bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

The Korea Times

By Lee Gyu-lee
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected many sectors around the world, disrupting people’s lives in many ways.
Media industries are no exception – measures taken by governments and health authorities to battle the spread of the virus have included limiting people from going to cinemas, celebrities from travelling abroad for events and studios from filming.
As such, the media has had to find new ways to work and to allow people to consume content.

In South Korea, this has led to the rise of over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms and the use of technology for virtual content. This digital market grew from US$682 million in 2019 to US$832 million in 2020.
“Because of social distancing, many people stopped going out to places like movie theatres,” says media critic Jung Duk-hyun. “So OTT, which allows people to enjoy video content regardless of social distancing, has become a general, common way of media consumption.”
Inside the K-drama streaming wars: can anyone match Netflix?
Do Joon-ho, a media communication professor at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea, notes the pandemic helped open up the digital landscape to older consumers who were once unfamiliar with streaming services.
“During Covid, middle-aged people and older generations got a chance to grow accustomed to OTT services, which shifted their consumption from IPTV [internet protocol television] or cable VOD [video on demand] services to streaming,” he says.
“For movies, cinema used to be the main source of consumption before Covid-19, but as the pandemic made it hard for people to go to the theatres, films made their releases on OTT platforms, changing the way people consume movies.”

The South Korean music industry, too, has had to grapple with travel and gathering restrictions during the pandemic, and has had to reinvent live performances and interactions between artists and their fans.
In April 2020, K-pop agency SM Entertainment debuted an online platform, Beyond Live, calling it “the first paid online streaming concert service in the world”.
The service brings real-time performances to viewers and enables artists and fans to interact online.
How much do K-dramas cost to make? More than you’d think
In December 2020, the state-run Korea Creative Content Agency launched Kocca Music Studio, which specialises in immersive online performances achieved with cutting-edge technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality and the metaverse.
K-pop juggernauts like BTS and Blackpink have now held online concerts and fan events, interacting with their global fans via video chat.
Lee Gyu-tag, a cultural studies professor at George Mason University Korea, says such online events have become the new norm in Korea’s music industry.
“For artists who hold concerts frequently, arranging online and offline concerts together has become a new standard,” he says. “If it’s a three-day concert, they do both streaming and in-person performances one day and hold in-person performances for the remaining two days, without being bound by time and space.”

As coronavirus restrictions ease, the South Korean media industry has been trying to return to the way things were done pre-Covid. K-pop artists have increased their global activities, distributors have started releasing delayed films and studios have resumed filming overseas.
Experts disagree on which changes will stay, post-pandemic, and which will not. Although he is optimistic about streaming becoming a common way to enjoy performances, Lee doubts that immersive and online interactions will fulfil the needs of audiences.
“New technologies for immersive content like [the] metaverse used to be somewhat required as Covid-19 prevented in-person performances. So there were several attempts with the technology,” he says.
“Fans at first took interest but were not really in favour. There were a lot of fans who said those features distract them from enjoying the concert.
Netflix to invest more in Korean content to follow up Squid Game success
“Now that offline concerts are possible, fans feel seeing their favourite artists interacting with other fans through video chat is a waste of their experience, as they can go to the concert to see the artists’ performance.”
Lee adds that the key to adopting new technology in K-pop will be about how well it can capture the artists’ performances.
“New, cutting-edge technology is what fans want now. They want to have the same experience of watching the performances on-site, at home through a monitor or a TV. So it’s not about fancy technology, but about how realistic the performances are as if they are actually sitting at the concert venue.”

OTT services, which enjoyed a rise in users during the pandemic, saw their numbers fall earlier this year after social distancing and travel restrictions were eased in South Korea.
According to the big data platform Mobile Index, the number of mobile users of the top seven services in South Korea – Wavve, Tving, Seezn, Coupang Play, Disney+, Netflix and Watcha – totalled 26.86 million in April, down by about 3.4 million compared with January.
Jung, however, says OTT services will still account for a huge part of how people consume media in the country.
Want to watch a BTS concert or stroll through Parasite’s sets in VR?
“Since we’ve already experienced subscription-based content consumption through OTT, we know how much content we can enjoy for a certain amount of money every month. So unless there’s a film that is made only for movie theatres, we don’t need to go there to enjoy media content,” he says.
However, he added that the heated streaming market, filled with competitive players, would require the companies to take a different approach.
Read the full story at The Korea Times


Who will succeed Bob Iger as Disney CEO? The 4 candidates tipped to take over

Meet Finn Bennett, who plays Prince Aerion Targaryen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone star Catherine O’Hara dies at 71

8 of the best new K-dramas to watch in February 2026, including Netflix’s The Art of Sarah

