Netflix announces USD 500 million investment in Korea in 2021

Streaming giant Netflix has announced plans to spend nearly USD 500 million in South Korea in 2021, thus adding more variety and diversity to their growing slate across the globe.

South Korean shows, movies and K-pop have garnered global popularity in recent years, building audience base in countries such as the US and India, which have a robust entertainment industry of their own.

"The K-Wave, or Hallyu as we call it here in Korea, is a huge moment of national pride and we're proud to be 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 an Academy Award Best Picture winner, BlackPink plays Coachella, and over 22M households tune into a horror TV series, 'Sweet Home'. Audiences around the world are falling in love with Korean stories, artists, and culture," Minyoung Kim, Netflix's vp content for Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, said in a statement, posted on the streamer's official website.

The streamer revealed that it has introduced over 80 original Korean shows and movies to its members around the world, including Kim Eun-Hee's hit zombie thriller series "Kingdom", young-adult drama "Extracurricular" and recently released space drama "Space Sweepers".

"That's why we're investing nearly 500 million USD in Korea in 2021 to add more variety and diversity to our growing slate," Kim added.

Netflix has over 3.8 million subscribers in South Korea.

The streamer said it will be working with top talent and filmmakers as well as emerging voices from across South Korea to create stories in every genre.

"This year, we have Korean dramas like 'The Silent Sea', 'Squid Game', and 'Kingdom: Ashin of the North', bold films like 'Carter' and 'Moral Sense', new reality series like 'Baik's Spirit', documentaries like 'My Love', and our first Korean sitcom, 'So Not Worth It'," Kim said.

South Korean dramas such as "Crash Landing on You", "It's Ok to Not be Ok", "Love Alarm" and "Lovestruck in the City" have garnered massive popularity on the streaming platform in the recent years.