The world of Korean entertainment has come a long way since “Gangnum Style” set dancers galloping around the world nearly 15 years ago.
Korean content industry leaders on both sides of the Pacific gathered earlier this month at the London West Hollywood to take stock of the country’s rapid progress as an exporter of music, movies, TV shows, short-form material and other digital content that penetrating in traditional Hollywood.
The K-Entertainment Industry Summit was presented by CJ ENM, one of the handful of South Korean conglomerates that have forged a robust eco-system for the production and distribution of K-content. It’s part of a rising tide of influence from the Asian diaspora that is driving innovation across media, from vertical dramas to live-stream e-commerce to the webtoon graphic novel boom.
A case in point cited during the half-day summit was the boffo performance over the past year of Netflix’s “Kpop Demon Hunters,” an anime movie rooted in Korean folklore.
“Let’s get rid of the notion that it’s an outlier and just look at the brass tacks of what it is. It’s a great piece of storytelling with innovative animation,” said James Shin, president of HYBE America Studios. “They had the aspirations of the biggest musicals. How do we achieve that while also adhering to this whole idea of authenticity? It’s those little details. It’s the beauty and specificity” that made “Kpop Demon Hunters” stand apart.
