Netflix Embraces Korean Content
A still from "Forgotten" / Courtesy of Megabox Plus M
Netflix Embraces Korean Content
By Jason Bechervaise
Prior to the era of streaming, viewers overseas eager to catch Korean films were only able to do so either in cinemas through theatrical releases or film festivals, while a number of titles were released on DVD.
In the U.K., for example, a once-thriving market for physical media, the latest titles from the likes of Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho together with other Korean auteurs were readily available together with numerous other titles.
The films on offer didn’t necessarily reflect the true breadth of Korean cinema, illustrated by the problematic “Asia Extreme” branding under which many of Park Chan-wook films fell. But it was nevertheless an invaluable medium to gain access to Korean films at a time when there was a palpable interest in Korean cinema on the world stage.
Later legal downloads through services such as iTunes have provided a further avenue through which cinephiles can watch Korean films. Meanwhile, streaming sites including Netflix have caused a seismic shift in the way films are distributed and consumed.
Korean films are usually sold to distributors abroad who will then hold the rights to a particular country or set of territories. What Netflix is seeking to do is secure global rights to their content where their subscribers can watch it on computers, tablet PCs, game consoles and on their smartphones while on the move.
The service has 109 million subscribers worldwide and is available in 190 different countries meaning that once it has acquired the global rights to a Korean film such as “Pandora,” it’s game over for any other distributor seeking to get hold of it.
Underscoring their appetite for Korean cinema, Netflix was recently announced that it had picked up the global rights at the scriptwriting stage to the mystery thriller “Forgotten” that was released in Korea on Nov. 29.
Starring Kang Ha-neul and Kim Moo-yeol, and directed by Jang Hang-jun the film follows a young man who tries to uncover the truth behind the kidnapping of his older brother.
It will be made available globally on Netflix early next year following its release here in Korea.
Following a similar trajectory is Kim Hong-sun’s thriller “The Chase” having also hit screens on Nov. 29 and is to be released on Netflix next year.
The feature about the search for a serial killer starring Baek Yoon-sik and Seong Dong-il is being distributed by one of Korea’s major distributors, NEW. The studio also sold the global rights to Netflix to two of their upcoming films: “Steel Rain” and “Psychokinesis.”
The thriller “Steel Rain” is the latest film from Yang Woo-seok who directed the hit “The Attorney” and stars Jung Woo-sung as a former North Korean agent who tries to prevent nuclear war on the Korean peninsula. It hits screens on Dec. 14 in time for the busy Christmas season.
“Psychokinesis” is Yeon Sang-ho’s new film about a man who acquires superpowers. Yeon’s “Train to Busan” was a huge box office hit accumulating more than 11.5 million admissions locally, and became the most successful Korean film abroad ever.
The film goes on release in Korea in February ahead of the lunar new year giving it an opportunity to pull in the local crowds before hitting Netflix at some point next year.
This allows the film to try and recoup its budget, while also giving audiences overseas an opportunity to see the film not long after its release in Korea. One potential drawback is that it will perhaps deter festival programmers from selecting it to screen at festivals.
Netflix had also acquired the rights from NEW to a pair of earlier titles “Pandora” and “Lucid Dream” while the Korean studio had distributed Netflix’s “Okja” in the local independent cinemas. Rather tellingly, the multiplexes, which include CGV and Lotte Cinemas, refused to screen it after they claimed it would disrupt the distribution ecosystem.
The film directed by Bong Joon-ho accrued over 320,000 admissions in independent cinemas alone, a testament to the director’s box office clout, despite it being available online. The winners here were not the local studios, but Netflix and Bong illustrated through the immense coverage the film and its controversy generated both here and abroad.
“Okja,” which was fully funded by Netflix to the tune of $50 million represents how they are investing in their own exclusive content. While the Hollywood studios continue to rely on franchises, sequels, reboots, it is clear that Netflix is being more audacious in the content it’s financing. It is doubtful a Hollywood major would take such a bold risk in investing in such an idiosyncratic project like “Okja.”
Netflix’s gargantuan annual production budget ($6 billion in 2017) means it is in a position to finance localized content. Unlike Hollywood studios where subtitled content remains risky, the streaming giant, which doesn’t have to worry about box office sales, is eager to produce content that appeals to specific markets and demographics, while also offering titles that generate mass appeal.
Given that Korean content remains popular not just locally but internationally as well, especially in Asia, it is not surprising that Netflix is embracing Korean films and TV series.
Indeed, Netflix’s original content includes Korean dramas in the in the form of “Love Alarm” about a special app, and Kim Seong-hun’s six-part mini-series “Kingdom” that is to feature zombies in the Joseon Dynasty, and stars Ju Ji-hoon alongside Bae Doona. They are expected to be released online next year.
Jason Bechervaise is a movie columnist for The Korea Times. He can be reached at
jase@koreanfilm.org.uk
.