Netflix in Korea: Could they be making their own Korean dramas?

Earlier this month, Netflix confirmed it opened a new branch of its company in South Korea. This new office is called Netflix Entertainment Korea. Per The Korean Herald, the branch will cover “content discovery, support and investment, while the existing Netflix Services Korea will carry on its overall service operation in the country”.

Launched in September, part of the office’s role is confirmed to be original content creation – great news for fans of Korean dramas. Korean dramas are becoming increasingly popular, so it’s unsurprising Netflix would set up an office in Korea. This will put more focus on Korean drama content. 

For those who enjoy those TV shows, this new branch of Netflix could be beneficial.

Netflix & Korea: A history 

Netflix already had operations in Korea through Netflix Services Korea. However, Netflix Entertainment Korea was created partly to handle the responsibility of content discovery, or acquiring existing Korean shows & movies. Netflix also asserted tax avoidance wasn’t a reason for creating the office.

Netflix has branches in other countries as well. But one of the unique aspects of the new Korean branch is that it’s the first content office in Asia.

Over the past five years, Netflix has invested about $724 million in Korean content. There are already dozens of Netflix original Korean dramas out there. Netflix originals are the films and TV shows produced by Netflix.

Netflix K-dramas

Some of the original Korean dramas already on Netflix include Start-Up, Crash Landing on You, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, My Holo Love, Record of Youth, and Love Alarm.

When scrolling through Netflix’s Korean dramas, you’ll see both originals and other content that wasn’t produced by Netflix. Both forms of content are great, but the new branch office in Korea could mean even more Netflix originals or newly acquired content.

For those who are in need of a K-drama fix, there are some new Korean dramas coming to Netflix in December. Netflix Entertainment Korea might not have been around when these shows were made, but there’s other great new shows to watch while waiting for content from that branch to come out. Here are a few of the K-dramas coming out on Netflix in the upcoming month:

Sweet Home

Sweet Home will premiere on December 18. It’s perfect for those who enjoy thrillers & similar genres. This show is ten-episodes long and based on a webtoon called Sweet Home. In the show, people turn into monsters that intend to destroy humanity.

This show follows the story of Cha Hyeon-su, a bullied high school student who moves into an apartment named Green Home after his family dies in a car accident. The student then begins to come out of his shell and starts to rescue people from the monsters.

Run On

Run On will premiere on December 16. For fans of romantic dramas, this show might be of interest. Run On is about people from differing backgrounds who struggle communicating with each other.

Im Si-Wan stars in the show and plays the sprinter Ki Seon-gyeom, who wants to become a sports agent. Shin Se-kyung plays the love interest Oh Mi-joo, a subtitle translator.

Lovestruck in the City

Lovestruck in the City will premiere sometime in December. This show is about young people looking for love in the hustle and bustle of a big city. Ji Chang-wook and Kim Ji-won star in this twelve-episode romance drama.

Although there aren’t many days left in 2020, Netflix is still giving fans plenty of K-dramas to watch. There are so many Korean dramas on Netflix already, and more are still set to premiere this year. It will be exciting to see what dramas come from Netflix Entertainment Korea. 

Will there be more K-dramas? What shows will get produced? When can we see more content? All of these questions can be pondered on while you get comfy, grab some snacks and stream some Korean content on Netflix.