In many ways, spending heavily inKoreais a no-brainer.
I knew that Netflixs marketing and publicity muscle was powerful and would enable global audiences to enjoy Korean content.
Korea comes off as Netflixs biggest single territory spend within Asia.
Park Yurim in ‘Ballerina.‘Yoo Eun Mi/Netflix
But none of these territories appear to be getting the same budget as Korea.
But what exactly are those billions being spent on?
Investment can stretch across anything from technology to actual manpower skills and expanding the talent pool, Kang says.
Don Kang, Netflix VP of content for Korea.Netflix
Then theres also the content that is acquired rather than produced.
Its a diverse slate.
Controversy
Inevitably however, this kind of success, volume and industry dominance has also drawn controversy.
Apple TV+ has so far made one Korean show, Kim Jee-woonsDr.
But nobody has anywhere close to Netflixs volume of Korean content.
That investment is crucial for effective storytelling and for bringing Korean content to a global audience.
We have a large base of upcoming shows and films from around the world, Sarandos said.
K-drama may be popular but is still an acquired taste.
Its probably not the U.S. that needs to worry about being overrun by Netflixs Korean output.
Two of the biggest pushes will come in unscripted content and films.
If its fun, we can definitely do more of those, he says.
Meanwhile, the drama series pipeline is still pumping.
