Posted by : TeamNH
Netflix is planning to invest USD 500 million in South Korea for 2021 and we couldn’t be more excited!
It is not news that Hallyu, the Korean Wave, has been dominating and influencing various fields in several parts of the world and is continuing to increase its dynamic day by day. Hallyu houses K-Pop, K-Drama, -K-Food, K-Fashion, K-Films, K-Beauty, and basically everything that is Korean that people love. K-Pop has become a genre in itself and we also have other Korean music genres. The industry is booming as they go full on with everything they do. Starting from training, to dedication, capturing and inspiring fans, lit concerts, and managing individual careers like solo tracks and acting, the industry has proved its worth.
But apart from K-POP, K-Dramas have also been playing a pivotal role in the spread of Hallyu Culture and over the years have continued to increase its viewer count and spreads Korean culture vastly. In fact, K-Dramas also help the younger generation as they grow up watching content that teaches them valuable life lessons, builds their standards, and further opens them up to new perspectives including showing concern and support for minority communities or vulnerable communities. Many film industries have been greatly inspired by the Korean Industry and have started remaking content that was originally Korean.
With all these mentioned factors and more, Netflix has made a great move to invest in such a potential filled industry that is reverberating vastly. Netflix affirmed that they had 3.8 million paid subscribers in South Korea in 2021.
In ‘See What’s Next Korea 2021’ event, as a part of Netflix’s Korea Preview for the year, Netflix revealed 13 original dramas, movies and shows that will be streaming on the platform this year. The dramas and movies cover a wide range of genres starring popular actors and celebrities. Some of the upcoming dramas that Netflix mentioned are, “The Sea of Silence”, “My Name”, “Move to Heaven”, “Squid Game”, “Love Alarm 2”, “Hell”, etc. There is also news of a sitcom- So Not Worth It, that is set to air this year. The stars in the sitcom include popular names like GOT7’s Youngjae and (G)I-DLE’s Minnie among others.
“Hallyu as we call it here in Korea, is a huge moment of national pride and we’re proud to be part of it. Great Korean stories are nothing new, in fact storytelling is deeply rooted in Korean culture. But today we live in a world where ‘Parasite’ is an Academy Award Best Picture winner, Black Pink plays Coachella, and over 22M households tune into a horror TV series, ‘Sweet Home’. Audiences around the world are falling in love with Korean stories, artists, and culture,”
Kim Min-Young, Netflix’s VP content for Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, said in a statement.
Since the streaming platform had invested USD 700 million in South Korea over the last five years (2015-20) and watched the content consumption all around the world grow on a massive scale, they have decided to invest $500 million this year alone.
Over the years, Netflix has produced around 80 original shows and films including the hit zombie thriller series, ‘Kingdom’ by Kim Eun-Hee and young-adult drama ‘Extracurricular’.
Netflix has created more than 200 Asian original series and films since 2016. With over 25M paid subscriptions in the Asia-pacific region, the California-headquartered streaming platform is focusing more on producing content for markets like South Korea, India and the whole Southeast Asia region to facilitate its future growth momentum that seems to be already increasing every passing day.
“Over the last two years, we’ve seen the world falling in love with the incredible Korean content, made in Korea and watched by the world on Netflix,” said Ted Sarandos, co-CEO and Chief Content Officer at Netflix. Ted also assured that Netflix will continue to invest and collaborate with Korean storytellers across a wealth of genres and formats.
South Korea is reportedly Netflix’s third-biggest market in Asia by sales, following Australia and Japan, according to consultancy Media Partners Asia. It is also estimated that Netflix’s subscriber base in South Korea could jump up to 5 million this year.
The popular K-Wave or otherwise known as ‘Hallyu’, is a term referred to the growing popularity of Korean culture through its films, series, music, food, fashion and lifestyle. India has been hit by the K-Wave long before Netflix came into the country. After the streaming platform became popular, the consumption of Korean films and series has only increased by a great amount. Today, every other person you meet is a K-Pop fan and almost everyone is aware of what a K-Drama is. Whether they like it or not, the awareness of K-Dramas and K-Pop existence is itself note-worthy in our country. Though scattered and young, Hallyu fans in India have shown their love and dedication by forming communities and hosting meet-ups. Many online Korean news and blogging portals have come up, some K-Pop concerts have been hosted in India as well by Pink Box Events, and Korean Culture Centre India has also played a major role in spreading Hallyu in India.
