Netflix to invest US$2.5 billion into the creation of South Korean content

Netflix has revealed that it plans to invest US$2.5 billion into South Korea for the creation of Korean series, films and unscripted shows over the next four years, according to Netflix's co-CEO, Ted Sarandos who made the announcement after meeting with South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol. President Yoon was in Washington this week for a six-day state visit.

The investment is double what the company has invested in the market since 2016, according to a statement by Netflix. 

"We were able to make this decision because we have great confidence that the Korean creative industry will continue to tell great stories," said Netflix. It added that it was also inspired by President Yoon's love and strong support for the Korean entertainment industry and thanked him for helping to fuel the Korean wave. 

"It is incredible that the love towards Korean shows has led to a wider interest in Korea, thanks to the Korean creator' compelling stories. Their stories are not at the heart of the global cultural zeitgest," it said while citing examples of global Korena hits such as Squid Game, The Glory and Physical: 100. 

In 2021, Squid Game took the world by storm with 1.65 billion hours of streaming in the first 28 days. Till today it remains 1.65 billion hours of streaming in the first 28 days.

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Netflix added that it has no doubt that this investment will strengthen its long-term partnership with Korea and the country's creative ecosystem.

"With the partnership, we will continue to grow with the local industry while sharing the joy of entertainment with Korean storytellers to our fans around the world," it said. 

The news comes shortly after it was reported by Media Partners Asia’s (MPA) that premium video services have significantly grown in the second half of 2022, reaching almost 48.4 million subscribers, according to its SEA Online Video Consumer Insights & Analytics report.

The report also stated that there were almost 4.6 million new paying customers in the fourth quarter of 2022 and 11.8 million new customers across the whole year. SEA added 2.5 million net new subscribers in Q3 2022 to reach 43.5 million total subscriptions. Across the five SEA markets Disney, Netflix and Viu take the top three positions with highest number of paying customers and a combined market share of 52%.

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