Past Events

Guest Speaker Series

Speaker: Professor Ji Hoon Park
School of Media and Communication
Korea University

Date: January 30, 2023 at 11:15 AM-12:15 PM PT
Location: HC 2270 (room updated)

Netflix and Platform Imperialism: How Netflix Alters the Ecology of the Korean TV Drama Industry

Applying the concept of platform imperialism, Park discusses how Netflix has altered the practices of Korean drama production. Despite Netflix’s positive contributions to increasing the reputation of Korean dramas, Netflix’s aggressive international content strategies pose a significant challenge to the Korean media industry. Because Netflix acquires all IP rights to Netflix Korean originals and the global streaming rights to numerous Korean dramas, neither production companies nor Korean television stations gain profits commensurate with the global popularity of Korean dramas. Netflix’s strategic use of the Korean Wave and the aggressive acquisition of the streaming rights of Korean dramas may ultimately work to consolidate platform imperialism.

Conference Title
Is Netflix Riding the Korean Wave or Vice Versa?

Location
Seoul National University Asia Center (SNUAC), Seoul, Korea.

Date
8th April, 2022

Conference Organizers
Seok-Kyeong Hong (Seoul National University)
Dal Yong Jin (Simon Fraser University)
Sangjoon Lee (Nanyang Technological University)