ktown konnection #29 | "Sweet Home 3," "Serendipity's Embrace" premiere

IN THIS ISSUE:

• “Sweet Home 3” returns for its third - and final - season

• Korean cultural spending set to double to $143B by 2030

• Heavy rains raise risk of floating North Korean land mines

• Banned in Korea: Trader Joe’s seasoning

PREMIERES

• July 19 “Sweet Home 3” (Netflix)

• July 22 “Serendipity’s Embrace” (tvN)(Viki)

This week’s premieres ”Sweet Home” is back for a third and final season of monsters and postapocalyptic fantasy - the trailer looks more appropriate for a blockbuster theatrical release. It’s also notable how far its season one rookies have rocketed into stardom since then.

Melo “Serendipity’s Embrace” pairs Chae Jong-hyeop (“Castaway Diva,” “Eye Love You”) and Kim So-hyun (“Lovely Liar”) in a youthful romance.

What I’m Watching “Miss Night and Day,” “My Sweet Mobster.” About “My Sweet Mobster” - it keeps getting fluffier and sillier than expected; I’m here for it.

Now bingeable “My Military Valentine.”

Wednesday-Thursday July 17-18
“My Sweet Mobster” (JTBC) (Viki)
“Red Swan” (Disney+)

Friday-Saturday July 19-20
“The Auditors” (tvN) (Viki)
“Good Partner” (SBS) (Viki)

Saturday-Sunday July 20-21
“Beauty and Mr. Romantic” (KBS2) (Viki)
“Miss Night and Day” (JTBC) Netflix)

Monday-Tuesday July 22-23
“Serendipity’s Embrace” (tvN)(Viki)

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

KDRAMA/FILM/TV/ETC.

Top Global Titles 🌎 “Miss Night and Day,” and on Viki: “My Sweet Mobster,” “Lovely Runner.” FlixPatrol
(Honorable mention: “Marry My Husband” finally drops off Amazon’s global Top 10, months after its last episode aired in February. Take a victory lap, team.)

Korea’s watching 📺 “Beauty and Mr. Romantic,” “Miss Night and Day,” “Good Partner” (July 8-14). dramabeans

And in 🇰🇷theaters “Inside Out 2,” “Project Silence,” “Escape.” Variety

Korean cultural spending is set to double to $143B by 2030, according to Kantar and TikTok. Bloomberg

OTT NEWS

New VOD data platform Vision was launched by Media Partners Asia, the new analytics platform tracks viewer insights and trends across Asia - including Korea, India, Thailand, Japan, and Taiwan. Worldscreen

Apple TV+: ready to shop 🛍 The tech company is reportedly in talks for licensing content. Compared to other streamers and legacy studio-turned-OTTs, Apple TV+ has new originals but lacks the deep catalog library of its peers. Bloomberg

“Mad Men,” “The Walking Dead,” 🧟‍♀️ coming to Netflix More AMC titles are being licensed to the streamer as part of an expanded agreement. THR

Foreign dubbing market growth shows no signs of stopping, with key markets reported in the Asia-Pacific and EMEA. According to KNOWSURV, the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is at 7.8% for 2024-2031. LI

La-La-land still looks bleak rn WBD had another round of layoffs, as actors and writers are fighting to hold on to health insurance. THR

Digital video subscriptions are expected to grow 14% (from 3.1B to 3.5B) globally by 2028. Worldscreen

Coming soon: About distributing Asian films in the U.S. I recently caught a panel at NYAFF, “Asian Cinema's American Odyssey: State of the Distribution of Asian Films in the US” with speakers from The Criterion Channel, Strand Releasing, Golden Media, HIFF, Cinema Guild, and Well Go USA. Will be sharing some of my key takeaways, exclusive to subscribers.

SOUTH KOREA NEWS 🇰🇷

Heavy rains continue Flooding and heavy rainfall continue to slam the nation. Also a resulting concern? North Korean land mines floating into the South. The Korea Herald

The inaugural North Korean Defectors’ Day was celebrated July 14. CNN

North Korean diplomat-turned-defector An interview with one of the most senior officials to defect in years was published this week, offering rare insights behind-the-scenes of the isolated nation’s political moves. NYT