Global stars Woo Do-hwan and Park Kyu-young, emerging 'Netflix sons and daughters' as soon as they explode

《Kim Seoyoon's Nunettune》
Reporter Kim Seo-yoon of TenAsia digs into the current status of the entertainment industry, including notable dramas, entertainment, and noteworthy rising stars.

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'000's son', '000's daughter'. Actors and broadcasters who show outstanding performance on a specific platform are called this. To be called the daughter or son of Netflix, which is firmly holding the No. 1 position in the OTT market, means that it has risen to the ranks of global stars beyond Korea. Actors Park Kyu-young and Woo Do-hwan are active in Netflix and are emerging as Netflix children.

There are actors who stand out for their work on Netflix. Whether intentionally or not, they are gaining popularity by showing one after another on Netflix. 'Celebrity' starring Park Kyu-young, which was released on the 30th of last month, took second place in the Netflix TV series category within a week of its release. Also on the 12th, it ranked first in the global TOP10 (non-English) category.

'Celebrity' is a story depicting the glamorous yet intense bare faces of celebrities Ari, who has jumped into the world where becoming famous can make money. Park Kyu-young, who plays the role of Seo-ari in the play, delicately portrays a strong character and increases immersion. At first, a person who was not interested in being a celebrity was praised for expressing the emotional changes experienced after becoming a celebrity without difficulty. In fact, Park Kyu-young's followers exploded through 'Celebrity'. The number of followers, which was less than 2 million, exceeded 2.44 million as of the 14th.

Park Kyu-young's first Netflix work is 'Sweet Home 1' in 2020. 'Sweet Home' was the first Korean content to rank third on Netflix in the US, and gave director Lee Eung-bok, who was in charge of directing, the Best Director Award at the 2021 Asian Academy Creative Awards. Thanks to its popularity, production of seasons 2 and 3 was also confirmed. Park Kyu-young, who is hitting the jackpot with each Netflix appearance, also appears in 'Squid Game 2'.

This is the third Netflix original content appearance. Park Kyu-young started to make his name known to overseas consumers through 'Sweet Home' and left a strong impression with the title role 'Celebrity'. Then the most anticipated work 'Squid Game 2'. As an actor, he has a brilliant filmography.

Actor Woo Do-hwan also follows Netflix's new series 'Mr. Plankton' was included in the lineup. 'Mr. Plankton' depicts the story of Hae-jo, a man who was accidentally born by mistake, who is forced to accompany the most unfortunate woman in the world on the last trip of his life. Woo Do-hwan took on the role of Hae-jo, a man who had to choose a wandering life without a family. It is raising expectations with a feeling of contrast with the innocent young boxer shown in the previous work 'Hounds'.

There were many twists and turns before 'Hounds' was released. The filming of Kim Sae-ron, who caused controversy for drunk driving, went viral, and eventually even made the choice to completely revise the script. However, it captured the hearts of viewers after its release. They succeeded in overturning the atmosphere by achieving No. 1 in 16 countries.

Why do you rate success on Netflix so highly? Competition among OTT platforms such as TVing, Wave, and Disney Plus is fierce. However, it is not enough to catch up with Netflix, which is running solo. According to Mobile Index, the number of monthly OTT users in Korea in March this year was 12,447,213 for Netflix, 4,599,146 for Teabing, and 3,699,814 for Wave. Even if you combine the number of users of TVing and Wave, it is far short of Netflix.

One of the great strengths of OTT is the influx of overseas fans. Currently, Korean contents are gaining popularity all over the world. Actors such as Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon became global stars through 'Squid Game'. It is an era in which not only dramas and movies but also entertainment can be globalized. The ordinary people appearing in 'Solo Hell' also became 'celebrities' at once. Comments on their SNS or YouTube channels are written in various languages.

Park Gyu-young and Woo Do-hwan, who had fun with the Netflix series, chose Netflix for their next work side by side. Attention is focusing on whether it will be able to lead the box office success on Netflix again.

Kim Seo-yoon, staff reporter seogugu@tenasia.co.kr