging us to ensure that our content is always of high quality.
Especially in the case of romantic dramas, I would say that love is a universal theme, even if our scriptwriters mix in typical Korean subjects. Like the series Crash Landing on You which evokes the relations between North Korea and South Korea. Or even I will see you in my next life which evokes the past lives of the main character, and the idea of reincarnation.
The formula is the same, but the approach is different each time. So by combining these typically Korean themes with the codes of romantic comedy, and characters to identify with, I think that’s the main reason for the popularity of these series internationally.
France maintains privileged links with Asian culture. And yet, over the past few years, k-dramas have gone from being series for a niche audience to mainstream productions that appeal to a larger audience. How do you explain that ?
We are delighted to see that Asian productions are having success in France. It is an extraordinary passion. Before joining Netflix, I was already working in the distribution of Korean productions internationally.
A few years ago, it was really difficult to sell the rights to our films outside our borders and the Asian continent. Nobody was really interested in what we were producing at the time. This is also why I decided to join Netflix, because streaming makes it possible to connect all audiences around the world and a program can now be discovered simultaneously in the four corners of the globe.
Our job is to produce quality content to appeal to our local audience. And the odds are pretty high that if a series works in its home country, then it’s likely to do well in other parts of the world as well. Thanks to dubbing and subtitles, each series can speak to all audiences in their original language.
With a traditional distribution network, there would be a lag of several years between release in South Korea and other countries around the world. The advent of streaming has therefore brought a lot to the Korean drama industry, and to their growing popularity internationally.
We have seen the arrival of a Korean remake of La Casa de Papel. Can we expect more replays of Netflix hits like this? Or on the contrary international remakes of Korean series, such as a French version of Squid Game?
(laughter) That’s a great question! From a creative point of view, we live in truly extraordinary times! And especially when it comes to developing large licenses. We have started conclusive trials, but I believe that the correct methodology is not to make remakes, in the sense of doing exactly the same thing in Korean.
It would make sense if a series was only a local hit, and a new version could bring it to a whole different audience. There really wouldn’t be any point in doing the same thing again as it is, you have to bring something new to the story. There are a lot of possibilities in this regard, and the times in which we live now allow us to bring these projects to fruition.