Graphic = Reporter Shin Dong-jun, Photo = A Story, provided by MBC, JTBC studios
Chinese capital is digging deep into the Korean drama market. Famous Chinese IT companies are buying one after another as if they were shopping for Korean dramas, while also actively promoting indirect advertisements (PPL) for Korean dramas.
This is an unusual trend considering the situation where the Korean government’s decision to deploy the high-altitude missile defense system (THAAD) has not yet been resolved, and the Chinese government’s measures to regulate Korean content in 2017 have not yet been resolved.
This change is accelerating as new coronavirus infections (Corona 19) are prolonged and people flock online. It is an analysis that China Money is rushing again to expand its influence in the market by investing in Korean dramas that dominate the global online video service (OTT) market. In the process, some Korean dramas have’Chinese color’, and voices of concern come out.
In the tvN drama’Jirisan’ scheduled to be broadcast in the second half of this year, actor Jeon Ji-hyun played the role of a national park ranger. Provided by A Story
‘Han-ryeong’ has not been resolved…’Whale Fight’ to preempt Korean content
The tvN drama’Jirisan’ starring’Hallyu star’ Jeon Ji-hyun as the most anticipated work of this year’s broadcaster cannot be seen on Netflix. This is because Aichii of the’Chinese version of Netflix’ grabbed the overseas copyright of the drama first. The total production cost of’Jirisan’ scheduled to be broadcast 16 times in the second half of this year is 32 billion won. An official from a competing drama production company said, “When overseas OTT companies buy overseas copyrights for Korean dramas, they usually pay more than 50% of the production cost. Considering the topic of the work, such as Kim Eun-hee’s play and Lee Eung-bok, Aichii gave over 25 billion won It is expected to have bought it,” he said.
An interesting point is the terms of the service area contract. According to Astory, the production company of’Jirisan’, Korea and China were excluded from the online transmission of Aichi’s’Jirisan’. A Chinese company spent a lot of money to buy a Korean drama copyright, but the drama could not be released from the mainland. This is because it is difficult to export Korean dramas locally in Hannyeong.
Then, why did Aichi enter into the competition for the copyright purchase of’Jirisan’?
The industry is seeing it as a strategy aimed at Southeast Asia. From June 2019, Aichi has expanded its service area to Southeast Asia. In order to secure overseas subscribers, it has rolled up its arms to preoccupy Korean dramas with high competitiveness in Asia.
Ichii bought more than 30 overseas copyrights for Korean dramas last year, including MBC’The Spy Who Loves Me’, SBS’Convenience Store Morning Star’ (2020) and tvN’Live Together’ (2021). Another Chinese IT company, Tencent, recently invested 100 billion won in JTBC Studio, a domestic drama production company that produced’The Couple’s World’. It looks like the’Chinese IT Dinosaur’ is fighting a’whale fight’ to secure content in the Korean drama market.
Actors are eating Chinese hot pot outside a convenience store in the tvN drama’Goddess Advent’ that aired on the 6th. In the broadcast, products marked in Chinese and tissue paper with the corresponding brand in Chinese were captured by the camera. tvN broadcast capture
High school girl eating hot pot at a convenience store? China Money Shadow
Large Chinese companies are also investing in Korean dramas that are not actually aired on the mainland. Jingdong, a renowned e-commerce company in China, and Zhaiguo, a food brand, supported the production of the TVN drama’Goddess Advent’. Professor Kim Heon-sik of Dong-A Broadcasting University said, “When a Chinese brand is exposed to Korean dramas, it becomes a topic of conversation in the mainland’s young people through the Internet, so we are investing for the effect.
But there were also side effects. In “Goddess Advent”, high school students Lim Ju-kyung (Moon Ga-young) and Kang Su-jin (Park Yoo-na) sit at a table outside a convenience store and eat Chinese instant hot pot (Chinese shabu-shabu). It was pointed out that the PPL, which is far from reality, such as’Where are high school students eating Chinese instant hot pot at Korean convenience stores?
As a result of this confirmation by CU, GS25, and E-Mart 24, it was found that there are no Chinese instant hot pot products sold at convenience stores. Some viewers who felt the scene uncomfortable submitted complaints (five as of the 8th) related to the’Goddess Advent’ PPL to the Korea Communications Commission. This is because the production crew unreasonably exposed Chinese products to drama. In’Goddess Advent’, an unfamiliar landscape with red lanterns hanging in a row like China was also produced.
Drama producers are suffering from noise related to Chinese product PPL. The average production cost per episode based on mini-series is 600 million won these days, three times higher than 200 million won in the early 2010s. The manufacturers’ position is that it is difficult to ignore China Money in a situation where the’official’ Korean Wave markets in China and Japan are frozen and the production cost burden has increased due to Corona 19. PD, who has been planning a drama for more than 10 years, asked viewers to understand, saying, “I have to think more about how to melt indirect advertisements, but China PPL is not an import, but a kind of export.”
Yang Seung-jun reporter [email protected]
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