South Korean cinema: the irresistible rise of Hallyuwood

Year after year, South Korean cinema amazes us with its originality. If Hallyuwood (in reference to the word "hallyu," meaning the cultural wave of the country) produces less in quantity than Bollywood (India) or Nollywood (Nigeria), the country has nothing to envy the other big producers in terms of quality.

In fact, Netflix is making a colossal investment of $2.5 billion over four years in the production of South Korean films and series. It's an international consecration for a country whose audiovisual productions conquer a wider audience in the world every year.

In the press release announcing the investment, Ted Sarandos of Netflix explained the platform's "great confidence in the Korean content industry... We’ll continue to make great stories."

"It is incredible that the love towards Korean shows has led to a wider interest in Korea, thanks to the Korean creators’ compelling stories. Their stories are now at the heart of the global cultural zeitgeist," Netflix claimed.

The development of South Korean content on Netflix is a response to the worldwide craze for films and series from this country.

The flagship of South Korean TV has undoubtedly been the global phenomenon 'Squid Game': according to the website 'Les Numériques', this series is the most watched on Netflix, with 1.65 billion hours viewed in the first 28 days of its streaming.

The public's passion for 'Squid Game' is such that a project for a reality show based on the plot of the series is underway. Just like the highly anticipated season 2 of the fictional show.

From the apocalyptic story 'All of us are dead' to the fantasy series 'Hellbound,' the drama 'Vincenzo,' and many others, Korean productions are revolutionizing the content available on Netflix.

When we look at South Korean cinema, we can also speak of an incredible rise in the past years. Important in that movement was Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning 'Parasite,' a drama depicting a class struggle between two Korean families with lively staging, black humor, and raw scenes.

The success is remarkable after Korea lived through a period of authoritarianism from the 1960s to the 1980s, during which filmmakers in the country were encouraged to glorify the regime or criticize the North Korean neighbor. Only a minority managed to circumvent censorship. They would lay the foundations of current Korean inventiveness, activity, and creativity.

Everything changed in 1993, the year from which the south of the Korean peninsula gradually became more democratic. Film directors began to tackle previously taboo subjects, such as the forced westernization of the country in 'The Pansori Singer' (1993) and especially the end of the regime of Park Chung-hee (in the photo) with the film 'The President's Last Bang' (2005).

Local production was encouraged by 'screen quotas.' Until 2006, South Korean cinemas had to show national works at least 146 days a year - a number later reduced to 73 following a commercial agreement with the US. Either way, it was enough to develop a thriving and attractive film industry for local (and then foreign) audiences.

'Old Boy' marked another major milestone in the success of South Korean cinema. Released 20 years ago, this very violent film recounts the forced isolation of a character and implicitly depicts the dark period of the dictatorship that ruled the country.

South Korea has also developed schools of cinema, whose figurehead is the self-taught director and screenwriter Kim Ki-Duk. With works like 'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… and Spring,' he was one of the most recognized filmmakers in the world until his death in 2020.

South Korean cinema has also distinguished itself by productions for the general public. After 'Old Boy,' Park Chan-wook became the monument of national cinema. He's also the author of 'I am a Cyborg' and 'Thirst, this is my blood,' offbeat films with wildly inventive stagings.

For Edward White, the former correspondent in Korea for the 'Financial Times', "the Korean production companies have found a recipe that really works," namely "a mixture of drama, romance, intrigue, and comedy." Without forgetting a polished aesthetic or the little touch of madness typical of local cinema, they have enchanted the global public.

Beyond cinema, South Korea exports a whole pop culture, seriously competing with the Japanese and undermiming Chinese soft power efforts. Music (the famous K-pop), video games, cooking recipes... the whole world is now fond of 'Hallyu'!