Disney+ To Increase Investment In Korean Originals
This past week, Disney released the finale of the Korean superhero series “Moving” on Hulu in the US and on Disney+ around the world and it was revealed that the show is the most-watched show on Disney+ in the Asia-Pacific region, and that it has also topped Disney+’s global chart and Hulu in the United States in the first week of its release.
Following the huge success of “Moving”, much like with how Netflix supercharged its Korean content after the success of “Squid Game”, Disney will continue to expand its investment in the production of Korean content to reach a wider audience.
Kim So-youn, managing director of the Walt Disney Company Korea, told the press at a “Moving” special event via the Korean Times that:
“‘Moving’ is the most successful Korean original content since Disney+ launched in Korea. It provided Disney+ with a critical turning point in terms of business and content production, paving the way for moving to the next level. It is a meaningful work,”
Earlier this year, Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke about how they would be cutting back how much international content, but would continue to create local content in some countries, if it was financially beneficial to do so. There were also some rumours that Disney was cutting back on its local Korean production, but Kim addressed those rumours during the press conference, saying:
“Korean original content is not only important in Korea but also in the global market. We will continue to produce local content and investment will continue. The size of investment will gradually increase.”
Later this year, Disney has many more Korean originals to release on Disney+ around the world, including “The Worst Of Evil”, “Vigilante”, “Soundtrack #2”, and a new documentary about the K-Pop group, BTS. Disney has already put together a huge lineup of Korean originals, including “Big Bet”, “Shadow Detective”, “Snowdrop” and many more, which are available to stream now on Hulu in the US and on Disney+ around the world.
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