Lee Hyori vs K High School Student Zombie... Seol Holiday OTT New Releases Showdown

Competing with New Releases on TVING and Netflix
Wavve and Coupang Play Also Offer Plenty to Watch

TVING Original Variety Show 'Seoul Check-in'

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] It is already the third Lunar New Year holiday since the outbreak of COVID-19. Amid fierce competition among domestic and international online video services (OTT), a variety of new dramas, entertainment shows, and movies ranging from comedy to family, romance, and zombie thrillers have poured out.

According to industry sources on the 30th, the original entertainment show "Seoul Check-in" on domestic OTT service TVING ranked first in popularity on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the previous day (29th). On the day of release, it recorded the highest contribution to paid subscriptions among all content. "Seoul Check-in" is a pilot project that attracted attention even before its release due to the collaboration between star PD Kim Tae-ho and singer Lee Hyori. It depicts behind-the-scenes stories of Lee Hyori, who has lived in Jeju for nine years, in Seoul. Attention is also focused on whether PD Kim Tae-ho, who struggled on Netflix, will regain his pride.

Netflix Original Series 'All of Us Are Dead'

Netflix’s new release competing against this is "All of Us Are Dead," a high school version of the "Korean-style zombie." It is a Netflix original series based on the webtoon of the same name by writer Joo Dong-geun. Students are trapped in a school where the zombie virus started, waiting for rescue while protecting themselves and fighting against zombies. It is regarded as the birth of K-zombies with a different charm from "Kingdom," which is set in the Joseon Dynasty.

Wavve took a bold step with a "binge-watch" strategy for the Lunar New Year. The last episodes 7 and 8 of season 1 of "Tracer," the first original drama of Content Wavve this year, were released. The schedule was adjusted so viewers could binge-watch all eight episodes by the Lunar New Year. The story revolves around the National Tax Service’s Tax Bureau 5, featuring actors Im Si-wan, Son Hyun-joo, Go Ah-sung, and Park Yong-woo in a chase thriller set against the tax office backdrop. Since its release, "Tracer" has achieved results such as a peak minute rating of 10%, playing a role as a ratings driver for Wavve originals.

Coupang Play 'SNL Korea Season 2' Heo Seong-tae Episode

Coupang Play also made a bold move with its original series "SNL Korea Season 2." "SNL Korea" attracted great attention early in the year with actress Shin Hye-sun’s episode, gaining attention from the 20s and 30s demographic. On the 29th, actor Heo Sung-tae, who played the villain "Deok-su" in "Squid Game," appeared as the host. In the "Reporter Joo Goes" corner featuring trending actor Joo Hyun-young, who has established herself as the "intern reporter" character, Park Young-sun, Chairperson of the Democratic Party’s Digital Transformation Committee, also appeared.

The Lunar New Year holiday period has traditionally been a peak season for theaters, but since the outbreak of COVID-19, more people have turned to OTT, their home theaters. According to the Korean Film Council, the number of theatergoers from January to February 2021 was 4.9 million, a 79.8% decrease compared to the same period the previous year. Cumulative sales also dropped by 78.4% to 44.5 billion KRW. For the month of February alone, the number was 3.11 million, marking the lowest level since the integrated computer network began operation in 2004.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.