디즈니플러스 한국영화 추천As Netflix announced its plan to invest 550 billion won in Korean content this year, it emphasized mutual growth by saying, “Now is not the time to fight over a small pie. It is time to grow the pie,” regarding the entry of ‘Disney Plus’ (Disney+), a hot topic in the OTT market, into Korea.
On the 25th, Netflix promoted its investment plan and 2021 content through the ‘See What’s Next Korea 2021 Content Roadshow.’ Kim Min-young, VP of Content for Korea and Asia, held an online press conference to answer questions from reporters. About 80 reporters attended the video conference held that day.
[Related article: Netflix to invest 550 billion won in Korean content this year alone]
At the press conference, questions focused on ‘Korean content,’ such as the status and contribution of Korean content on Netflix, why Korean content is loved, and the meaning of Korea in content production. Kim Min-young, the general manager, said, “In the beginning (2016), the proportion of Korean content was small, but with the introduction of ‘Secret Forest,’ ‘A Korean Odyssey,’ ‘Something in the Rain,’ and ‘Miss Sunshine,’ the signal (that Korean content is popular) became clear and we became confident,” and “In particular, ‘Sweet Home’ was recently viewed by 22 million households in just 8 days after its release. Korean content has already established itself as a genre.” Kim added, “In order to increase accessibility to Korean content, we will invest more in improving accessibility, such as subtitles and dubbing, as well as subtitle captions and voice support so that there are no parts of the content that are difficult to view visually or audibly.” He added, “Companies in charge of these areas are also growing tremendously with Netflix. I think this is a win-win.” In particular, 2021 is the year that Disney Plus will enter Korea. When asked about the future of the OTT market, General Manager Kim said, “Various platforms such as Disney will enter Korea, and there are currently many platforms such as Wave, Watcha, and Tving,” and added, “This is good for consumers. It increases their options.”
General Manager Kim said, “It is a very good phenomenon for Netflix that the entire industry is growing together,” and added, “Netflix will work to become a more attractive place for creators.”
He continued, “In particular, now is the time to increase the overall pie of OTT platforms,” and added, “It is not the time to fight over a small pie.”
Currently, OTT services such as Netflix are actively used due to COVID-19, but as theatrical releases become difficult, questions were raised about Netflix encroaching on and monopolizing content. The question was whether there is a way for theaters to coexist.
General Manager Kim answered, “Netflix is growing together with the Korean film industry, and this will ultimately lead to interest in Korean films.” General Manager Kim said, “Netflix movies help creators tell the stories they want to tell without worrying about box office success. With 200 million viewers, it allows various works to be released into the world,” and added, “We will help develop diverse audiences.” There was no specific answer on how to coexist with theaters. However, he expected that if Netflix invests in Korean content and provides services that can be viewed by viewers around the world, investment in Korean film creators will increase.
There was also a question about network usage fees. Netflix is currently in a lawsuit with SK Broadband over network usage fees. Netflix is taking the position that it will not pay network usage fees even though it is making profits through domestic traffic.
General Manager Kim said, “We have been cooperating with telecommunications companies around the world for the past several years,” and added, “We will continue to make suggestions to provide the best service to various telecommunications companies and consumers.”
Recently, Netflix introduced a ranking system, which is a different recommendation method from the existing recommendation algorithm based on videos watched by users. Regarding this, General Manager Kim said, “I saw a post on SNS that said, ‘It seems like people spend more time thinking about what to watch than actually watching Netflix content. ’ (The rankings are) to make it easier to see which content is popular,” and explained, “The top 10 content is compiled every day, and it plays a role in letting people know which works are popular and what to watch.” General Manager Kim said, “Ultimately, the story that Netflix wants to tell is ‘diverse stories,’” and “Even if it’s not content that follows the existing formula that guarantees commercial success, Netflix wants to play a role in bringing in good culture by learning about different cultures and ways of thinking from over 190 countries.”
