In this photo illustration, the Netflix logo is seen on a smartphone.
Rafael Henrique | SOPA Images | Getty Images
Netflix said on Thursday that it would spend $ 500 million this year on movies and series made in South Korea to increase the growing amount of content out of the country.
Korean filmmakers and stars gathered in Seoul, where the American streaming giant announced its investment plans and also had a preview of images from its upcoming series of local languages.
Netflix announced that the streaming service had 3.8 million paid subscribers in South Korea at the end of last year.
For the past two years, we’ve seen the world fall in love with incredible Korean content, made in Korea and watched worldwide on Netflix.
Ted Sarandos
co-CEO and chief content officer, Netflix
In the past five years – from 2015 to 2020 – Netflix has invested $ 700 million to expand its Korean content and established two targeted production facilities in the country. In addition to acquiring rights to existing Korean content, Netflix has made more than 80 original programs and movies locally, including the popular zombie thriller “Kingdom” from creator Kim Eun-hee.
“Over the past two years, we’ve seen the world fall in love with incredible Korean content, made in Korea and watched worldwide on Netflix,” Ted Sarandos, co-CEO and CEO of Netflix, said via video on the event.
“Our commitment to Korea is strong. We will continue to invest and collaborate with Korean storytellers in a myriad of genres and formats,” he added.
On Thursday, Netflix also announced two new original films from South Korea.
South Korean theater has gained international fame in recent years.
Filmmaker Bong Joon-ho gained worldwide fame last year when his award-winning film “Parasite” dominated the awards season. It made history that it was the first non-English language film to win the Best Oscar at the Academy Awards.
Netflix, in turn, has drawn attention to Asia-Pacific over the past few years as the growth of new subscribers in other parts of the world has slowed because many people already have paid memberships.
The California-based streaming giant is betting big on markets like South Korea, India and the entire Southeast Asia region to boost its future growth momentum. According to Sarandos, Netflix has created more than 200 Asian original series and movies since 2016.
As of December 2020, Netflix has reported more than 25 million paid memberships in the Asia-Pacific region, compared to more than 200 million worldwide.