Netflix says that it is leasing nine sound stages at two facilities in South Korea in order to increase its output of Korean films and series.
The two production facilities are located at Paju-si and Yeoncheon-gun, just outside of Seoul, in Gyeonggi Province. At YCDSMC – Studio 139, it will lease six stages and supporting spaces of approximately 9,000 square meters. At Samsung Studio, the streamer will also lease three stages of approximately 7,000 square meters.
“Netflix is thrilled to deepen its investment in Korea, as well as Korean films and series,” said Netflix VP of studio operations, Amy Reinhard, in a statement. “With these new studios, Netflix is better positioned than ever to increase our production of great stories from Korea while also providing a wealth of production-related jobs for talented professionals in Korea’s creative community.”
For several years, South Korea has been known within Asia as an entertainment industry powerhouse. In the last couple of years its influence on a global stage has also grown, with K-pop acts such as BTS and films such as Oscar-winner “Parasite” achieving commercial and critical crossover. Its TV content, long recognized regionally for its quality, is now finding success further afield, due in part to the global reach of streaming firms.
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Netflix says it has spent some $700 million on Korean content, including more than 80 shows, between 2015-2020. “These two purpose-built facilities are another important example of our continued commitment to investing in Korea’s creative ecosystem,” the company said.
Among the shows set to be made at the facilities is the previously announced Korean adaptation of hit Spanish series “Money Heist” (aka “La Casa de Papel”). Other, new Korean-made stories currently in production or development include “Move To Heaven,” “Kingdom: Ashin of the North,” “Silent Sea,” “Squid Game,” “Hellbound,” “All of Us Are Dead,” and “D.P.”
Netflix also has multi-year content partnerships with CJ ENM/Studio Dragon and JTBC.
- In a separate development, JTBC Thursday announced that it is joining CJ ENM’s streaming video service TVING. Both companies may produce original content for the platform. Online giant, Naver also committed to investment in the TVING venture. JTBC and CJ ENM said they were committing to more than KRW400 billion ($370 million) of production spend over the next three years.
