The high demand for drama explains the reason why most of the Korean companies produce a large number of drama programs well-known in nearly the whole of Asia. “Asia is our natural market today, and countries such as Singapore, China or Japan are the ideal destinations for our products due to their cultural identity apart from other aesthetics and narrative aspects,” points out Andrew J. Bae and remarks that they hope to sell their products in Latin America, but admits that cultural differences complicate the sale. “It’s difficult for us to enter the Latin American market. Mainly because we develop short stories of 24 episodes, and usually a telenovela has more than 100 episodes. That’s why selling our series to Mexico, Argentina or Chile is quite complicated. They look for long series because they use Product Placement, and finished products limit those income possibilities for the channels,” analyzes the executive.

Boom in the adaptation of successful Korean programs in Europe
The expert on distribution emphasizes that in Europe things are different, and the success of a Korean drama depends on the country. “For instance, in Hungary there are popular Korean customs dramas, like the ones developed by ABC here, but in Latin countries like Romania, Italy or the Western countries they don’t want Korean series, they want formats. They are acquiring our format rights because their audiences are used to certain directors, casts and local elements. There’s a great demand for our miniseries in Europe and the United States. NBC Universal and FOX Studios want some of our formats,” he states. The thing is, in the Asian market CJ Media has achieved positive results. Korean drama stars are very popular in the continent, that is why they are more focused on Japan and China: they are optimal audiences for their contents.