There is a saying, “The gakseol that came last year came again without dying.” Illegal streaming sites are back in pieces. Only the name has changed.
The OTT market has grown rapidly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic that began at the end of 2019. It is easy to access content anywhere in the world with mobile phones and tablet PCs. As a result, contents poured out, and global viewers were enthusiastic about K-contents such as 'Squid Game'.
In the meantime, illegal streaming sites have been revived. In the past, illegal distribution was widespread through P2P sites, etc., but the ripple effect was not great.
According to the OTT industry on July 7, starting with the movie 'Crime City 3' (director Lee Sang-yong), which has exceeded 10 million viewers on an illegal streaming site that recently started operation, Disney + original series 'Detective Record Season 2', Netflix 'Celebrity', etc. of the work was published.
In addition, JTBC's Saturday drama 'King the Land' starring Lee Jun-ho and Lim Yoon-ah, SBS Friday-Saturday drama 'Ghost' starring Kim Tae-ri, and HBO series 'The Idol' starring Black Pink's Jennie have also been uploaded.
An illegal streaming site was shut down in April of this year. Then, it was reopened under the name of Season 2, but on the 19th of last month, the service was closed in one day due to government pressure. This site has no plans to open in the future, and said to be careful of similar sites.
Less than a month later, an illegal streaming site appeared under another name. This site provides links to content through the website. Previously, the government took measures such as blocking access to 1,200 illegal streaming sites. However, only the name has changed and many sites are appearing.
The government continues to block access to new and alternative piracy sites. However, the illegal streaming site opened several sites by opening a new domain address, such as changing only a part of the domain number. If you block it, it shows you how to change the domain by cheating.
In the National Assembly last month, a bill to prevent damage to illegal streaming sites was discussed. There is a lot of capital invested until one content is created and released. The efforts of many people have also melted. The perception that content must be paid for and consumed has not improved for decades. Now, the focus is on strengthening punishment rather than improving awareness.
Reporter Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia kkk39@tenasia.co.kr