With the global interest in Korean dramas increasing with the Netflix series ‘Squid Game’, the recently released ‘Hell’ is enjoying great popularity.
Even though it is a work with a strong genre color dealing with supernatural phenomena, it maintains the top position in the global ranking for a week immediately after its release, and is called the ‘second squid game’, and the possibility of long-term success is predicted.
There are also analyzes that the sharp gaze on social issues that are witnessed in any country in the world, such as corrupt pseudo-religion, the media that chases provocative events, and private broadcasting that is out of regulation, is gaining sympathy from people around the world.
In addition to ‘Hell’, the historical drama romance ‘Yeonmo’ and ‘Gae Village Cha Cha Cha’, a romance set in a seaside village, are also listed in the top 10 Netflix TV shows, and Korean dramas are taking their place in the online video service (OTT) platform. .
◇ 1st place in 29 countries… Immediate response in the UK and France
According to the online content service rankings site ‘Flix Patrol’ on the 27th, ‘Hell’ is sprinting to the top of the world’s top Netflix TV programs.
Flix Patrol counts the rankings by reflecting the ratings for 24 hours, and ‘Hell’ ranked first the day after it was released on the 19th, and remained at the top until the previous day except for one day (21st).
As of the previous day, the evaluation score according to country ranking was 705 points, which was significantly different from 2nd place ‘True Story’ (545 points) and 3rd place ‘Arcane’ (441 points), turning on a green light for long-term success.
‘Hell’ topped the charts in 29 countries including Korea, France, Finland, Belgium, Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Japan and Hong Kong. It ranked 2nd in Argentina, Brazil and Greece, 3rd in Russia, Spain, and the Czech Republic, and 5th in the United States and Canada, where there are many domestic contents.
It is worth noting that Korean dramas are ranked high not only in the East, but also in the West, Africa, the Middle East, and South America, where Korean dramas are mainly consumed.
The reason why many countries around the world paid attention to ‘hell’ in a short period of time seems to be largely due to the influence of ‘Squid Game’, which ranked first in 94 countries according to Netflix’s official count.
It is analyzed that viewers who encountered Korean dramas with ‘Squid Game’ would have watched ‘Hell’ either by finding them on their own or through algorithmic recommendations.
Jung Deok-hyeon, a popular culture critic, said, “Although many Korean works have been known abroad, there were countries such as England and France that were difficult to become a topic of discussion because of their strong pride in their own culture. It seems that there was a different reaction than before,” he said.
◇ Yeon Sang-ho’s dystopia… A perspective that reveals a side of society
In fact, ‘Hell’ is a work that has a stronger genre than ‘Squid Game’, which is a death game.
Even director Yeon Sang-ho, who wrote the original webtoon and wrote and directed the series, said in a recent media interview that ‘Hell’ was not made for the public.
‘Hell’ is a story about a supernatural phenomenon in which ordinary people are told to go to hell from an unknown being.
As the title suggests, the world in the work is depicted as a dystopia mixed with disillusionment with humans and social chaos.
If the ‘squid game’ pierces the ruins of capitalism, such as the loss of humanity in the face of poverty and the loss of humanity in the face of poverty, ‘hell’ is a black-and-white logic that separates good from evil based on human psychology facing fear, revenge and revenge outside the bounds of the law. It sharply reveals aspects of society, such as mass violence and a pseudo-religion that uses chaos.
◇ ‘Squid Game’, ‘Yeonmo’, and ‘Gae Village Cha Cha Cha’ also ranked in the top 10
The global popularity of ‘Hell’ before the heat of ‘Squid Game’ has cooled down has put Korean dramas in the center of the OTT platform.
Four Korean dramas, including ‘Hell’, ranked in the top 10 in the Netflix TV program rankings compiled by Flix Patrol the day before.
‘Squid Game’, which was released in mid-September and has been showing for more than two months, ranked 6th, and ‘Love Me’, a royal romance with the protagonist disguised as a man instead of a dead brother and becoming a crown prince, ranked ninth, and the romance between a woman in a city and a man in a fishing village. ‘Gaet Village Cha-Cha-Cha’ was ranked 10th.
It seems that the popularity of Korean dramas is known as the ‘mainstream’ rather than a peculiar phenomenon that appears in the hit works that happen once in a while.
Dean Garfield, vice president of policy at Netflix, said in a meeting with Korean media on the 4th, “Today, we are standing in the middle of a storytelling renaissance, and Korea is leading the trend of the times.”
In particular, the fact that historical dramas and romances, which are the origins of the Korean Wave, rather than genres, entered the global rankings means that the fandom of K-dramas has become stronger. /yunhap news
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