A coalition of South Korean TV producers, directors, writers, actors, and crewmembers appealed to the government on Wednesday for a $954 million “investment fund” to bail out their industry, which is ironically suffering from increased production costs due to the soaring global popularity of “K-dramas.”
\n\nAccording to the industry groups, the investment fund is needed because production costs are rising and those costs are rising because the global demand for Korean TV shows has greatly increased.
\n\nStreaming giant Netflix, in particular, has developed an insatiable appetite for Korean programming after the massive success of Squid Game. Netflix made a commitment to invest $2.5 billion in the Korean TV industry back in 2023, but it apparently was not enough to cover the rapidly increasing paychecks of top actors and directors as they became worldwide stars.
\n\nSong Byeong-joon, chair of the Korea Drama Production Association, told the Straits Times on Wednesday that South Korean TV networks began reducing their output of drama programs at the very moment they became hot items for Netflix and other global customers.
\n\nThe slowdown was partly due to increasing domestic competition from global media, thanks to the very same streamers that got the rest of the world…
Original source: https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/
