Global success of 'Squid Game' sparks debate in Korea over IP rights

SEOUL: Since the survival drama 'Squid Game' gained larger-than-expected popularity throughout the world on Netflix, the world's big-name platform operators such as Disney+ and Apple TV+ have been competing to spend big money to secure Korean-made content. But critics have raised questions on whether it is right for local productions to allow such platform operators to monopolise content rights to their shows at a time when the Korean entertainment market has emerged as a content hub for its globally popular cultural content such as K-pop, TV series and films, reports Yonhap news agency.

These critics say local productions should seek ways to reduce their financial dependence on global content titans. Netflix has spent some $700 million on South Korean projects since its market debut in 2015 and increased its investment to $500 million for 2021 alone. Disney+ said it will heavily invest in the coming years to create seven original releases in the Korean language, including 'Outrun by Running Man', a spin-off of the long-running South Korean TV show 'Running Man'. Its Korean service will be officially launched on November 12.

The announcement was closely followed by Apple TV+ revealing its own plan to open the service in South Korea next week. Its Korean business has been widely anticipated as it already had ordered Korean-language originals, including the sci-fi thriller 'Dr Brain', starring Lee Sun-kyun, star of the Oscar-winning 'Parasite', and a TV adaptation of the novel 'Pachinko', starring Oscar-winning Youn Yuh-jung.

Defenders of this cultural cross-pollination say the recent rush of global streaming powerhouses and the subsequent heated-up competition for promising Korean content will afford greater opportunities to Korean creators who have struggled to get a big-enough budget to dramatise their ideas.

Hwang Dong-hyuk, who directed and wrote 'Squid Game', said in a previous interview that the project had been turned down by local investors and broadcasters for about a decade before Netflix approved it a few years ago. (IANS)

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