8:15 pm PST 2/24/2021
in
Patrick Brzeski
The streamer shared its plans at an event in Seoul, where it released the first images from its current list and revealed two original film projects, the BDSM drama ‘Moral Sense’ and the action thriller ‘Carter’.
Netflix reaffirmed its commitment to South Korea’s globally attractive entertainment industry on Thursday, revealing plans to spend nearly $ 500 million in 2021 on films and television series produced in the country.
The plans were revealed during Netflix’s “See What’s Next Korea” event in Seoul, where Korean directors and stars met with Netflix creative executives to promote the company’s current and future originals in local language. Amid the flood of promotional activities, Netflix also revealed that it currently has more than 3.8 million subscribers in South Korea.
The global popularity of Korean television and cinema has proved even more valuable to Netflix than the relatively modest monetary contribution from South Korean subscribers. To date, Netflix has produced more than 80 original Korean shows and films, building on the smashing success of its first country original, Kim Eun-Hee’s period zombie thriller. Kingdom. “Audiences around the world are falling in love with Korean stories, artists and culture,” said Minyoung Kim, Netflix’s vice president of content for Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
She added: “K-Wave, or Hallyu as we call it here in Korea, is a great moment of national pride and we are proud to be a part of it. Great Korean stories are nothing new, in fact, storytelling is deeply rooted in Korean culture. But today we live in a world where Parasite is the Oscar winner for best picture, BlackPink plays Coachella and over 22 million families watch a horror TV series, Sweet Home. “
More than a dozen Korean actors and directors have joined Netflix to promote the previously announced Korean originals that will debut on the service this year. Among them were stars Bae Doo-na and Lee Joon from The silent sea, a science fiction series about a team sent to an abandoned research center on the moon; Korean director Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan) and the cast of his supernatural thriller series Hellbound, including Yoo Ah-in, Park Jung-min, Kim Hyun-joo, Won Jin-ah and Yang Ik-june; and the cast of Squid game, a thriller about the participants in a secret survival game with a prize of $ 40 million.
Netflix also unveiled two original Korean films unannounced at the event, both with bold premises: Drama BDSM Moral sense and action thriller Carter.
Directed by Park Hyun-jin (Like to like), Moral sense he follows an apparently clean office worker who keeps his BDSM taste to himself, until his co-worker accidentally opens his mail and finds a guide. Once their secret is revealed, the two develop a male-sub and female-dominant relationship.
Carter it is described as a “scene and cut action movie”. Directed by Jung Byung-gil, it follows a man after he wakes up in a motel room with no memory of who he is, except for a voice in his ear that calls him “Carter”. Following the voice’s orders, Carter sets out on an exciting mission to save a kidnapped girl.
“We are working with great talents and filmmakers, as well as exciting emerging voices from across Korea to make the best of class stories across all genres,” said Kim, adding, “This year, we have Korean dramas like The silent sea, Squid game, and Kingdom: Northern Ashin, bold movies like Carter and Moral sense, new reality series as Baik Spirit, documentaries like My loveand our first Korean sitcom, So it’s not worth it. We can’t wait for our members around the world to fall in love with these Korean stories. “