‘The Glory’ Was a Hit. Now Netflix Is Spending Extra on Ok-Dramas.

“Anyone please assist me!” Dong-eun, a highschool pupil, screams as a classmate sears a hair roller into her arm whereas two different tormentors maintain her down.

The grotesque scene in a college gymnasium is without doubt one of the early, pivotal moments of “The Glory,” the 16-episode drama centered on bullying, social standing and revenge that has turn into the most recent in a succession of South Korean mega hits for Netflix. Its breakout sensation, “Squid Recreation,” turned the streamer’s hottest sequence of all time.

“The Glory,” which was launched in two elements in December and March, is now Netflix’s fifth hottest non-English tv providing ever. Executives stated they had been considerably shocked to see how effectively the present did internationally, noting that it reached the highest 10 non-English TV record in 91 international locations.

It was one of many Korean hits, together with “Squid Recreation” and “Bodily: 100,” that Ted Sarandos, co-chief government of Netflix, cited final month when he met with President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea. There he introduced a $2.5 billion funding in South Korean content material over the following 4 years and famous that tales created within the nation “are actually on the coronary heart of the worldwide cultural zeitgeist.”

Don Kang, Netflix’s vice chairman of content material for Korea, stated it had been thrilling to see the present take off globally. “‘The Glory’ is a good instance of a narrative that resonates authentically with native audiences, but additionally depicts themes of human psychology and social points, which audiences in all places can relate to,” he stated in a press release to The New York Instances.

“The Glory” revolves round Moon Dong-eun, who makes it her life’s mission to hunt revenge on the individuals who bullied her in highschool. Her scars serve each as bodily reminders of the ache she suffered by the hands of bullies and because the motivation behind her yearslong quest for vengeance. As she ages and develops her difficult payback scheme, she transforms from sufferer to perpetrator.

In braiding collectively the themes of bullying and revenge — plot units which have animated dramas for hundreds of years — “The Glory” lured droves of justice-hungry viewers in South Korea and past, even with out the grand units and hanging visuals that propelled the recognition of “Squid Recreation.”

Netflix officers stated they had been happy to find {that a} present targeted on story line and characters might journey in addition to it did. They stated they determined early on to launch the episodes in two batches partially due to the weightiness of the content material.

In a rustic the place conventional broadcasters nonetheless censor smoking, Netflix is among the many platforms which have opened a path for content material creators to delve into subjects which have lengthy been thought of too risqué, stated Yu Kon-shik, an adjunct professor of communications at Konkuk College in Seoul and a part of the manufacturing planning committee on the Korean Broadcasting System.

Followers of “The Glory,” a few of whom recalled their very own experiences with bullying, admitted that they discovered it gratifying and cathartic to see Dong-eun upend the lives of her enemies, even when she did issues they might by no means think about.

“‘The Glory’ is that this sluggish burn of a vengeance,” stated Amy Lew, of Temple Metropolis, Calif., whose kids have been bullied in class. “That’s everybody’s darkish aspect, proper? You need to see the underdog win.”

There’s a motive so many individuals can relate. Nearly one in three college students reported being bullied in 2019, based on a UNESCO report, which additionally discovered that the prevalence of bullying has elevated in virtually one in 5 international locations. And though studies of faculty violence in South Korea are comparatively low — about 2 p.c of scholars report being victims, based on its Ministry of Training — the precise figures could possibly be greater as a result of many college students are afraid to talk up, stated Kim Tae-yeon, a lawyer in Seoul who specializes within the topic.

The resonance of “The Glory” and its themes parked the present on Netflix’s International Prime 10 record for non-English tv for 13 weeks. (It has spent solely three weeks on the record of main non-English applications in america.) It turned one among 4 Korean sequence amongst Netflix’s 10 hottest non-English TV choices of all time, together with “Squid Recreation,” “All of Us Are Lifeless” and “Extraordinary Lawyer Woo.”

Now the corporate is hoping to construct on these successes by releasing greater than 30 Korean sequence, movies and unscripted exhibits this 12 months alone. On the finish of March, simply three weeks after the discharge of the second batch of episodes of “The Glory,” Netflix supplied up one other new Korean thriller: “Kill Boksoon.”

It has spent the previous 5 weeks in Netflix’s prime 10 for non-English movies.

The worldwide success of Korean productions demonstrates the worldwide attain of Netflix — which might subtitle or dub exhibits in additional than 30 languages — but additionally of the rising energy of Seoul as a inventive hub, Kang, the Netflix vice chairman, stated.

“Korea is a storytelling powerhouse with the flexibility to showcase uniquely Korean tradition and points,” he stated, “whereas conveying common feelings that resonate with folks all over the world.”