If a Korean song is K-pop, Korean media content is called ‘K-content’. This K-culture began to draw attention abroad, starting with K-pop, and recently 70 new works have been selected to continue the global success of K-content. The Korea Creative Content Agency has decided to support the production of broadcast video contents in earnest in 2022. Konjinwon (hereinafter referred to as the Korea Creative Content Agency) supported the total production cost of KRW 24.6 billion as the “2022 Broadcast Video Content Production Support” project, supporting various and creative future content attempts with OTT-specific and new technology-based content. Among them, Korean Wave content, which connects the drama “Shurup,” “The youngest son of a chaebol house,” and “Racket Boys,” is especially expected.
The agency will support the industry to make various attempts and challenges in line with the rapidly changing industrial trend this year due to the expansion of businesses of OTT platforms at home and abroad and the emergence of new technologies. The broadcast video content production support project will be carried out in OTT-specific content, terrestrial, cable, and general content for broadcast media, new technology-based content using AR and VR, short form, and broadcast format.
Among the works selected this year, many projects that showed differentiated planning according to the characteristics of domestic OTT platforms were included from the beginning, drawing attention. In addition, support for projects to expand new viewing experiences, high-quality large-scale documentary series, and entertainment formats with novel ideas stood out, confirming the growing planning and production capabilities of K-content.
Six dramas scheduled to be released in Korea, including TVing, Season, and Wave, were selected for the selection of the “OTT Specialized Content-Drama Category,” which was introduced to revitalize the domestic OTT platform. It consists of dramas with novel materials that will contribute to the competitiveness of OTT in Korea, entertainment in a fresh format, and high-quality documentaries. From feature-length romantic comedies such as “Delivery Man” and “Can I Be Another,” Kwon Sang-woo, who pleasantly unraveled the sad reality of ordinary people based on the essay “Old Man, Hurts,” and Sung Dong-il, dramas of various materials and genres will contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of OTT content in Korea.
The entertainment show “In-house Love,” which was selected as the “OTT-specific content production support-non-drama category,” is a love reality program that unfolds with missions in the company space, and is led by Park Won-woo, a format creator of “King of Mask Singer.” Desktop, which was selected in the short form content category, is a fresh format mystery game show based on celebrity desks, and is drawing more attention as producer Seo Soo-min, a former producer of Gag Concert, oversees the production. The documentary series, designed as content exclusively for OTT platforms, also presents works with high dimensions in material, production period, and expression. <High Teen: The Time We Dance> records the dynamic semester activities of second-year students in the practical dance department of Seoul Performing Arts High School, which has produced famous idols leading the Korean Wave, such as BTS, EXO, NCT, and Oh My Girl. <Gwijok Restaurant> is expected to introduce differentiated food contents by searching for royal food from major countries in Korea, Europe, and Asia and exploring the history and culture contained therein.
The selection of “New Technology-based Broadcast Video Content Production Support” is a work that combines various technologies such as artificial intelligence and Metabus, and will showcase a new content experience different from before. It will provide all-round support to produce new experimental contents and Korean Wave contents combined with the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence and metabus. The Liberation Korean Peninsula, which restores the appearance of the Liberation Korean Peninsula, which remains as an old black-and-white recording video, to vivid colors using the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology, and Virtual Top 10 where singers and fans meet at virtual studios based on the Metabus worldview were selected. In addition, various works using virtual reality, extended reality, and 360-degree photography technology are selected and expected to be a venue for future content experiments combined with new technologies.
In addition, a total of seven films will be selected for the dramas for terrestrial, cable TV, and general broadcasting, contributing to the continued expansion of the Korean Wave. The selected films included popular works such as “Shrub,” in which actor Kim Hye-soo plays a role in a historical drama for the first time in 20 years, and “The youngest son of a chaebol house,” starring Hallyu star Song Joong-ki. Last year, Konjinwon contributed to the growth of K-content by supporting dramas that led to favorable reviews and Hallyu among broadcasters and viewers, such as “Love,” “Racket Boys,” and “Now, We’re Breaking Up.”
Cho Hyun-rae, director of the Korea Creative Content Agency, said, “Contents have constantly expanded the ecosystem by adapting to the latest technologies and environmental changes, and recently OTT and new technologies are giving opportunities to expand broadcast video contents.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Hwang Hee) and the Korea Creative Content Agency (Director Cho Hyun-rae, hereinafter Kon Jin-won) produced an interview video with a local media company in the U.S. and released it on YouTube of the U.S. Business Center to help K-content enter the North American market. In particular, it will produce an interview video series dealing with the current status of K-content in the U.S. and know-how to enter the local market.
It aims to provide vivid business information by dealing with trends in the US broadcasting and video content market and local targeting methods. The agency’s U.S. Business Center produced a total of 18 videos under the theme of “Business Strategy for Korean Content to Enter the North American Market.” The video will feature three officials from local media companies in the U.S., including Lee Dong-hoon, co-chief producer of Apple TV and the original series “Pachinko,” Warner Bros. Vice President Adam Steinman, and Coco and Park Geun-hee. They will talk about trends in the U.S. broadcasting and video content market and strategies to enter the field with Joo Sung-ho, head of the U.S. Business Center at Kon Jin-won. In particular, Itdal will deliver practical information and know-how to content companies and creators who want to enter North America by pointing out changes in status in the U.S. due to the global success of K-content and looking at changes in the U.S. broadcasting and video content market due to the rapid growth of OTT.
Adam Steinman, vice president of Warner Bros., praised K-content’s performance last year and cited original settings and ideas, global and Korean narrative and style, and format development considering global business development as strategies to succeed in the U.S. market in the future. In addition, Vice President Adam Steinman expressed interest and expectations for K-content, saying, “We are actively looking for another K-format in 2022 that connects entertainment shows <King of Mask Singer> and <I Can See Your Voice>, which were remade and popular in the U.S.”
Korea’s leading producers talked about the factors that domestic content companies need to tap into the U.S. market, and writers, actors, and directors from various languages and cultures are entering the U.S. market as the landscape changes, such as active acquisitions and mergers between production companies. This trend will continue in 2022, and it is expected to be a good opportunity for Korean content companies and creators.
It provides streaming services for Korean broadcasting video content in the Americas. Park Geun-hee, CEO of Coco, who is considered a Korean Netflix, said, “Unlike other OTT platforms, Coco’s ‘Non-exclusive content strategy’ allows viewers to watch three terrestrial entertainment shows, ‘Running Man’ and ‘I Live Alone’ as original exclusive content. More than 90% of Coco’s Asian subscribers can be seen. Meanwhile, anyone can watch the interview video of “Business Strategy for Korean Content to Enter the North American Market” on KOCCA USA, the U.S. Business Center in Konjinwon.
As such, Korea’s K-content is receiving more and more attention day by day. What is needed to receive global attention beyond Korea will be the development of a format that takes into account our own original settings and ideas, global and Korean narratives and styles, and global business development. Starting with OTT contents such as Squid Game and Sweet Home, which received worldwide attention, the Korea Creative Content Agency asked for global attention, saying it will support various challenges to bring out various contents that can enhance Korea’s status.
Lina Lee
Asia Journal
