Netflix announced Tuesday to invest 2.3 billion euros over four years in content produced in South Korea, a country that has established itself as an international cultural power.
“Netflix is ??pleased to confirm that it will invest $2.5 billion (€2.3 billion) in Korea, including in the creation of Korean dramas, films and unscripted programs over the next four years,” said the boss of the streaming giant, Ted Sarandos, in a statement sent to AFP on Tuesday after a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Washington.
“This investment plan is double the total amount Netflix has invested in the Korean market since we launched our (platform) in Korea in 2016,” he added.
In recent years, South Korean content has become more and more successful internationally, such as the Oscar-winning film Parasite and the Netflix series Squid Game, alongside a growing boom in K-pop and groups such as than BTS.
Netflix has “full confidence” in the South Korean creative industry, said Ted Sarandos, who also pointed to the global successes of South Korean series The Glory and reality show Physical 100.
More than 60% of Netflix users watched at least one program from South Korea in 2022, according to company data.
Netflix, which spent more than $750 million (€678 million) developing South Korean content between 2015 and 2021, previously said it would increase its production of South Korean programming, without providing more details.
Yoon Suk-yeol, who arrived in Washington on Monday for a six-day official visit, welcomed what he described as a “very meaningful” meeting with Ted Sarandos, according to a transcript provided to AFP by the office of the South Korean president.
He also said that this massive investment would be “a tremendous opportunity for the Korean content industry, creators and Netflix”.
Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to speak with his American counterpart, Joe Biden, on Wednesday. The South Korean president is traveling to the United States to try to strengthen ties with Washington, against a backdrop of reinforced military cooperation between the two allies in the face of nuclear threats from North Korea and an increase in weapons tests by Pyongyang.
Yoon Suk-yeol arrived in the United States accompanied by more than 120 South Korean business leaders, including Samsung CEO Lee Jae-yong, concerned about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a pharaonic investment plan which provides billions in subsidies for green industries.
This trip to the United States is of great importance for Yoon Suk-yeol, experts believe, as the South Korean leader is seeing his popularity drop in his country. Its fellow citizens are in particular increasingly nervous about the American commitment to extended deterrence to prevent a possible attack against its allies.
