'Space Sweepers' garners 26 million household viewers on Netflix
“Space Sweepers” has drawn more than 26 million household viewers on Netflix. Courtesy of Netflix
By Dong Sun-hwa
Korean space opera film, “Space Sweepers,” drew more than 26 million household viewers on Netflix during the first 28 days of its release (Feb. 5-Mar. 4), according to the streaming service Wednesday.
The movie also dominated Netflix's daily top 10 rankings in 80 countries upon its premiere, showing how Korean content can transcend national and linguistic boundaries.
“Space Sweepers,” starring A-listers Song Joong-ki and Kim Tae-ri, is regarded as the first Korean sci-fi movie set in space. It follows the crew of a junk-collecting spaceship named The Victory, who collect and sell space debris. After the crewmembers accidentally discover a humanoid called Dorothy ― known as a weapon of mass destruction ― they embark on a “dangerous deal.”
Song appears as the shuttle's pilot Taeho, while Kim plays Captain Jang. The movie also features other high-profile actors including Jin Sun-kyu and Yoo Hai-jin. Jin takes the role of Tiger Park, a former “drug king,” and Yoo plays a former military robot.
Jo Sung-hee, who worked together with Song in 2012 in the fantasy romance, “A Werewolf Boy,” directed the flick.
This year, Netflix plans to invest around 550 billion won ($490 million) to produce original Korean content ranging from action films to stand-up comedy shows. In February, it disclosed a list of Korean series in the works in 2021. Among them are “The Silent Sea,” a sci-fi mystery thriller starring Gong Yoo and Bae Doo-na, and “Kingdom: Ashin of the North,” which is written by Kim Eun-hee.
As of 2020, Netflix had about 3.8 million household viewers in Korea. Revenue generated in Korea totaled 415.5 billion won ($368 million) last year, up 123.5 percent from 2019.