Platformization of the Korean Wave: a critical perspective

ABSTRACTBy employing the platformization of cultural production from a critical political economy approach, this article analyzes the transition of the Korean cultural industries to the platform-driven phase of Hallyu. By discussing the highly transnationalized and platformized Korean Wave in the shifting global media environment, it examines how Netflix platformizes and appropriates the Korean broadcasting industry through various strategies, such as investing in original content creation, licensing Korean content, and subcontractualization of Korean production. These strategies reveal that Korean cultural industry firms have become subordinated to, and rely on, global OTT platforms. In light of the growing influences of Netflix and other global platforms, the article explores the implications of the platformization of cultural production for the transnational cultural flows of Hallyu.KEYWORDS: PlatformKorean cultural industriesNetflixcultural industriescultural productionThe Korean Wave (Hallyu) Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. The Korean Wave refers to the growth of local cultural industries and a transnational cultural phenomenon, which was originally represented by made-in-Korea content and celebrities in the late 1990s and early 2000s during which Korean terrestrial broadcasters’ TV shows, such as Winter Sonata (2002) and Dae Jang Geum (2003), gained unexpectedly high viewership in Asia and other parts of the planet. Global audiences began enjoying these dramas, widely known as K-dramas, and award-winning Korean films, while searching for their favourite K-pop. The Wave has evolved further, engaging with more complex processes in production and consumption due to the emergence of global OTT platforms.2. OTT platforms reveal various synergetic interactions between popular culture and technologies. As press release distributor Business Wire (Citation2021) analysed, several different forms of digital technologies, such as smart digital devices, high-speed Internet, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and 5 G cellular network, contribute to the growth of the OTT markets. Growing consumer preference to streaming content over broadcasting or cable TV has entailed high demands for OTT products, which has facilitated the growth of OTT services and technologies. In this manner, the advancement of new digital technologies has expedited the platformization of the local cultural industry, while OTT platforms have influenced local IT and media industries’ development of cutting-edge technologies.Additional informationFundingThe work was supported by the Academy of Korean Studies [AKS-2022-LAB-2230004].