TV shows and streaming video

Are online K-pop concerts and fan interactions here to stay? Experts disagree

Fans of K-pop boy band BTS watch a live streaming online concert. Virtual concerts and streaming services became the norm during the pandemic – but which digital content changes will stay when Covid restrictions fully lift? Photo: Getty Images

Covid measures in South Korea limited people from going to cinemas, leading to a rise in the use of OTT streaming platforms. Photo: Getty Images

As coronavirus restrictions ease, the South Korean media industry has been trying to return to the way things were done pre-Covid. Photo: Getty Images

Groups like Blackpink have held online concerts and fan events during the pandemic. Photo: FilmMagic

The key to adopting new technology in K-pop will be about how well it can capture the artists’ performances, such as BTS. Photo: Tribune News Service

Netflix plans to be a major mobile gaming player. Amazon and Disney have struggled, but can the streaming giant succeed?

A user plays supernatural game Oxenfree on a mobile phone, one of 35 available through Netflix as it invests in the gaming market. The streaming giant has been buying up games studios and looking at cloud gaming options. Photo: Shutterstock

Mike Verdu, Netflix’s vice-president of games. Photo: Getty Images

From left: Alex, Jonas, Clarissa, Nona and Ren from Night School Studio’s Oxenfree game. Photo: Night School Studio

Netflix’s Asphalt Xtreme is among Netflix’s most popular games. Photo: Netflix

Some tech giants have succeeded in the games market, but most of them, like Sony with the PlayStation 5 (above), have invested in hardware. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment/TNS

Netflix’s 35 games have been downloaded around 32 million times as of October 12. Photo: Night School Studio

A screen grab from Night School Studio’s Oxenfree. Photo: Night School Studio

A screen grab from Before Your Eyes. Photo: Skybound Games

Netflix original Korean drama series spending to continue after global success of Squid Game, Hellbound and My Name, streaming platform’s Korea VP says

Netflix is increasing its investment in South Korean content, hoping to repeat the success of series such as  Squid Game. Photo: Netflix

Han So-hee in a still from My Name. Photo: Netflix

Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk at a red carpet event for the series in Los Angeles. Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

First K-pop, now K-food: Seoul in South Korea’s push to highlight its culinary culture beyond kimchi and kimbap is finding fans

Sea perch, potato at Restaurant Jueun in Seoul, which serves fine-dining traditional Korean cuisine. Photo: Restaurant Jueun

Dishes from 7th Door in Seoul. Modern Korean cuisine has been gaining attention both in South Korea and globally. Photo: 7th Door

Rice, seaweed and caviar at 7th Door. Photo: 7th Door

Braised short ribs at Onjium. Photo: Onjium

Choi Jung-yoon is the head chef of the Sempio Korean Fermentation Culinary Research Centre. Photo: Sempio Culinary Research Centre

Park Sung-bae and Cho Eun-hee are co-executive chefs of Onjium. Photo: Onjium

Sinseonro with rice at Onjium. Photo: Onjium

Seafood and beef kimchi salad at Onjium. Photo: Onjium

Mussel sea cucumber at Onjium. Photo: Onjium

Korean braised short ribs at Restaurant Jueun. Photo: Restaurant Jueun

Braised rockfish at 7th Door. Photo: 7th Door

Chef Kim Dae-chun of 7th Door. Photo: 7th Door

Sea perch, potato at Restaurant Jueun. Photo: Restaurant Jueun

Duck, water parsley at Restaurant Jueun. Photo: Restaurant Jueun

K-pop’s dedication to NFTs and the metaverse remains strong in 2022, with new platforms and collaborations, despite some fans’ misgivings

A collaboration between AI-focused K-pop girl group Aespa (pictured) and Web3 artist Blake Kathryn will be auctioning off an NFT collection via Sotheby’s digital marketplace from October 13 to 21. Photo: @saiasei/ Twitter

South Korean K-pop group Le Sserafim at Seoul Festa 2022 in Seoul. Photo: Jung Yeon-je/AFP

YouTube’s Killing Voice: sometimes you just need to enjoy K-pop in its purest form – no razzle dazzle and no hype

YouTube’s Killing Voice series breaks K-pop down to its purest form by having K-pop stars singing their songs with no choreography or razzamatazz. Above: K-pop girl group Exid

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

Music


South Korea saw a rise in users for streaming services and an increase in virtual concerts during the pandemic. This might change as Covid measures roll back
Some experts argue streaming has become a common way to enjoy performances and media, while others think companies need to step up to retain users



Virtual concerts, held by the likes of BTS and Blackpink, and online fan interactions have become the norm during the pandemic – but which digital content changes will stay post-pandemic?


Netflix

Disney+