A Short History Of the K-Drama Industry Before Netflix

04/04/24 • 51 min

In this episode, we talk about how K-dramas became a highly profitable export long before the entry of streaming platforms in the mid 2010s. This is a story of a nation's economic crisis, the creation of a unique opportunity, and a two decade long struggle for air wave supremacy in East Asia.

Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: <Recording Page>

TIMELINE OF DRAMAS MENTIONED:

1997 IMF crisis

1997 What is love all about (NBC)

2000 Autumn In My Heart (KBS)

2002 Winter Sonata (KBS)

2007 The Legend (MBC)

2013 My Love From the Star (SBS)

2016 Descendants of the Sun (KBS)

2016 Signal (tvN)

2016 Hwayugi (Korean Odyssey) (tvN)

2016 THAAD missile crisis/China bans K-ent

LINKS MENTIONED:

CedarBough Saeji's twitter thread on why South Korean academics rarely contribute to international journals.

Living document of sources here.

LIGHT READING 😌:

Korean Dramas Adopt Pre-Produced Format to Mixed Results (article)

The Reason SBS Missed Out on "Descendants of the Sun" and "Signal" (article)

Romantic blockbusters: the co-commissioning of Korean network-developed K-dramas as ‘Netflix originals’ (journal)

TIMESTAMP:

04:41 - How Kdramas came into existence

11:18 - How dramas used to be made

21:54 - Start of the digital age and entry of iQiyi

27:40 - Dramas begin to get expensive

31:32 - Watershed: Descendants of the Sun

34:40 - China bans Korean entertainment over THAAD

36:51 - Economics of terrestrial vs cable channels

47:12 - Netflix knocks (cliffhanger)

LEAVE US A REVIEW:

Apple podcasts | Spotify | Audible!

MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE:

Episode 170: A Long Yak on Doctor Slump, Marry My Husband, and Like Flowers In Sand

NEWSLETTER:

Join our email list for the monthly newsletter with podcast announcements and special episodes!

PATRONS:

SPECIAL THANK YOU to our beloved patrons for another year of helping us light the lanterns to sail our ship! Join it here!

❤︎ You can MAJORLY support us by leaving a review on your podcast app, or sharing the episode with friends! ❤︎

SOCIAL:

Email us at [email protected].

CREDITS:

This episode was produced and edited by Paroma

Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: <Recording Page>

TIMELINE OF DRAMAS MENTIONED:

1997 IMF crisis

1997 What is love all about (NBC)

2000 Autumn In My Heart (KBS)

2002 Winter Sonata (KBS)

2007 The Legend (MBC)

2013 My Love From the Star (SBS)

2016 Descendants of the Sun (KBS)

2016 Signal (tvN)

2016 Hwayugi (Korean Odyssey) (tvN)

2016 THAAD missile crisis/China bans K-ent

LINKS MENTIONED:

CedarBough Saeji's twitter thread on why South Korean academics rarely contribute to international journals.

Living document of sources here.

LIGHT READING 😌:

Korean Dramas Adopt Pre-Produced Format to Mixed Results (article)

The Reason SBS Missed Out on "Descendants of the Sun" and "Signal" (article)

Romantic blockbusters: the co-commissioning of Korean network-developed K-dramas as ‘Netflix originals’ (journal)

TIMESTAMP:

04:41 - How Kdramas came into existence

11:18 - How dramas used to be made

21:54 - Start of the digital age and entry of iQiyi

27:40 - Dramas begin to get expensive

31:32 - Watershed: Descendants of the Sun

34:40 - China bans Korean entertainment over THAAD

36:51 - Economics of terrestrial vs cable channels

47:12 - Netflix knocks (cliffhanger)

LEAVE US A REVIEW:

Apple podcasts | Spotify | Audible!

MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE:

Episode 170: A Long Yak on Doctor Slump, Marry My Husband, and Like Flowers In Sand

NEWSLETTER:

Join our email list for the monthly newsletter with podcast announcements and special episodes!

PATRONS:

SPECIAL THANK YOU to our beloved patrons for another year of helping us light the lanterns to sail our ship! Join it here!

❤︎ You can MAJORLY support us by leaving a review on your podcast app, or sharing the episode with friends! ❤︎

SOCIAL:

Email us at [email protected].

CREDITS:

This episode was produced and edited by Paroma

Previous Episode

A Long Yak on Doctor Slump, Marry My Husband, and Like Flowers In Sand

We are back with a long yak on three dramas we started 2024 with: Doctor Slump, Marry My Husband, and Like Flowers In Sand.

This episode was recorded on 11th February. Our feelings on these dramas have stayed the same (with Doctor Slump getting special love for staying so reliably warm till the end).

Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here: <Recording Page>

LINKS MENTIONED:

Paroma's Doctor Slump post.

Support Gaza through the Palestine Children's Relief Fund here.

TIMESTAMP:

00:01:50 - Doctor Slump

00:45:57 - Like Flowers In Sand

01:06:15 - Marry My Husband

LEAVE US A REVIEW:

Apple podcasts | Spotify | Audible!

MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE:

Episode 166: Our last long yak

Episode 165: Our spoiled yak on Perfect Marriage Revenge

NEWSLETTER:

Join our email list for the monthly newsletter with podcast announcements and special episodes!

PATRONS:

SPECIAL THANK YOU to our beloved patrons for another year of helping us light the lanterns to sail our ship! Join it here!

❤︎ You can MAJORLY support us by leaving a review on your podcast app, or sharing the episode with friends! ❤︎

SOCIAL:

Email us at [email protected].

CREDITS:

This episode was edited by Paroma

Next Episode

Lovely Runner is a delightful genre mashup | Episodes 1-8 Review

Anisa and Paroma gush about the first half of currently airing time-travel romance K-drama Lovely Runner, which we are LOVING. The first 40 minutes are free of major spoilers!

Tell us what you think of Lovely Runner in a voice note here: <Recording Page>

LINKS MENTIONED:

Anisa's Queen of Tears first impressions review

TIMESTAMP:

00:40:27 Spoilers

LEAVE US A REVIEW:

Apple podcasts | Spotify | Audible!

MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE:

Episode 162: Someday or One Day Review

Episode 170: A long yak on Doctor Slump, Marry My Husband and Like Flowers in Sand

NEWSLETTER:

Join our email list for the monthly newsletter with podcast announcements and special episodes!