Netflix, the streaming behemoth, to allocate $2.5 billion towards South Korean productions.
Netflix’s CEO Ted Sarandos has announced that the company will invest $2.5 billion in South Korean content in the next four years, after meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol in Washington.
South Korea has become a cultural powerhouse in recent years, with the global success of films like “Parasite” and shows like “Squid Game”.
Sarandos stated, “Netflix is delighted to confirm that we will invest USD 2.5 billion in Korea including the creation of Korean series, films, and unscripted shows over the next four years.” He affirmed the company’s “great confidence” in South Korea’s creative industry’s ability to continue to tell great stories.
Over 60% of Netflix viewers watched a show from South Korea in 2022, according to the company’s data.
Netflix had spent over 1 trillion won ($750 million) developing Korean content from 2015 to 2021 and had previously announced that they would expand their South Korean show output without specifying spending plans.
Yoon Suk Yeol called the investment “very meaningful” and said it would “be a great opportunity for the Korean content industry, creators, and Netflix.
” He is currently on a state visit in the United States, and analysts believe that the trip’s success is critical to his approval ratings, especially in the realm of foreign policy.
Yoon will meet with US President Joe Biden tomorrow for a summit celebrating 70 years of ties between the two nations. More than 120 South Korean business leaders, including Samsung chairman Lee Jae-yong, are accompanying him on the trip.
