On December 13, 2024, from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, the conference “NETFLIX AND SOUTH KOREAN MEDIA IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD” was held at City University of Hong Kong. It was jointly hosted by the Seoul National University Center for Contemporary Korean Studies and the Seoul National University Hallyu Research Center. This conference examined the impact of Netflix, a leading online streaming platform in the global media market, on the production, distribution, and consumption of Korea's cultural industries. The conference proceeded with two major agendas: First, it explored the influence of SVOD TV services, centered on Netflix, on Korean cinema and the industry. Second, it examined how the Korean Wave is transforming the global content industry through Netflix. The media landscape is changing as diverse Korean dramas and films gain global popularity through Netflix.

Over 100 international scholars from Korea, France, the United States, Singapore, and other countries participated in this conference. The event was structured into four parts. The first session featured three teams presenting on the theme ‘Netflix and South Korean Media in a Globalizing World’. The second session, titled ‘Reading Netflix’, featured three teams. The third session, ‘Cinema and Cinematic TV in the Age of Netflix’, featured three teams. The final session, ‘Pandemic, Gender, and Youth’, featured three teams. This was followed by a roundtable discussion moderated by Lee Sang-jun (City University of Hong Kong). 

This conference viewed Hallyu content as having been consumed in Asia since the late 1990s, but entering a new phase after Netflix began investing in the Korean media industry in 2017 and the Squid Game series gained immense popularity worldwide, including in the United States. Presenters pointed out that Netflix is compelling Korean producers to adjust existing practices to meet evolving demands. These shifts in the media landscape have triggered tensions between global and local SVOD platforms, raising concerns about the diminishing influence of local cultural sectors and the potential loss of cultural heritage. Meanwhile, the global popularity of Korean dramas and films on Netflix is also significantly reshaping the global media ecosystem. Furthermore, by interacting with the digital media environment, overseas viewers who previously had no exposure to non-Western media are now being incorporated into this broad transnational cultural flow. The main event discussed these changes triggered by Netflix.