A Short History Of the K-Drama Industry Before Netflix Dramas Over Flowers

In this episode, we talk about how K-dramas became a highly profitable export long before the entry of streaming platforms in the mid 2010s. This is a story of a nation's economic crisis, the creation of a unique opportunity, and a two decade long struggle for air wave supremacy in East Asia.
Leave us your thoughts in a voice note here:
TIMELINE OF DRAMAS MENTIONED:
1997 IMF crisis
1997 What is love all about (NBC)
2000 Autumn In My Heart (KBS)
2002 Winter Sonata (KBS)
2007 The Legend (MBC)
2013 My Love From the Star (SBS)
2016 Descendants of the Sun (KBS)
2016 Signal (tvN)
2016 Hwayugi (Korean Odyssey) (tvN)
2016 THAAD missile crisis/China bans K-ent
LINKS MENTIONED:
CedarBough Saeji's twitter thread on why South Korean academics rarely contribute to international journals.
Living document of sources here.
LIGHT READING 😌:
Korean Dramas Adopt Pre-Produced Format to Mixed Results (article)
The Reason SBS Missed Out on "Descendants of the Sun" and "Signal" (article)
Romantic blockbusters: the co-commissioning of Korean network-developed K-dramas as ‘Netflix originals’ (journal)
TIMESTAMP:
04:41 - How Kdramas came into existence
11:18 - How dramas used to be made
21:54 - Start of the digital age and entry of iQiyi
27:40 - Dramas begin to get expensive
31:32 - Watershed: Descendants of the Sun
34:40 - China bans Korean entertainment over THAAD
36:51 - Economics of terrestrial vs cable channels
47:12 - Netflix knocks (cliffhanger)
LEAVE US A REVIEW:
Apple podcasts | Spotify | Audible!
MORE EPISODES YOU'LL LIKE:
Episode 170: A Long Yak on Doctor Slump, Marry My Husband, and Like Flowers In Sand
NEWSLETTER:
Join our email list for the monthly newsletter with podcast announcements and special episodes!
PATRONS:
SPECIAL THANK YOU to our beloved patrons for another year of helping us light the lanterns to sail our ship! Join it...