Of course, there is still a long way to go in terms of availability of merchandise and albums concerts in the country, but for now, this level of Hallyu awareness and content consumption is all that we ask for!
For more updates follow our Instagram @namaste_hallyu and @namastehallyustudio for quick updates.
Tags: Hallyu, kdrama, kdramas, Kfood, kmovies, korean culture, kpop, KPOP INDIA, kwave, Netflix
April 12th, 2021
P.C: KOZ Entertainment
Namaste Hallyu is super excited to share our interview with our Artist of The Month – Singer and Songwriter Dvwn!
If you’re a fan of versatile Korean music, you might have definitely heard his song, ‘Being Left’ with Zico or ‘Fairy’ or even ‘Last’ and if you’re a KDrama fan, you must have heard him when listening to the OST ‘No Problem’ from the drama, ‘The Uncanny Counter’ or you might have seen Park Shin Hye featured in his latest music video, ‘Free Flight’.
Soundcloud has been a big platform for various artists around the world, both popular and rising and this platform holds the stories of many world famous artists who initially started there including Dvwn’s musical journey. He gathered a lot of attention on Soundcloud and is known for his soothing melodies that are self-written and composed and this caught the attention of one of the biggest South Korean rapper, Zico. Dvwn is now signed with Zico’s KOZ Entertainment, a subsidiary of HYBE Corporation (formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment).
P.C: KOZ Entertainment
Dvwn has not only made music for his fans but he has also worked with various artists. Dvwn has worked with EXO’s Lay Zhang and Chanyeol, separately for ‘Mapo Tofu’ and ‘SSFW’. He further participated in SHINee’s ‘Heart Attack’ from their recent album, ‘Love Yourself’ by Eric Nam, Babylon’s ‘Karma’, and had also featured in Kang Daniel’s track ‘Movie’. Dvwn has also received IU’s appreciation for his cover songs.
What we love the most about Dvwn is how he effortlessly shifts genre and makes it his own. Dvwn cannot be classified as one genre of artist and that is why, it is best to understand his style of music by listening to his music because he creates a genre of his own. But if we have to categorise him, then it would be ‘Versatile’. Ahead of his EP ‘It’s Not Your Fault’ releasing on the 14th of April, we got to speak with Dvwn. Read on to know about his musical journey, his inspirations, the upcoming EP and more, including a special message for his Indian fans.
Namaste Hallyu (NH): First of all, congratulations! You came back with a new single ‘Free Flight’ and it has been well received. What does the song ‘ Free Flight’ mean to you ? You have also mentioned that it was written and recorded two-three years ago, is ‘Free Flight’ in any way different from your album series ‘Dawn Defibrillation’- lyrically and musically?
Dvwn: Thank you very much! I tried to express a journey of flying into one’s dream to tell things that I wouldn’t be able to tell in reality, and then flying back to reality with clearer conscience with ‘Free Flight’. A friend of mine who is a producer wrote the song as an instrumental track, which we rearranged to complete it as it is now. This song was supposed to be one of the tracks in ‘Dawn Defibrillation’ and you will find many similarities but on the other hand, the topic of the lyrics and the genre form are quite different. ‘Free Flight’ is a song where I tell a story in a more calm manner.
NH: You have been giving us so many amazing songs. What is your process when you’re writing a song? Any musical artist/art in general that has a major influence on your style?
Dvwn: The music writing process differs for each song. I sometimes stumble across a word in my daily life and start from that word and sometimes I get inspired by a book. Most of the time, I start by just sitting down in a chair. The artists that influences me the most, changes all the time and recently, I’ve been most inspired by films directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.
NH: It has been two years since you released your first self-produced album, ‘Panorama’ and ‘Fairy’ still remains as your most streamed song from that album and since then, it has been a journey of so many amazing songs. Which is your favorite work so far?
