ktown konnection #2 | "Gyeongseong Creature" a global hit (with a record budget), Amazon rolls out ads

New podcast episode In my latest episode of @kdramareports, I share my takes on: that reality show everyone’s talking about - "Single’s Inferno,” why “Gyeongseong Creature” should have been a feature film, and the sleeper hit vibes of “Death’s Game,” which has a star-studded ensemble cast.

PREMIERES

• January 12 “Knight Flower” (MBC) (Viki)

• January 17 “A Shop For Killers” (Disney+) (Amazon Prime Video)

CURRENTLY STREAMING AND ON-AIR

Wednesday-Thursday Jan 10-11
“Like Flowers in Sand” (ENA) (Netflix)
(Wed) “A Good Day To Be A Dog” (MBC) (Viki) [*Finale]

Friday-Saturday Jan 12-13
“My Demon” (SBS) (Netflix)
“Knight Flower” (MBC) (Viki) [*Premiere]

Saturday-Sunday Jan 13-14
“Welcome to Samdal-ri” (Netflix)
“My Happy Ending” (TV Chosun) (Viki)
“Maestra: Strings of Truth” (tvN) (Hulu)

Monday-Tuesday Jan 15-16
“Love Song For Illusion” (Viki)
“Marry My Husband” (tvN) (Amazon Prime Video)

NOW BINGEABLE

• “The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract” (MBC) (Viki) [12 eps]

• “Soundtrack 2” (Disney+) [6 eps]

• “My Man Is Cupid” (Amazon Prime) [12 eps]

(*Streaming platforms shown are for U.S. only; distributors vary by country.)

KDRAMA NEWS

Global hits “Gyeongseong Creature” hit #3 globally on Netflix’s charts for non-English TV series, landing in the Top 10 in 20 countries. On Viki, MBC drama “The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract” hit #1 in 47 countries.

And record budgets Chalking up a production budget of $53 million USD (70 billion KRW) the 10-episode series “Gyeongseong Creature” is Korea’s most expensive drama to date; the previous record was held by “Moving,” (Disney+) which had a budget of over $45 million USD; “Squid Game” was produced for $16 million. “Moving” was Disney+’s most watched original series of 2023.

For market spending comparisons, “Bridgerton” was produced for $7 million USD per episode (with a total of 8 eps), “One Piece” at $18M per episode, and “Stranger Things” had a budget of of a whopping $30 million per episode (not a typo - yes, per episode) for season 4. Screenrant

Behind the scenes Actor Park Seo-joon fueled up on chicken and sweet potatoes while shooting “Gyeongseong Creature,” shared on his YouTube channel (below).

Big(ger) hit in China “Sweet Home” (Netflix) topped the list of Top 10 digital originals in China Nov 28- Dec 4. More interesting may be considering the fact that it has done so while Netflix is not legally available in China. ContentAsia

Life imitates art Park Eun-bin released a single last week, “Present,” the first track off of her first official album. The actor played a deserted island survivor-turned singer in “Castaway Diva,” and previously performed on the show’s soundtrack. The Korea Herald

Dream High, IRL The first public high school specializing in educating students on K-pop is slated to open in Busan in 2028. The Korea Times

Kdrama to webtoon Kakao will be releasing a spin-off webtoon of “Gyeongseong Creature” on January 20. Interesting, as the process usually goes in the reverse direction. Korea Joongang Daily

STREAMING NEWS

Amazon adds ads On January 29, Amazon Prime Video will include ads in its movies and TV series. If you want to go ad-free, get ready to pay more - an extra $2.99 per month. With this move, the company stands to make billions. (Sidenote: I’m expecting their targeted ads to be on another level with all the data they have on what we buy.) Also at Amazon: hundreds of layoffs.

Trendwatching Cable is still profitable, streamers hemorrhaging money. NYT

IN SOUTH KOREA

Tense relations North Korea fired hundreds of rounds of artillery off its west coast last week, which became a three day-long provocation. Residents of South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island were ordered to seek shelter. No one was injured; the incidents are the latest in the worsening tensions of inter-Korean relations. AP

Deep divide Lee Jae-myung, South Korea’s Democratic and opposition party leader was released from the hospital after being violently attacked in Busan last week. The attack is an alarming sign of an increasingly polarized nation. NYT

Man’s best friend A bill banning dog meat was passed on Tuesday, which will take effect by 2027. Korea Joongang Daily

Birth rate continues to drop, aging nation The fertility rate dropped to a new low of 0.78 in 2023; it has been a national crisis since 2006. At a New Year’s briefing, South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo pointed towards issues like immigration policy reform, spending on private education, and rising housing costs. The Korea Herald

But it’s a more complicated problem intertwined with other issues. Korea is struggling with a lack of employment opportunities and deeply rooted cultural expectations in terms of gender roles: career moves, household responsibilities, childcare, and managing a child’s education. Also: work culture, employer support, and the challenge of returning to a career post-parenthood. Also not helping :the increasing popularity of child-free zones.

Meanwhile, the population is aging: there’s more folks in their 70s than there are in their 20s.

Tourist killed in Guam A Korean tourist was killed in Guam in an apparent robbery last week; there are more tourists that travel to Guam from South Korea than any other nation. AP

(Canadian) Sticker shock Canadian coffee chain Tim Horton’s opened its first cafe in Korea last month, with plans to open more than 150 in the next 5 years; however, it recently got slack for unexpectedly high prices. The Korea Times

South Korea’s popular hangover cures Hangover remedies are a thriving industry, but is there any scientifically-backed research to those shot-sized bottles? Get ready for an industry overhaul: South Korea plans to require scientific evidence to authorize the marketing of products as hangover cures starting from 2025. The Korea Herald

A new player has joined The San Diego Padres have signed Go Woo-suk from KBO team LG Twins. MLB

Gaming fines Korea game developer Nexon (MapleStory, Bubble Fighter) was fined $9M (11.6 billion KRW) for in-game item selling; it is the largest fine charged for violating the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce. The Korea Economic Daily

The full 360 Samsung’s In&Out Flip phone can be folded a full 360 degrees, one of a new line of products the company shared recently at CES in Las Vegas. Korea Joongang Daily

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