Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Netflix committed to fostering creative talent in Korea: co-CEO
Ted Sarandos, a co-CEO of Netflix, speaks during a press conference at Four Seasons Hotels in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Netflix
By Lee Gyu-lee
By Lee Gyu-lee
Ted Sarandos, the co-CEO of Netflix, said the company's recent announcement of a $2.5 billion investment in Korea will contribute to nurturing creative talent in the country.
“It's been an amazing partnership between the Korean content community and Netflix. But I believe we are just scratching the surface of the possible. And that's why Netflix is investing in the long run,” the co-CEO said during a press conference in Seoul, Thursday, during his three-day visit to the country.
“Over the next four years, Netflix will be investing over $2.5 billion in Korea. That's twice as much as we have invested when we launched here in 2016. It includes funding for training programs for next-generation creators in front of and behind the camera.”
He added that the platform is committed to growing its presence in Korea due to the rising demand for Korean content following the global popularity of series and movies including “Squid Game,” “All of Us Are Dead” and “The Glory.”
“Between 2022 and 2025, one in five titles made for Netflix will come from first-hand writers or directors. This shows how much we are committed to growing our community in Korea,” he said.
“In the longer term, we need to learn, adapt and innovate together. It's not always going to be easy as the audiences are incredibly demanding … but we are committed to the partnership because we have seen first-hand how much our members love K-content.”
A scene from the Netflix original film “Kill Boksoon” / Courtesy of Netflix
Noting that the platform has blazed a trail in discovering local stories for its global viewers, Sarandos said Korean content has especially displayed stellar performance.
“We invested in original, authentic local stories in over 50 countries because we wanted to build audiences globally since we believe that great stories come from anywhere. And nowhere has this been more true than in Korea. About 60 percent of our members have now watched Korean titles. Viewing Korean content increased six times in just the last four years … 90 percent of Korean romance viewing comes from outside Korea,” he said, adding that such demand also contributed to the country's economy.
“We are very, very interested in fostering mutual growth in the creative system. Content discovery, production, dubbing, and subtitling all contributed to the success of K-content around the world. It has had many positive, ripple effects throughout the Korean economy,” Sarandos said.
When asked about Netflix's stance on the contentious issue of network usage fees in Korea, in which telecommunications companies are demanding network maintenance costs from content providers, the CEO said he sees this as an opportunity rather than a conflict.
“There's a clear and direct symbiotic relationship between content platforms and internet industries. What consumers want are great shows and films to watch. And they want the internet to work well, for sure. We focus on what we do best and create a better ecosystem for everybody,” he said, emphasizing that the two industries need to cooperate to provide better content experiences for consumers.
“We've invested about a billion dollars in developing Open Connect that reduces the price of connection around the world … and will continue to. I'd say working together to create a better consumer experience, built for the internet or content, is what we should be doing.”