The world of Korean leisure has come a great distance since “Gangnum Style” set dancers galloping around the globe practically 15 years in the past.
Korean content material trade leaders on either side of the Pacific gathered earlier this month on the London West Hollywood to take inventory of the nation’s speedy progress as an exporter of music, films, TV exhibits, short-form materials and different digital content material that penetrating in conventional Hollywood.
The Okay-Leisure Trade Summit was offered by CJ ENM, one of many handful of South Korean conglomerates which have cast a strong eco-system for the manufacturing and distribution of Okay-content. It’s a part of a rising tide of affect from the Asian diaspora that’s driving innovation throughout media, from vertical dramas to live-stream e-commerce to the webtoon graphic novel increase.
A living proof cited throughout the half-day summit was the boffo efficiency over the previous 12 months of Netflix’s “Kpop Demon Hunters,” an anime film rooted in Korean folklore.
“Let’s get rid of the notion that it’s an outlier and just look at the brass tacks of what it is. It’s a great piece of storytelling with innovative animation,” stated James Shin, president of HYBE America Studios. “They had the aspirations of the biggest musicals. How do we achieve that while also adhering to this whole idea of authenticity? It’s those little details. It’s the beauty and specificity” that made “Kpop Demon Hunters” stand aside.
Hyonbae Park, CEO of CJ ENM America, opened the invitation-only Could 14 occasion with the remark that in his view, Yr One for the Okay-content increase was 2012, when Psy electrified dance flooring around the globe with the smash hit “Gangnam Style.” That hit caught a wave on YouTube that allow the world know the way a lot artwork, media and tradition was exploding in Korea.
Since 2012, Korean-language movie “Parasite” took the Oscar for greatest image and drama collection “Squid Game” set data for Netflix. 2012 was additionally the primary 12 months CJ ENM hosted its KCON fan pageant in Los Angeles, which has expanded to occasions in New York, Japan, Paris and Mexico Metropolis in recent times.
“When I first came to the United States in 1990, I lived in a small town in New Jersey. I was one of the very few Asians there. People came to me and asked, ‘Where are you from?’ And I would say ‘Korea,’ and many people [would] say, ‘Korea, is that a country?’… Fast forward to 2026, no one asks what Korea is anymore,” Hyonbae Park stated. “Today, Korean entertainment is everywhere, and everybody loves it.”
That’s to not say that hurdles and cultural limitations don’t exist. Okay-pop as a style has skilled inevitable ebbs after a decade-long increase.
“I think people who don’t know what K-pop is, they think it’s a very young niche. But if you look at its reach globally, and [how] it transcended across the globe, you can see that the age range is a bigger gap,” stated John Kim, VP of selling and distribution for UMG/Interscope Data. “It reaches young teens through the mid-40s and 50s. I grew up on K-pop, my son grows up on K-pop, so it’s generational now.”
For manufacturers, Okay-pop associated alternatives might be thrilling as a result of it’s perceived to be on the cutting-edge of worldwide youth tradition.
“We looked at K-pop, and a particularly unique artist to bridge and connect us with a new generation with new values,” stated Michael Traynor, VP of Hennessy for Moët Hennessy USA, which has partnered with former Okay-pop idol Jackson Wang.
“We saw extreme diversity, all different demographics, all different ages, and a fandom that again had bought in not just the experience, but they wanted more. So we delivered on that and created year after year different collaboration items that really spoke to Jackson and his fandom,” Traynor stated. “Everything from special content to limited edition bottles, to even a song has allowed us to go much deeper with his audience than just a regular endorsement and shows the power that exists not only globally but here in the U.S.”
Tara Klee, director of worldwide touring for AEG Presents, agreed that Okay-pop followers are trendsetters.
“They have a voice, and it’s really powerful,” she stated. “There are a lot of opportunities with brands specifically and in sponsorships. K-pop fans are the dream for that, because they want to show up eight hours early and stand in line.”
Danielle Kreinik, senior VP of tv for Jerry Bruckheimer Tv, stated the power of the fandom round Okay-pop stars is enticing to producers and platforms. Bruckheimer TV is producing an English-language adaptation of the hit Okay-drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.”
“We would love to be able to attach a Korean star to something, especially somebody from the K-pop world. It’s really exciting to see that fanbase, because that fan base [is] what you want to bring with you when you’re bringing packages around,” she stated.
Sera Tabb, head of worldwide tv for Webtoon Productions, cautioned that Okay-content fandom is just not monolithic. Western variations of Asian content material want to grasp the essence of the piece. Happily, with digital and social media, there’s a 24/7 suggestions loop.
“What we noticed is that each individual piece of IP has its own culture, because there’s a comment section on Webtoon. When you’re scrolling through each episode, at the end, people are making comments. For us, as the adapters…we can track in real time how people are responding to certain character moments, what engagement looks across the history of the comic, and that’s very meaningful for us,” Tabb stated.
Jon Wax, govt VP of Worldwide Authentic Tv for Disney Leisure, cited Korea and Japan as large areas of focus for Disney’s world content material technique. The Mouse is investing in pan-Asian content material with the objective of increase regional power in a aggressive market for streaming content material. He pointed to the success of a uniquely Okay-content property “Battle of Fates,” a sport present during which Korean psychics and Tarot card readers and the like compete to
“Certainly, as a global streamer, if something tends to travel, that’s attractive to us, even if that’s not the goal for every [show],” Wax stated. “Japan and Korea are two areas of focus for us. And that means even within the region, if not the world, we’re hoping that content can travel a little more to Southeast Asia and places we hope to get with more originals.”
(Pictured: Selection‘s Cynthia Littleton, Disney’s Jon Wax, Webtoon’s Sera Tabb and Jerry Bruckheimer Tv’s Danielle Kreinik on the Okay-Leisure Trade Summit in West Hollywood on Could 14.)
