Korean studios and producers are well into the next phase of their global development, putting their hands up for earlier and bigger participation in global TV series out of the U.S. and embracing bigger budgets that allow them to tell different kinds of stories, delegates at Broadcast Worldwide (BCWW)  2022 heard in the opening sessions of this year’s event in Seoul this morning. 

In other sessions and on the sidelines of BCWW, production houses and creators – including “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” production house Astory – say they are drawing a harder line with companies, in particular streaming platforms, that wanted all rights for all time. 

Studio Dragon’s global division head, Hyun Park, spoke about an emerging slate of big-budget global Korean-language dramas, including “The Big Door Prize”, produced by CJ ENM, Studio Dragon and Skydance Television.

The 10-episode series, announced in May 2021, is currently in post-production and will stream on Apple TV+.  

“Now that we have bigger budgets, our writers are breaking out more and trying to tell new stories,” Hyun Park said, adding: “That is going to level up story telling in Korea.” 

The next-generation of drama series were developed for post-”Squid Game” audiences around the world who were more than happy to read subtitles, Park said. 

“These are not the kind of Korean dramas we have been used to,” he added. 

“If we do Korean language with global packaging, we can access bigger budgets. This part of the business has not become much more important to our portfolio,” he said. 

Studio Dragon is currently developing seven projects in the U.S., including adaptations of “Hotel Del Luna” and “Crash Landing on You”. 

These run alongside initiatives to co-create new scripted shows, such as “The Plotters”, based on Kim Un-Su’s contemporary fantasy crime thriller set in an alternative Seoul, with U.S. partners including The Ink Factory (“The Night Manager”). 

JTBC/Studio LuluLala’s (SLL)  head of production, Joonsuh Park, spoke about co-productions with U.S.-based wiip (“Mare of Easttown”, “Dickinson”), which JTBC acquired in mid-2021. 

Park said SSL was trying to break away from existing processes. 

“Hollywood and Korean ways of producing look similar but are quite different,” he said, adding that finding the right starting point was the most challenging aspect of co-operating on a project.  

He also said the most critical, and sometimes most difficult, factor in developing projects with international partners was who owned the IP. 

“IP ownership determines everything,” he said. 

IP ownership is, perhaps, the biggest flashpoint in the Korean industry at the moment. 

Astory CEO, Lee Sang-baek, said during another session today that he had turned down Netflix’s offer of producing the 16-episode series as an original in order to retain a share of the rights.

The series aired on Korean channel ENA in Korea and on Netflix, becoming the streamer’s top show for seven weeks.