How Korea is Taking Over Hollywood

There is an influx of Korean content appearing across the internet. Netflix has over 300 of these shows and after the success of Squid Game, it’s invested another $2.5 billion dollars into K-dramas. In this episode Andy spends 10 weeks watching 10 K-dramas to understand how Hallyu or the Korean Wave is taking over Hollywood.

Faultline is produced by:
Executive Producer: Andy Burgess
Senior Producer/Story/Research: Anjali Sharma
Editors: Andy Burgess & Jatin Nahata
Motion Graphics: Jatin Nahata
Special Thanks to @TheKThree Podcast and Co Hosts Marisa Johnston & Jennifer Wilson

The gear we use:

Sources 🔗

Time Stamps:
0:00 - The Rise of K Content
1:26 - Watching 10 K-dramas over 10 weeks.
2:10 - Hallyu, explained.
3:42 - The Korean War
4:29 - Korean TV (1960s - 1990s)
7:42 - The Jurassic Park Effect
9:19 - The 2000s K-dramas
10:47 - K-dramas are loooooong
12:37 - The influence of Streaming Services
14:19 - The effects of the Pandemic on K-dramas
15:21 - Squid Game changed everything
17:07 - The future of foreign Cinema
19:26 - The issues around K-dramas mirror Hollywood
20:22 - The power of K-dramas

#southkorea #kdrama #hallyu

[marifeli]

Reasons why Kdramas are popular:
1. Very good storyline, not jeeding violence and sex to be entertaining
2. The content can be deep, bringing out moral issues
3. They are able to make very interesting historical shows which show you Korean history
4. The technical side..very well done like every episode is like a well made movie
5. The scenery, the costumes are beautiful
And many more..like the true depiction of what Korea was like in the 80's in Reply 1988
The very handsome, tall, lean and clean looking kdrama actors...

[jessicaosita]

I’m a Nigerian and my first unofficial kdrama was jumong in 2006 and I’m saying unofficial because I didn’t know it was kdrama then, because it was dubbed in English.
Then my first official kdrama with Korean language and English subtitles was in 2010 and that was boys over flowers.
Nigerians have been watching kdramas for a longer time and some didn’t even know.
I used to buy DVD on kdramas a lot, like I had a bag full of kdramas dvds.

I just hope that Hollywood will not try and change the way kdrama is, now that everyone wants a piece of it.

[Dr.Phoenix]

I started with 'Descendents of the Sun' and in almost 2 years I've watched over 125 K-dramas and I don't know if I can stop anytime soon

[shinkisaragi]

Currently the Korean-drama “moving” is the no.1 show on Hulu and I see a lot of people who you would never associate with Korean dramas, reviewing it, and really liking it online

[hsjung]

Another k drama: Moving (Disney +, played on Hulu) depicts exactly this. It’s super hero’s are not of glitzy outrageous Hollywood kind, but those who stands tall against oppression, be it as in the most humble existence, to protect what is dear to them, their family. It’s another drama that shows the essence of Korea, and how can anyone not relate?

[곰탱이알러지]

I highly recommend Mr. Sunshine. There’s a lot of great Korean dramas but nothing can beat this one. Such a masterpiece.

[merrytunes]

I did a presentation on how South Korea is taking over the entertainment industry for my MBA program in 2019. My instructor didn't understand why I chose this topic for my presentation on strategic management back then. I hope he understands it now.

[lmsoo]

A lot of nations have tried and planned to export their pop-cultures(movies, dramas, musics, ... ) but why only a few countries have made it?
I think it's not about policies nor budgets, it's about qualities.

[Rebecca-bzph]

I’m british and started watching kdrama in about 2003 when I was 17. I discovered kdrama through Japanese drama and I had discovered Japanese drama through anime. Back then the internet was still pretty angelfire-esque. I learned about these dramas on forums and livejournal communities and used dodgy chinese p2p websites to download the episodes. My first drama was ‘full house’ which I loved but it was ‘stairway to heaven’ which really grabbed my soul and refuses to let go to this day. I had never seen a drama or movie before that wasn’t afraid to give the main characters such terrible burdens and tragedies that sees them crying in a painful primal way until you’re crying along too. This is the Korean culture of ‘Han’.
I’ve never seen it in Hollywood. Hollywood loves a happy ending which is characteristic of the old American dream. Korea is a country that knows tragedy with invasion after invasion, families separated across borders and everything else. No wonder they create dramas and movies that tap in to raw pain in such a way.
Im glad kdrama is getting the recognition it deserves, and as a longtime fan im proud that it’s kdrama that finally has English speaking audiences finally open their eyes to non-English content.

