The Netflix series "Kyungsung Creature" is gaining global attention as a highly anticipated work.
The Netflix series "Kyungsung Creature" released Part 1 on the 22nd, and within a day, it entered the top 10 on Netflix in 44 countries, including South Korea. On the 27th, it continued its rapid rise in popularity by entering the top 10 in 83 countries. It has maintained the number one position in South Korea for five consecutive days since its release, and it has also topped the charts in 14 countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar (based on the OTT ranking site FlixPatrol). According to the official "Netflix Top 10" weekly chart calculated by Netflix, "Kyungsung Creature" ranked 3rd in the Netflix Top 10 TV Non-English section from December 18th to 24th, achieving 24 million viewing hours and 3 million views. Despite including data for only three days after its initial release on the 22nd, it still made an impressive start.
"Kyungsung Creature" tells the story of two youths who faced a monster born out of greed in the darkest spring of 1945 when the darkness of the times was thickest. Even before its release, the collaboration of top actors Park Seo-joon and Han So-hee, who are representative actors in South Korea, raised high expectations. The veteran production team, including writer Kang Eun-kyung, who wrote the "Dr. Romantic" series and several hit works, and director Jung Dong-yoon, known for "Stove League," also attracted attention. Additionally, the fact that Kakao Entertainment, the production company, and its subsidiary, Story and Pictures Media, are gaining attention. Both Kang Eun-kyung's agency, Gleline, and Park Seo-joon's agency, Awesome ENT, are subsidiaries of Kakao Entertainment, creating a commonality that attracts attention.
The success of Kakao Entertainment in producing various global hit works such as "Kyungsung Creature," "Castaway Diva," and "The Worst of Evil" this year is interpreted as a result of a strategic focus on investing in creators and enhancing the global IP competitiveness. Led by CEO Kim Sung-soo, who has various management know-how in the entertainment industry, Kakao Entertainment has been actively investing in content planning and production in the field of video content since 2019, forming a solid foundation for content business with a focus on creators. To strengthen its capabilities in creating content centered on creators, Kakao Entertainment has actively collaborated with top creators in the video content industry, including producers, writers, and actors, covering the entire video business from planning to production. Starting last year, the company has been showcasing works and achieving results.
This year, the Kakao Entertainment-produced tvN drama "Castaway Diva" and Disney+'s "The Worst of Evil" also achieved success, reflecting the synergy of the video content business infrastructure centered on top creators. "Castaway Diva," which recorded the highest viewership ratings for tvN weekend dramas in the second half of the year, is a work produced in collaboration with Kakao Entertainment's subsidiary Baram Pictures, and it has been a significant success along with other works launched by Baram Pictures. In the second half of the year, Baram Pictures has successfully launched five works, including "Castaway Diva," "The Worst of Evil," and the Netflix series "Song of the Bandits," establishing itself as a leading production company in well-made K-content.
Particularly, "The Worst of Evil" is a work that received attention for maximizing the independent production capabilities of each producing company, Baram Pictures and Sanai Pictures. With a tight storytelling, character narratives, relentless action, and a fast pace, the series gained high praise from overseas viewers, ranking first in the global OTT original series with a score of 8.6 on IMDb, the world's largest content rating site, as of the end of October. As a drama series by writer Jang Min-seok, who mainly worked on films such as "Secret Reunion," the mutual synergy between Baram Pictures with outstanding planning capabilities and Sanai Pictures produced outstanding results. "The Worst of Evil" has been recognized at various film festivals, winning awards for its excellent production.
In addition to the successful works such as "Castaway Diva" and "The Worst of Evil," Kakao Entertainment has been achieving success in well-made films. The film "Hopeless" produced by subsidiary Sanai Pictures was invited to the prestigious 76th Cannes International Film Festival in the notable glance section, attracting the attention of global film fans. Following the invitation to the Cannes International Film Festival with the film "Hunt" last year, Kakao Entertainment subsidiary BH Entertainment received attention for two consecutive years, gaining recognition in major film festivals and winning awards for works such as "Concrete Utopia."
In summary, "Kyungsung Creature," which has achieved success consecutively following the success of "Castaway Diva" and "The Worst of Evil," is gaining attention as it decorates the end of the year with theater releases that are receiving attention. Kakao Entertainment's video business strategy, which actively invests in creators and strengthens its business capabilities by focusing on creators, is once again attracting attention. Kakao Entertainment plans to pour more efforts into enhancing its multi-studio system by establishing independent production capabilities for studios centered around creators.
<Photo=Netflix>
<Translated by=Gawon Park(Dispatch)>
