Visitors walk in the autumn rain past dol hareubang (traditional stone statues) at Jeju Stone Culture Park on Jeju Island on Oct. 24.YONHAP
Hello and happy Saturday! We hope you're having a lovely autumn, wherever you are.
In this weekend’s longer reads, we’ll look at how 10 years of Netflix has been both good and not-so-good for Korean productions, how much Korea's public fiscal situation today mirrors France's from a few years back and if the new Call of Duty game oversteps in its brutal portrayal of the North.
We'll also dig into how former NewJeans member Danielle fared in court this week against her former agency ADOR as well as try to figure out what's so darn bad about the number nine, at least when it's the last digit of your age.
Here's what you need to know!
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Netflix turns 10 in Korea, but its success is a double-edged sword for K-content
Netflix turns 10 in Korea, leaving a double-edged legacy: It helped carry Korean content to a global audience, but it also drove up production costs and deepened the industry’s reliance on the platform.
Its investment in Korean productions, including the globally successful series "Squid Game" (2021-25), has been widely credited with bringing Korean content to international audiences. Netflix's preproduction model has also helped improve the quality of productions and working conditions.
But the industry's rapid expansion has also come at a cost. Production budgets have soared, while concerns have grown that Korean companies are unable to reap the full rewards of their global successes because they have transferred intellectual property (IP) rights to streaming platforms.
Today's France, tomorrow's Korea? Fiscal warnings mount despite chip boom
A semiconductor boom has flattered Korea’s public finances this year, but rapid aging, rising debt and mounting mandatory spending are pushing the country down a path that could lead to a fiscal crisis like France’s.
Korea and France currently face different fiscal conditions, but “if population aging, rising national debt and delays in structural reform overlap, Korea could face ‘fiscal distress’ within the next 10 to 15 years, with its fiscal policy options sharply narrowed,” said Kim Woo-cheol, a professor of taxation at the University of Seoul.
Call of Duty's portrayal of North Korea and its soldiers: Artistic freedom or overstated brutality?
A video game depicting a fictional North Korean invasion of South Korea has drawn criticism for exaggerating the brutality of North Korean soldiers, while the game’s defenders accuse critics of a double standard, citing their defense of the film “The Assassin(s)” on grounds of artistic freedom.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is a first-person shooter game set during a fictional second Korean War, triggered by a full-scale North Korean invasion of South Korea. The game allows players to take on the role of a South Korean soldier fighting alongside U.S. forces against North Korean troops.
Developed by U.S. game company Infinity Ward, the game features scenes including a coup involving siblings in North Korea's leadership.
Danielle, ADOR clash over price tag of Min Hee-jin's impact
How much would NewJeans have earned in the absence of the girl group’s architect, former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin? The question again took center stage in the ongoing legal battle between ADOR and former NewJeans member Danielle at a heated courtroom.
The sixth hearing of the lawsuit filed by the HYBE label seeking 33.1 billion won ($25 million) in penalties and damages from Danielle, a family member of hers and Min took place at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Thursday. The latest hearing centered on ADOR’s alleged financial losses during the roughly yearlong period between the members’ announcement in November 2024 that they were leaving the agency and the court’s ruling in favor of ADOR.
99 problems, this number is one: Why Koreans are wary of ages that end in 9
A 29-year-old man witnesses his yearlong crush end in heartbreak. His 19-year-old brother, a judo hopeful, loses a crucial match because of an upset stomach. Their youngest 9-year-old brother, a child actor, loses a major film role to a rival. And their uncle, a 39-year-old television producer, gets demoted after making a mistake during a live broadcast.
These are some of the misfortunes that the four characters suffer through in the 2014 tvN drama series “Plus Nine Boys.” The common denominator for their setbacks seems to be ahopsu, the Korean superstition that ages ending in nine — or ahop — invite bad luck.
Ahopsu is also why Koreans are often advised not to make life-changing decisions, especially involving moving or marriage, at ages 9, 19, 29, 39 and so forth.
