Park, S., & Hong, S-K. (2023). Reshaping Hallyu: Global reception of South Korean content on Netflix. International Journal of Communication, 17, 6952-6971.
This study analyzes how Netflix, an emerging global subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, affects the global reception of South Korean content. In-depth interviews were conducted with 32 viewers of various ages, genders, and nationalities (Brazil, France, Japan, and the United States) who consumed Korean content through Netflix. The findings suggest that Korean content is expanding beyond fandom culture and into global media culture. This is due to the technological affordances that increase the possibility of Korean content being more universally received by the global audience, as well as Korean Netflix Originals creating new values, such as diversity and sincerity, that cater to the new generation. Furthermore, this study compares the audience first encountering Korean content through Netflix with established Korean content consumers. By recontextualizing the findings within the changing discourses on the interplay between Hallyu and Netflix, this study provides a new perspective on the notion of Hallyu.
This article is featured in the Special Issue of IJoC under the title “Is Netflix Riding the Korean Wave or Vice Versa?” which originates from the proceedings of an international conference held in April 2022. Also, it stems from the SNU-Netflix research project in 2020.
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Netflix’s content-based filtering algorithms provide users who may not actively seek Korean content with the opportunity to stumble upon Korean content in various ways. Korean content can appear on their main page after watching content with similar genres or stories. It can also be included in a content list after the user has searched for a certain title. For example, Emily, an 18-year-old American girl, said that she came across Boys over Flowers (Kim, 2009), a Korean TV series produced in 2009 and considered classic Hallyu content, while searching for To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (Levin, Kaplan, Cash, & Johnson, 2018), an American film that was a big hit as a Netflix Original at the time. This was how she watched Boys over Flowers, and this experience led her to watch more Korean romantic dramas. Also, a Brazilian interviewee in her forties said that her longstanding interest in the horror genre led her to watch the Korean TV series. After watching a Japanese horror film, Netflix recommended her Black (Kim & Song, 2017), a thriller TV series that features the story of a grim reaper who investigates murders, and she enjoyed it. This first encounter with Korean content led her to discover several more Korean TV series that feature fantasy or spiritual elements, which eventually led to her watching Crash Landing on You (Um, 2019), the latest hit Korean romantic TV series at the time.
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For viewers who are not particularly interested in Korean content, Kingdom (Lee, 2019) and Extracurricular (Yoon, 2020), among others, are first perceived as Netflix Originals rather than as Korean content. Since they lack any special interest or knowledge in Korean popular culture, it is the Netflix Original mark that plays a critical role in their decision to watch these shows. Since Netflix users equate Netflix Originals with high-quality content, this allows them to choose and watch Korean content as noted by Sylvie, a 58-year-old French woman: “I watched it [Kingdom] because it appeared that Netflix co-produced it.” As global SVOD services, including Netflix, segment their audiences based on taste rather than nationality (Lee, 2022), they lower the entry barrier for foreign viewers who may not be familiar with Korean content or Korea. With the trust built through multiple experiences with Netflix Originals, viewers are less hesitant to try out foreign content if they are marked as Netflix Original.
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Korean Netflix Originals are attracting a wider audience by showcasing different values, such as diversity and inclusion, compared with preceding Korean dramas. This suggests a new direction for future Korean content. Recent Korean titles that have won recognition around the world, including Squid Game (Hwang, 2021) and Parasite (Kwak et al., 2019), mostly illuminate the common malaise of contemporary societies, such as inequality, gender conflicts, and racism. BTS could appeal to younger generations around the world through lyrics that urge people to love themselves and cheer them up during the global crisis (Hong, 2020). In this respect, the Korean content industry is now tasked with satisfying new sensitivities that are burgeoning around the world. By orienting toward diversity, sincerity, and authenticity, Korean content needs to deliver a message that can be played out in multiple social contexts and appeal to global audiences.
SOJEONG PARK 