Netflix's head of Korean content Don Kang on production slow down

Netflix's head of Korean content Don Kang spoke at the APOS media and entertainment summit, addressing questions around the dip in Korean production.

Kang said: "There was a time where there were anywhere between like a 100-150 series per year. That happened during a phase when a lot of series were being exported to China and we saw a lot of global players beginning to take interest in Korean series. But I really see this as a phase because we’ve seen a surge of production and rising production costs before, when China was a really big market for us. When it stopped, everyone thought everyone was really in big trouble."

He added: "It is a phase. It goes up and it goes down, but I am very confident in the future... It is a time where we need to practice discipline in terms of managing costs. But also I know, we’ve done it before, and will come out of this stronger."

Regarding the production costs, he added: "These production costs are determined by the production companies, so when we find something that is interesting to commission, we think long and hard about what is the appropriate size of the investment.

"We discuss and things get finalised through the negotiations. We try to right-size the budget and as long as we can all exercise that discipline together, I’m very confident about the future health," Kang said.

Kang's goal is for 20 to 25% of Netflix's Korean titles to come from new creators.