South Korea's film and television industries are currently the most vital in Asia, but according to Screen Daily, production costs have doubled since the pandemic while ad revenue continues to fall. Major streaming services now offer an abundance of Korean content, with much of the resources that used to go to movies now going into scripted series.
Consequently, the credo at this year's Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which took place from Oct. 2 through Oct. 11, seemed to be that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Netflix was everywhere, with billboards promoting the streaming service’s original movies and posters pushing new series being previewed at BIFF and the concurrent Asian Content & Film Market.
The festival's opener, usually an art film, was the world premiere of "Uprising," a big-budget Korean historical epic that is now streaming on Netflix. Disney+ was also heavily represented, pushing its new crime drama series “Gangnam B-Side,” which was being screened at the festival.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.