Following the global success of “Squid Game,” Netflix’s Korean survival drama series that scored 14 Emmy nominations this year, Korean television companies are intent on producing more content that appeals to international audiences.
“We surely [don’t] want this to be a one-shot opportunity, and I do agree [‘Squid Game’] opened a lot of doors — not only for the experienced creatives or directors, but even a lot of opportunities for newly coming creatives and writers,” Albert Park, senior sales manager of CJ ENM, told Variety. “I do think that it’s our job now to work with all these talented, young and upcoming creatives to really put up a show that is unparalleled to ‘Squid Game.’”
In a Variety Streaming Room panel presented by KOCCA, Variety deputy awards and features editor Jenelle Riley spoke to Park; global business director of MBC Haewon Chin; SBS executive director and FormatEast senior director Iljoong Kim; and president of Something Special Jin Woo Hwang.
The panelists discussed the types of shows their platforms are developing, particularly those that feature “universal” content.
On MBC’s thriller series “Hunted,” Chin said: “It’s setting is in a very rural Korean site. But actually, when you look at the story — the emotional thing — the ambition and the greed that they are getting at is a very human thing.”
Another topic was current trends in Korean television, such as reality dating series.
“In Korea, it’s really hard to express there’s a sexual desire or get involved in the explicit sexual behaviors, so I [would] say that there is an implicit censorship on the dating show,” Kim, who was accompanied by a translator, explained. “So when we combine the different and the foreign elements into a dating show, it will make the dating shows more interesting.”
Meanwhile, Park compared CJ ENM’s “Exchange” to Western dating show formats, describing “Exchange” as “more authentic.”
“It’s not focusing on the appearance — or what we call the bikini formats — but more on the emotional lines and [the] complications of really playing around with these emotions,” Park added.
Watch the full conversation above.
