{"id":8717737,"date":"2023-01-16T17:21:51","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T01:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8717737&preview=true&preview_id=8717737"},"modified":"2023-01-16T17:21:56","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T01:21:56","slug":"love-korean-dramas-netflix-plans-biggest-slate-of-tv-shows-films-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/16\/love-korean-dramas-netflix-plans-biggest-slate-of-tv-shows-films-yet\/","title":{"rendered":"Love Korean dramas? Netflix plans biggest slate of TV shows, films yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michelle Toh | CNN<\/strong><\/p>\n

Netflix is planning its largest-ever lineup of South Korean content, with 34 new and returning titles set to roll out this year.<\/p>\n

The streaming giant made the announcement last week. It said that audience data showed “over 60% of all Netflix members” watched Korean titles in 2022.<\/p>\n

The nearly three dozen new programs include a range of TV series and films, which run the gamut from thrillers to dramas. The company declined to disclose how much it planned to spend.<\/p>\n

In 2021, company executives said Netflix planned to invest about $500 million into Korean content, on top of $700 million already spent since 2016.<\/p>\n

The move underscores how Netflix is increasingly doubling down on Korean content as fans worldwide continue to buzz over it.<\/p>\n

Last year, the streaming giant announced the launch of approximately 25 Korean titles \u2014 at the time “our largest number to date,” it said in a statement<\/a> then. The previous year, the company unveiled 15.<\/p>\n

“The global popularity of K-content has continued apace over 2022,” Don Kang, the company’s vice president of Korean content, said in a brief statement.\u00a0“Over the last year, Korean series and films have regularly featured in our Global Top 10 list in more than 90 countries, and three of Netflix’s most-watched shows ever are from Korea.”<\/p>\n

One of those shows is “Squid Game,” which shows contestants playing deadly children’s games to win cash prizes. The survival drama became the company’s top show worldwide<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\n

Last year, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” a series that followed titular character Woo Young-woo as “a newbie at a top law firm and a woman on the autism spectrum,” also shot<\/a> to the top of the streaming platform’s charts for several weeks.<\/p>\n

The forthcoming titles for 2023 include six Korean movies, starting with the debut of a sci-fi thriller, “JUNG-E,” on Friday, according to Netflix.<\/p>\n

It will also include new shows such as “Destined With You,” a romance between a hotshot lawyer and a civil servant, as well as the latest installment of returning series “Sweet Home,” which depicts a teen’s fight to survive as humans turn into monsters.<\/p>\n

Netflix is increasingly producing<\/a> original international content and leaning on prospects overseas as its growth in North America slows.<\/p>\n