Netflix is looking to create more films and original series from Asia.
The internet streaming service provider has already invested in South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming movie, ‘Okja’, which will launch next year and is set to work closely with streaming service Viki to produce the Korean-English drama series, ‘Dramaworld’.
The US company’s chiefs intend to increase its subscribers by engaging more Asian creators to produce original content.
The company is also buying the rights to distribute Korean dramas. This summer, the internet film provider will roll out ‘The Descendants of the Sun’ to its subscribers in the US, Canada and Latin America. The series was a blockbuster hit in China earlier this year.
Netflix has 81.5 million subscribers, with projected growth to come from overseas.
The services has already launched in South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, India, Indonesia and Malaysia. However, it is still unavailable in China and North Korea.
Reed Hastings, CEO and co-founder of Netflix said that the company is focused on expanding in Asia, calling Korea “pivotal market in Asia”.
“Whereas Hollywood studios previously spread American content to other countries, we’re trying to export content from around the world to the rest of the world. We started producing original programming in local languages in Mexico, Germany, France, Spain, Argentina and … now Korea, starting a few years ago.”
The move is unsurprising, considering the rapid of growth of the South Korean film industry. Earlier this month, Zombie thriller, ‘Train to Busan’ set yet another record in South Korea by attracting 10,000,000 moviegoers.
