[Inside Chodong] How to Prevent a Second NunuTV

"Who these days pays to watch dramas on Netflix?"

Earlier this year, an acquaintance at a dinner table said this to a reporter who hadn’t watched the Netflix original series The Glory and introduced a website. It was the illegal video streaming site 'NunuTV'. Upon accessing NunuTV, one could watch currently airing dramas and variety shows from terrestrial broadcasters like MBC, KBS, SBS, as well as online video services (OTT) such as Netflix, TVING, and Wavve for free.

Unlike other services that heavily place ads for illegal gambling and the like, NunuTV was designed to focus on content, resembling actual OTT and broadcasting sites. As word spread, the number of people watching NunuTV increased. The Video Copyright Protection Council estimated that as of last month, the number of content views on NunuTV exceeded 1.8 billion.

The industry estimated that NunuTV had over 10 million monthly users. When the government and media put NunuTV under scrutiny, the instinct to do more when told not to triggered the Streisand effect (an effect where attempts to remove information draw more attention and cause wider dissemination).

In fact, the number of visits to alternative sites to NunuTV, which was only about 1.38 million last year, exceeded 78 million after becoming known through the media starting February this year. People seem indifferent to 'stealing views' of content. They lament the shutdown of NunuTV. Online, spaces memorializing the abolition of NunuTV have appeared. People are also embarking on a voyage to find other illegal sites. 'Fake' NunuTV sites have emerged, and access links are actively shared.

People focus only on watching content that cost tens or hundreds of billions of won to produce without spending 'their own money'. Meanwhile, content producers, the rightful owners, are struggling with deficits. The cumulative damage caused by NunuTV is estimated to reach 5 trillion won.

Copyright infringement by illegal sites is not a new issue. The illegal webtoon sharing site Bamtokki, established in 2016, was estimated to have caused damages worth 100 billion won to the webtoon industry in 2017 alone. Bamtokki was shut down in May 2018 after its operators were arrested. Webtoon artists won a damages lawsuit against Bamtokki’s operators. However, damage continues as fake illegal sites like 'Newtokki' have appeared.

Although the government and content platforms strive to eradicate illegal distribution, illegal sites do not disappear. Even if site addresses are removed, new addresses are created by adding numbers after the original ones, or by having headquarters overseas to evade legal measures. Operating illegal sites constitutes copyright infringement.

To prevent a second NunuTV, institutional improvements are necessary. For fundamental problem solving, individual awareness improvement must also be pursued. It is difficult to control individuals who use illegal sites. Copyright law states that individuals are free to view copyrighted works in private spaces without commercial purposes. Messages to eradicate illegal content must be continuously delivered without infringing on this 'freedom.'

The production quality and artistic value of Korean content are recognized worldwide. The content industry is an ecosystem where investment, production, and distribution revolve like a wheel. If our content does not receive its proper value, the industry will decline. Only by firmly protecting copyrights can a 'second Parasite' emerge again. Let us resist the temptation of 'free.' It is a crucial time for consumer choice.

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