WorldScreenings: Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)

In The New York Times, Forbes and other publications over the last few weeks, there have been a slew of trend pieces on how South Korea has become a cultural juggernaut, delivering critically acclaimed feature films, buzzy TV series and, of course, a slew of chart-topping pop artists to zealous fans across the world. As the umbrella government agency for the promotion of the content industry, Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) has been at the forefront of elevating South Korean creativity across the globe.

For Do Hyoung Lee, the general director of the broadcasting division at KOCCA, the surging interest in Korean content—which has long traveled well across Asia but is now increasingly making its way to foreign shores—is being driven by the sector’s “universality of themes and subjects. Most Korean content unfolds itself as good stories that all family members can enjoy.” Plus, Lee notes, the country is home to directors and writers “with excellent creativity.”

In the wake of the success of The Masked Singer, South Korea has become the latest “it” territory for format creation, with several major players angling to tie up with innovative local producers. “There is a uniqueness in Korea that few U.S. and European [creators] have in formats. Secondly, the Korean media content market is very dynamic and fast-changing. It is also a tough environment for all creators, producers and broadcasting companies as new shows launch every three months. But it can be a platform that can generate competitive formats.”

There are several new entertainment format concepts featured in KOCCA’s Fall/Winter 2021 Showcase, including FormatEast’s DNA-based music competition DNA Singer and celebrity reality show Blue Chip Stars; and a new music competition from KBS Media called The Song We Loved, A New Singer.

K-dramas also remain a force to be reckoned with, especially in Asia. For Lee, a new area of opportunity for Korean drama is the Middle East and Northern Africa. “I think we share common grounds of a dynasty era, family values and non-sexual themes, which can be appealing points.” Lee also sees greater interest coming from the U.S. and Europe. “I think the romantic comedies can be competitive as they have hardly been produced recently in Hollywood and Europe.” KOCCA is also looking to expand the awareness of Korean scripted content in Latin America. “I assume that in most of the markets where K-pop fandom exists, it is highly likely that Korean culture and broadcasting contents are well known. I think that work featuring idols would be popular.”

Featured in the Fall/Winter 2021 Showcase are Kakao Entertainment’s female-focused drama No, Thank You; Yoon&Company’s short-form web drama Third Person’s Love Point and KBS Media’s rom-com Dali & Cocky Prince.

Also available are the entertainment show season B season featuring megastar Rain; A+E Networks Korea/Studio Dalla’s business reality show The King of Negotiation; the documentaries Discover Mystery Cave from ISLANDSTORY and The Praise of Four Seasons—NAMUL from Min Production; and the short-form fashion series Milanonna from Chosunbiz.

“We sincerely appreciate the support from K-content fans, and we’d like to provide events for fans so they can participate in and share their experiences,” says Lee on further expanding the appeal of Korean fandom. “It was B2B business mainly before, but now we provide B2C events for K-content fans all around the world. For example, we are hosting On:Hallyu Festival for one month from November 1, and there will be various Hallyu programs covering not only B2B, G2G but also B2C live commerce and online K-pop concerts.”

See KOCCA’s Fall/Winter 2021 Showcase here.