After jTBC drama Nevertheless finished airing I forgot about it and it felt that the domestic audience did as well. The drama averaged about 1.4% ratings and was considered a disappointment for the network despite having buzzy IT leads Song Kang and Han So Hee. I did remember was it in the Netflix top 10 in various Asian countries at times and the are-they-aren’t-they push and pull of a toxic college romance between the leads seemed way more suitable for the appetites of the streaming platform. Now K-ent is saying that Nevertheless is actually super popular when it aired in Japan and with the viewers who watched on Netflix Japan. Apparently many Japanese stars like the drama and even talked about how much they liked it on talk shows so woah. Leads Song Kang and Han So Hee also saw dramatic increases in fans and exposure in Japan after this drama. K-netizens are responding that it makes sense, this drama didn’t have a strong narrative and was most on the emotions and mood and seemed more of a J-dorama than a K-drama.
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A lot of us pointed out when it was airing how well it was doing on Netflix and in other countries. It may have been a disappointment for JTBC but it didn’t bomb everywhere, despite the narrative at the time.
I guess Song Kang and Han So Hee are now certified Hallyu stars. The 20s finally have someone other than Park Bo Gum to dominate the Hallyu charts. No wonder Kang is holding his first worldwide fan meet through Netflix. The amount they promote him is ridiculous. Even Noah Centino didn’t get this level of promo.
Netflix is literally acting like his PR at this point. The amount of promotion they do for him is almost sus.
Seriously Namoo doesn’t promote him even half as much as Netflix does. I bet they don’t even get casting deals for him since Netflix just picks him up for everything. His entire filmography is on the platform. No other actor has their whole filmography on Netflix except him. Did they also give him shares or something? Would not be surprised if they did. He is the biggest star that Netflix has produced till now.
oh damn you’re right! literally ALL of his works are on netflix. i think korean netflix executives have a lot of faith in him, and with how popular most of his dramas have been, they’re not far off the mark.
No gifted shares. Netflix doesn’t even include RSUs as part of its compensation package for full-time employees. They do straight cash comp unless you elect to convert part of that cash to shares.
Netflix can “save” dramas that underperform by traditional standards. Like I said before, every Korean actor should be doing everything they can to get a foot in the Netflix door.
Song Kang is not the biggest star minted by Netflix. Not by a long shot. The company itself doesn’t really care about minting stars. It’s just a side effect.
OTT platforms can literally alleviate the popularity of any drama look what they did for Money Heist. The drama originally flopped big time on its local tv run but then Netflix bought it and boom it became a cultural phenomena. The thing is with the massive popularity of K content in general anything and everything becomes popular. Be it dating shows like Singles Inferno or documentaries like the Raincoat Killer or even shows like Busted. It doesn’t have to be good and it may not even actually be successful but the way Netflix markets things and their dubious “ranking” system makes even flops look like hits. I admit things are different with Nevertheless because it did create a storm online because people either hated it with their whole being or loved it like crazy. It was a polarizing drama just like Love Alarm and dramas like that tend to have huge followers. Both the fan following and hate following is huge.
Park Bo Gum doesn’t even dominate hallyu charts tbh. He’s mainly popular in Japan but nowhere in KOFICE or hallyu surveys for other countries. This year, only Jung Hoyeon among the twenties actors is present if not counting idol actors. It’s too early to tell for Song Kang and Han Sohee because they haven’t had the impact of previous gen hallyu stars like Park Shin Hye, Kim Soo Hyun, Lee Jong Suk, and so on who had massive endorsements and fanmeets in Asia during their peak.
Agree. That fan loves to exaggerate things about his/her idols. Song Kang and Han So Hee are from being called hallyu stars. They haven’t made significant impact across all demographics. They are only “it” to teens to young adults.
Ikr. It’s so easy to be called hallyu stars nowadays lol. Real hallyu stars are the likes of Lee Min Ho, Song Hye Kyo, Jun Ji Hyun, Kim Soo Hyun, Song Joong Ki, Park Shin Hye, Gong Yoo, and so on who had megahits where even the characters they played became pop culture references in Asia among young and old, across all generations.
Park bo gum is still categorized as hallyu star for me. Record of youth was charting at no 4 on netflix ww, the highest ever for kdrama at that time. And it topped netflix in several country too. He has fanbase all around the world too. So yeah, it seems like he’s quite now because of his military service, but he’s definitely a hallyu star of the 20s actors.
Song Kang is literally having a GLOBAL fanmeet so I don’t know what you’re smoking but it ain’t logic sis!
OTT is not limited to Netflix though. Viu is in fact bigger than Netflix in SEA region. Then there’s Viki, FriDay as the biggest or one of in Taiwan, Coupang, iQiyi, Disney and many more.
Netflix has the largest for now but new players are in. How long they can retain the leadership, we don’t know. Myself is a basic example who have unsubscribed Netflix for many months now in favor for its counterpart.
actually, i felt netflix is so overrated. i felt tired whenever seeing someone used netflix as a drama success indicator. seems like everyone is obsess with netflix, including the korean articles in naver. but I’m not denying that it’s a good thing actually for the drama to be airing in netflix as well
Netflix has definitely taken advantage of their worldwide presence with their promotions which really over hyped with the sole purpose, that is to increase subscription rates. People should be mindful though that they are not the sole indicator of success and definitely not measurement of quality and acting performance.
However, I appreciate their presence as they have helped and saved a lot of actors and crew to be out of jobs. Unlike before when Hollywood was the center of film and drama productions, somewhat Netflix helped to spread out that influence across many continents regions and countries. Even small independent small producers now have the opportunity to make movies and dramas unlike before when only big companies can do.
The real rating battle will be this weekend when all halted dramas due to the olympics resumes.
Cool
Its insane just how big Song Kang has gotten when just 3 years ago people were bashing Kim So Hyun for being cast opposite some no name rookie. Clearly it was the best decision and now Netflix has taken that formula and applied it for most of their dramas. Rookies cost less and their growth has a clear trajectory which can be tracked through social media followings.
Different dramas appeal to different folks. Song Kang’s acting range is very limited (my opinion). He emotes the same way in FLAW as in Nevertheless. Both dramas make him remove his clothes and sleep with FL very early on, guess this may be his calling for success in Netflix (snark snark).
I tried watching Sweet Home to see what’s all the fuss about SK. Never made it beyond first episode. Then I tried watching Navillera same thing happens. His acting just bores me and it’s bland.
Bland or not, there’s no stopping him now. If he gets his army deferment, he will rise above NJH who is now alongside him the hottest IT boys gathering ad offers internationally and domestically. But one is due in for sure before june, the other’s extension status is pending. Sweet home 2 will be launching in NF second half of this year also.
@Lydia1, thank God they’re off to the military soon. Welcome back btw. Haven’t heard from you for quite sometime. Who do you think will be the next IT boys once these two are enlisted?
who’s due in june? i thought they were not doing deferments any longer.
netflix and his sponsors be pushing this man HARD. i miss the days when stars became popular organically. this man has the charisma of a wet towel.
This drama has a much more japanese drama vibe than a korean one . It may explain the success too .
Im from the Philippines and I like them so much and has strong chemistry. I do hope that there will be more of Song Kang and Han So Hee…love it super I am their fan❤❤❤