Netflix aims to have stronger presence in Korea

Comedian Yoo Jae-suk poses during a press conference for his new show “Busted!” at InterContinental Seoul COEX, on April 30. / Yonhap

By Park Jin-hai

When Yoo Jae-suk, the longtime favorite on MBC's reality show “Infinite Challenge” and one of Korea's most influential comedians, announced he would leave the 13-year-long reality show, all eyes were on the star's next move. And his choice was to go to Netflix's original show.

In the highly anticipated “Busted!,” the global streaming giant's first Korean reality show, Yoo and Lee Kang-soo of “Infinite Challenge” join with five other stars including Ahn Jae-wook and EXO's Sehun. Its first two episodes out of ten were unveiled on Friday.

“I've long wanted a change. I thought this show is fresh, so decided to join it,” Yoo said during a recent press conference to promote the show.

His new show, directed by “Running Man” producers, mixes elements of the reality show and mystery solving suspense. It will become available in 190 countries in 25 different languages through Netflix that has 125 million paid subscribers all around the world.

“Since the show will be streamed to international audiences, I get the jitters and am concerned that what if it doesn't meet the expectations of global audiences.”

Experts say Netflix's global expansion strategy will help Yoo remain influential. “Yoo can reach bigger audiences through the streaming service. Netflix can serve as a launch pad for him and he can become the next Charlie Chaplin or Mr. Bean,” culture critic Jung Duk-hyun said.

The U.S. streaming service, which began its service in Korea in 2016, had struggled with slow growth here, partly because it lacked Korean content. Aware of the problem, it added popular cable TV shows to its slate and went further to produce more Korean content.

Since it invested $50 million in the film “Okja” by Korean director Bong Joon-ho that made a big splash at prestigious film festivals last year, Neflix has been aggressively expanding its investment into Korean content.

This year two Netflix drama series _ popular webtoon-based drama “Love Alarm” and star writer Kim Eun-hee's “Kingdom” _ will debut.

Apart from “Busted!,” the U.S. streaming company is also collaborating with YG Entertainment, one of Korea's top three entertainment agencies, to produce its second Korean reality show “YG FSO” (Future Strategy Office).

Netflix, which has been operating in the country through its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore, will increase its Korean staff as well. They will be in charge of the production and overseas distribution of Korean content. Netflix will hire five more staff members by the end of the year, according to the company.

Analysts say Korea content, which has a wide fan base all across Asia, will become increasingly important for Netflix, as it seeks to diversify its market to non-English speaking regions.

The low-budget-but-good-quality of Korean content is another merit that attracts the streaming giant. “Okja” cost $50 million to produce, making it the most expensive Korean-language film ever, but it is still much lower cost than the average Hollywood blockbuster. The drama series “Kingdom,” known to cost 1.5-2 billion won per episode, remains one-fifth the cost of the average American show.

“It is as if Netflix, a mammoth game player, rolled up its sleeves to begin its marketing in Korea,” said Kim Seong-cheol, a professor of media at Korea University. “For producers and actors, Netflix with its deep pockets and wide global distribution channel would look more attractive than local content companies.”

Netflix completely has broken the previous industry prediction that it would not work on Korean market, says an official of a local TV station.

“By producing content with celebrities such as Yoo Jae-suk and Yoo Byung-jae, it has succeeded in gaining attention from viewers. Those celebrities would have chosen Netflix, in the belief that they can expand their influence through the platform,” the official said. “For the young smartphone generation, YouTube and Netflix are the easiest platforms for them to access streaming videos. When those platforms come up with content that cater to the young generation, the whole territory of the local entertainment business will change.”