Dvwn: My favorite work changes all the time. I always find myself liking the most recently written song the most and I believe that many artists would relate to that. Of all the released songs, I like ‘Free flight’ the most. It must be because I prefer calmer music nowadays.
NH: You mentioned in a previous interview about how The Black Skirts is one of your favorite musician, have you ever thought of a possible collaboration and how do you think it will turn out?
Dvwn: I do like The Black Skirts very much but a collaboration is a very difficult process. I feel that it would be better to keep my favorite artist as the favorite artist and nothing more but if I were to collaborate with him, I think the song will turn out to be a very rocking one.
NH: You have never been bounded by a single genre and in the past, you had mentioned that you would like to try ‘Gospel’ music, is that still the same or is there any particular genre that you want to try?
Dvwn: Yes, I still want to try Gospel music someday, as the majestic feel of the genre can’t be replaced by any other. Other than Gospel music, I would love to try to write psychedelic or alternative rock music.
NH: ‘Dawn Defibrillation’ has continued as a series and you have also expressed that it will be finalized as an EP or LP. So can we expect it in the near future?
Dvwn: I have currently pushed the project to a later time, and am focusing on the upcoming album. As it is a series, I feel that I would need more time to think about it. It will happen when the time is right.
NH: You had shared a snippet in your Instagram Story which seemed like a demo of ‘Free Flight’ but in English. If it is the English version, we were wondering if your fans would get a chance to listen to it.
Dvwn: It’s actually not an English version, but a demo with rough melody guides. I normally sing in gibberish English when I’m writing the melodies, and it must have sounded like an English version. I would love to release an English version if the meaning of ‘Free Flight’ can be translated into English without losing its meaning.
NH: You have recently sung the OST, ‘No Problem’ for the K-Drama ‘The Uncanny Encounter’ and it has been wonderfully received. How was the experience? If we are not wrong, isn’t this your first OST? In addition, is there an OST of any Drama or Movie in particular that you like a lot?
Dvwn: Yes, it was my first time, and it was a very unique experience. I have never had anyone direct me in the recording process and so, it was awkward at first but I enjoyed the experience. I love the OST of Reply 1988, “A Little Girl” sung by Oh Hyuk.
NH: We heard that your new EP ‘It’s not your fault’ will be released soon. As it’s the first record after signing with KOZ Entertainment, we are wondering what kind of story it contains. Could you give us a spoiler before it’s released?
Dvwn: I think the listeners would find the album quite heavy overall. It contains many feelings and stories and its difficult to explain in a short sentence, but I would say the main keywords are sadness and loneliness. You will know what I mean when you listen to it. To spoil it a little, the album consists of songs with many different genres. Please don’t miss out on ‘It’s not your fault’.
NH: Lastly, any message for your Indian fans and what to expect from you?
Dvwn: Thank you so much for listening to my music. I have been working hard to present good music to you. My new EP ‘It’s not your fault’ will release soon, so please look forward to it! Thank you so much again for all the love!
Dvwn has an intense passion for music and sheds light on the importance of fans being able to resonate with his music. We are very happy to have interviewed such a versatile artist who produces fervent music and we are grateful to Dvwn and KOZ Entertainment for the opportunity. We look forward to all the new music and we hope to see him perform in India, someday.
Dvwn’s new EP, ‘It’s Not Your Fault’ is releasing on April 14 featuring various artists like lIlBOI, CHE, jane, and Kwon Jin Ah. KOZ Entertainment Announces Dvwn’s Comeback
April 10th, 2021
March 31st, 2021
Baekhyun is back with his third mini-album!.[spoiler alert]
March 3rd, 2021
Big Naughty (Seo Dong Hyun) from H1gher Music is a 2003 born soloist with a soothing voice perfect for the sensible rap that he is known for. His vocals does not limit him to rapping as he sings well too and recently he released his latest contemporary R & B Genre, EP “Bucket List”. In his EP, he has shown a different side of his music taste from that he is usually known for. Read on to read our review.