[lisasellers]

The Korean storytelling is incredible. They believe in actual character development. Kdramas, do not have half of the town shot full of bullets and and the leads already having a skanky bedroom scene in episode one. Kdramas' are not hammering politics down my throat. What they do have is writing so dynamic that you almost exhausted from the rollercoaster of emotions watching the program. The character acting is next level . Romance is down to earth and realistically portrayed. The writer's deliver quality which in turn allows the production team and the actors to deliver quality. and all of it delivers without having drop a f bomb five minutes in.

[saonbhattacharya]

As an Asian (Indian), South Korean content is much more culturally relatable than standard Hollywood production. As for Hollywood's dearth of good content for the last couple of decades, that's the subject matter for another discussion altogether (its movies today are either about comic book characters, fantasies and/or aliens; nothing remotely relates to the human condition, nor appeals to the heart). For decades, Hollywood entertainment was what the rest of the world had easy access to, and so despite being a culture that was nearly as alien as Hollywood's own subject matters today, world audiences made do with it. It also sold an aspirational lifestyle to much of the world. This is what is not working anymore. The American way of life has lost its appeal, as has stories from this land. So now, when I have access to slick productions from South Korea with heartwarming content and a context that's so much closer to home, I'm simply not interested in watching anything American anymore. And if Indians & other Asians turn inwards, looking to Seoul for our daily dose of entertainment, well that's more than half of the world's population, right? 😊

[turbo]

As a Korean, Korean culture did not take over Hollywood It's just the addition of a new way for humanity to enjoy the world. There's something Hollywood can do and there's something Bollywood can do.

Every culture has its own value and we just have to respect it and understand each other.

Please enjoy Korea, we will also understand and enjoy your culture.. Thank for your video!

[untitled]

korean cinema has always been really well done and i’m so glad it’s finally getting the recognition it has always deserved!!!!

[diamcole]

It's honestly been a long time coming. Squid Games was great but people who have been watching k-dramas and films from the late 90s/early 2000s knows what I'm talking about. There are SO many gems.

[Shibatastic]

I started watching kdramas because I was tired of the nudity, crass and violence of Hollywood. Refreshing, beautiful cinematography, focus on stories. Love kdramas!

[laurenc]

There’s two things that draws me to watching so much Korean content - first is that shows are usually only one season long. I don’t have to wait a year (or more) for the next season. It’s a self contained story so there’s less chance of it losing steam or a feeling of milking something until it’s dead. The second is that it feels more original than most of what western media (specifically the US) has been putting out lately. I love a good super hero movie but I’m burnt out on them. Adaptation after adaptation done poorly. Entertainment in the west feels like a money grab and not about telling a story or loving the art. I am afraid with Korean entertainment they may go this way eventually and repeat the same formulas. K-pop has seen some of this. But for now I find Korean entertainment much more entertaining in most cases than western entertainment.

[EnkiduShamesh]

Short answer: Hollywood is broken, runs on fear, and keeps making the same five movies over and over. Once you've watched a few good k-dramas, you realize how badly written 90% of what comes out of Hollywood is. And even then, most of the good stuff is coming from newcomers/outsiders like streaming platforms and studios like A24.

It should also be noted that in Hollywood, nearly 80% of film script writers are men (and a few years ago it was closer to 90%). In Korea, about 60% of writers are women. Being closer to 50/50 surely gives an advantage on connecting with a larger audience vs. having writers rooms that include a token woman to talk over and ignore.

[shawnduncan]

My 80 yr old father passed away 2 years ago and during his illness, I went thru bad divorce and moved home. Dad watched Kdramas all the time, and loved Crash Landing on you. I started watching w him and haven't stopped since. Mom and I watch nightly, and we only watch 1% American TV....if we have to! The stories are unique and entertaining, no smut and foul language (sick of woke Hollyweird agenda), the cinematography is stunning, the actors are moving and lovely, and the music. ..wow. I'm now on my 50+Kdrama...I've actually lost track😊

During the difficult times, they have not only entertained me but also inspired me to start learning Korean and how to make Korean dishes. I even bought a Kimchi pot to make my own! Korean variety shows, Music, Food and Kdramas have made a Huge and positive impact and addition to my life. Loved the content of this video...thanks you. Bravo...well done!!!!🎉

[lulylou]

I don't know if you mentioned the drama OST. it's so wonderful to watch the drama and listen to beautiful original songs sung by famous artists. When you finish the drama you go to music streaming services looking for those artists and you keep exploring their music and then you go through a rabbit hole of Korean and non-Korean music, bands, and artists. It's gotten to the point that I even get non-English commercials in my streaming services because I listen to so many.

[Illbeass]

if im being honest south koreans are geniuses. i’ve watched a lot of k-dramas as an americans and the shows are always so interesting have this really well put together storyline and ride that storyline from the beginning to the end creating a finale that is actually worth watching and makes the story feel complete. i have to say some kdramas i have watched were a bit boring and i couldnt finish them but i have watched more than i couldnt finish. i love kdramas stories 🤷