Netflix plans $100 million FX investment in Korea

Netflix will invest $100 million in Korea over the next six years through its special effects subsidiary Scanline VFX, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Friday. The investment will go to Scanline VFX Korea, which will decide how ..

Netflix will invest $100 million in Korea over the next six years through its subsidiary Scanline VFX, the company said Friday. From left are: President of Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) Yu Jeoung-yeol, Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun and Scanline VFX co-founder Stephan Trojansky. [MINISTRY OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND ENERGY]

Netflix will invest $100 million in Korea over the next six years through its special effects subsidiary Scanline VFX, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Friday.

The investment will go to Scanline VFX Korea, which will decide how the money will be spent.

Founded in 1989, Scanline VFX is a Germany-based visual effects and animation company acquired by Netflix last November. It has worked on films with a lot of computer graphics, such as the Netflix original series “Stranger Things” and Marvel’s “Eternals.”

Its Korean branch will build a special effects production facility in Korea and carry out other projects, such as education programs, according to Scanline VFX Korea studio manager Hong Sung-hwan.

“Korean content is becoming increasingly popular, but it’s difficult to keep up with rising demand with the infrastructure we have at the moment,” Hong said.

“We’ll be looking at various ways for this investment to revive the special effects and content production industry as a whole.”

The investment was announced as U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Korea on a trip from Friday through Sunday, according to the trade ministry.

A ceremony was held at the Four Seasons Hotel in central Seoul, attended by Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, Scanline VFX co-founder Stephan Trojansky and President of Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) Yu Jeoung-yeol.

“At a time when the influence of Korean content continues to grow globally, we hope this investment will fortify Korea’s competitiveness in the media market,” Ahn said.

In January, Netflix announced that it has invested over 1 trillion won ($789 million) in Korea since its entry into the market in 2016, and will continue to invest this year with the release of 25 new works. It launched the webtoon-based zombie flick “All of Us Are Dead” on Jan. 28.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]