Korean wave: Killer content
From Oscar-winning films to record-breaking popbands, Korean content has started to replicate its success in Asia in the West.Venture capital investors are looking for ways to ride the K-wave
The triumph of “Parasite” at the Academy Awards earlier this year might come to be regarded as the apogee of CJ Group’s prolonged effort to cultivate international demand for Korean content.
“Twenty years ago, they started with music and movies in Asia, targeting China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Each time, they asked how the Korean content format could be successful in this market. From 2010, they started targeting the US more aggressively,” says Jamie Park, founder of ATU Partners. “It was difficult because of the language barrier and we didn’t think there was a way to do localization. But why were we thinking about localization? Korean content can be global.”
Park was formerly head of global business development at CJ ENM, the conglomerate’s media, entertainment, and home shopping division. Sitting at the center of a content and distribution web that stretches from film and television to music and performing arts – with gaming and cinemas housed elsewhere – CJ is a natural beneficiary of the K-wave, a helpful catch-all for global interest in Korea’s cultural exports.
To access please sign in.Create a free account
Sign up
Confirm cancellation
An error occurred trying to play the stream. Please reload the page and try again.
Close