The K-drama industry must improve its overseas retail strategies and adopt seasonal formats to become an IP powerhouse, according to media experts.
During "Korea In View," a series of talk sessions held Thursday as a part of Broadcast Worldwide (BCWW) 2024, the chief researcher at Export-Import Bank of Korea remarked that Korea currently suffers from its content being stockpiled. Broadcast Worldwide (BCWW) 2024 is an annual gathering of global broadcasters.
"It's true that K-content has grown significantly during COVID-19 pandemic. However, the growth of streaming platforms has started to slow down and this has led to various issues," said Kim Yoon-zi.
Kim noted that an excessive number of series were produced in anticipation of the high-growth period.
"When we were creating series, we needed to factor in how much content we could manage domestically and how much we could sell to international buyers. However, since the K-drama industry had never seen such substantial growth before, it was hard to assess this accurately. Consequently, we produced too many series based on the assumption that they could all be sold," she said.
With the streaming platforms trying to cut costs amid declining demand, Kim noted that Korean series are being stockpiled, not released.
To address the issue, Kim called for efforts to create effective content retail pipelines.
"There is a notable lack of personnel capable of developing truly effective pipelines for selling content to global buyers, and we need to resolve this issue," she said.
At a separate talk session, CJ ENM, a Korean entertainment powerhouse, urged the adoption of seasonal formats for dramas in order to become a global IP powerhouse.
He noted that the Korean production structure continues to impede efforts to create K-dramas with multiple seasons.
"Our current (series structure) often wraps up the story within a single season. Additionally, stars frequently move on to other projects once a series ends," said Jang Ho-seo, senior vice president of content business division at CJ ENM. "What we are now trying to do is create strong (series) formats and develop strong storylines that can extend across multiple seasons."
"In addition to such efforts, the K-content industry needs to establish and secure casting contracts that allow for several seasons," he said.
