Netflix boasts impact of 5.6 trillion won, 16,000 jobs in S. Korea

The streaming and production giant says it has invested 770 billion won over the past five years and plans to invest another 550 billion won in 2021 alone

Still from the Netflix original series “Squid Game” (provided by Netflix)

Netflix has touted its social and economic contributions to Korea based the success of original Korean series like "Kingdom" and "Squid Game," citing an impact on the Korean economy of 5.6 trillion won (US$4.7 billion).

The global streaming giant held an online media event Wednesday dubbed "Netflix Partner Day" where it highlighted the benefits that the company has had on Korean industry overall.

Kang Dong-han, vice president of content at Netflix Korea, said, "About 80 Korean works [on Netflix] have been shown in 190 countries. We've invested 770 billion won (US$649 million) over the last five years, and pledge 550 billion won (US$464 million) this year alone. We're jointly growing with the Korean content industry."

As a result, the nation saw an economic impact worth 5.6 trillion won (US$4.7 billion) across sectors and the creation of 16,000 jobs, he added.

Lee Seong-kyu, Netflix Korea's general director of physical production, added, "The area seeing the most influence is also content creation and distribution. From planning to filming, post-production and distribution, we work with domestic partners in all operations, creating a variety of backward linkage effects."

This month, Netflix and Deloitte Consulting released a report saying 42 percent of Netflix viewers consumed derivative content, including webtoons that were made into series like "Sweet Home," "The Uncanny Encounter," and "Itaewon Class" and the soundtracks to "Hospital Playlist" and "Crash Landing on You."

In Japan, Netflix helped the music of "Itaewon Class" and "Crash Landing on You" climb Japan's Oricon charts and sell over 30,000 albums each.

The streaming site's emphasis on its contributions to Korean society is interpreted as an effort to dispel fears that Netflix, as a global platform, is using its immense power to take over the domestic content ecosystem and relegate domestic production companies to subcontractors.

By Suh Jung-min, staff reporter

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