Ted Sarandos praises “power of Korean storytelling” ahead of Netflix doubling investment to $2.5bn
How many of us in this community has watched a Korean film or TV Series on Netflix?
I posted a while back about the Streamers $2.5bn investment into K-content, but this article caught my eye. We all probably know about the knock-on effects that film production can have on local economies, but this caught my eye in terms of unexpected benefits:
Sarandos talked about the “ripple effects around the Korean economy” seen in a Deloitte report in 2021 saying “how the global success of K-content from 2016 to 2020 created approximately KW5.6tn ($4.3bn) in economic ripple effects and created about 16,000 jobs.”
And here’s the unexpected element:
“Who would have guessed, for example, that a TV show made in Korea for Koreans would cause a craze for green track suits in America, or push sales of Vans sneakers up by nearly 8,000% when released on Netflix,” he said, referencing Korean smash hit Squid Game. “That’s the power of Korean storytelling.”
Enjoy your read and post a comment below,
https://www.screendaily.com/news/ted-sarandos-praises-power-of-korean-st...?
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Such an interesting development and breakthrough in overseas' content gaining traction with US audiences. In general, a great transition is taking place toward acceptance of foreign content and Americans increasing comfort with subtitles to enjoy this content in the original language.
That’s good to hear, Jack Binder. In Europe and the UK we haven’t had such a problem with subtitles, probably because of the many languages involved. We are used to that kind of content, from French auteurs, to Scandi Noir.
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Really interesting points Geoff, thanks for sharing. Personally I've been a fan of K dramas and films since pre-Squid games, but it's really good to see how Squid Games drove a global market and interest. It's been a short lived phenomenon as far as I can tell unfortunately, at least until S2 is released; it'd be wonderful to see people getting similarly enthused around other K dramas as they have a very unique and engaging storytelling styles.
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I watched Squid Game. Thought it was brilliant. I thought Parasite was a pile of garbage and to me it beggars belief how it won best film,.
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Watched quite a few and enjoyed almost all of them. Also fully agree with Jack Binder word for word. We've been preaching how the world is opening up for years now. This platform was built 12 years ago with an eye toward inevitable global expansion. I see it every year through our partnerships at Cannes and AFM - those who embrace what's happening are reaping the rewards. Those ignoring or pushing back are getting left in the dust.
Richard "RB" Botto I agree RB. I was thrilled to watch 'Kingdom'. What a great take on the zombie genre and then they followed this up with 'Ashin of the North' which I've heard some refer to as a sidequel story to 'Kingdom'. It was just wonderful storytelling.
From my point of view, I want to write internationally appealing stories that help me to network across borders. I think it's a really exciting time for us all.
I've heard great things about Kingdom, but haven't seen it yet.
I can tell you first hand, your approach is a winning one, Geoff. Everyone should be thinking globally. There are no walls any longer.