Netflix has been creating a lot of Original K-Drama lately. How is it going different from the rest?

"Kingdom" isn't like any K-drama we've seen before. It’s been compared to Game of Thrones, it has a lot of zombies, and it’s a Netflix Original.

So different — and so good! — is the K-zombie series that it’s remained in Netflix Philippines’ top 10 after Season 2 premiered this month.

“Kingdom” is only the start for Netflix, which has been ramping up its production for original K-drama content. In the next few months, more Netflix Original Korean content will be made available for streaming.

But how different will those be from all the K-Drama we’ve come to love?

According to Minyoung Kim, Netflix' Vice President of Korean Content, Netflix aims to serve the gaps in the already amazing Korean TV industry and "create shows that audiences would love to watch they normally could not get."

Among the gaps Netflix found was the creative freedom creators can get.

Kim shared, "Our audience can control what they watch so that gives us freedom to give creative freedom to our creators. By giving that creative freedom to our creators, we can talk about the things that cannot be told in the traditional system."

"One of Netflix's upcoming K-drama series, 'Extracurricular' fell under this category due to the subject matter,” Kim said. 

From 'Extracurricular'

Because the show is about a highschool boy who decides to go into crimes and put himself and his dreams in danger, "Extracurricular" has become something of coming-of-age story fit for Netflix streaming — instead of the traditional sense.

Kim said, "'Extracurricular' falls under that category due to the subject matter that can't normally be covered in the traditional media system...It's a very unique subject matter an a unique storytelling that really only services like Netlfix can actually say."

Another difference, Kim shared, was the limit imposed on creators on how far they can go with their vision.

"'Kingdom' writer Kim Eun-hee has said it many times that when she thought of the story 'Kingdom', she thought she would not be able to show the vision that she had through the traditional system," Kim shared. "So that's when Netflix had a chance to meet her, she actually gave us 'Kingdom' because she knew at Netflix she would be able to go as far as she wanted."

Different season-episode format

Netflix Original K-dramas don't strictly follow the usual 16 episode-single season format of Korean dramas that are aired on Korean cable. Viewers can expect Netflix K-dramas to be anywhere between 6-12 episodes per season, with each episode running from 45-60 minutes.

“A 16-episode structure works well in traditional media. There's a reason why they chose that, because their viewers' habit is different," Kim said. 

Because Netflix is an on-demand service — viewers choose what they watch when they want where they want — it follows that “audiences [will] want to choose how many episodes they [also] want to watch," Kim said.

Netflix noticed that their audiences preferred tighter episodes and more binge-able, which is how they came up with a 6-12 episode range at 45-60 minute duration each for their original K-drama content.

However, Kim shared that it still depended on the type of show and what format would be best to tell the story.

"While we do have an ideal format that will work with our audiences it will boil down to whether it's a great story or not and it also boils down to how you tell that story, create freedom that we give our creators," Kim shared.

The content and how to best execute it determine whether it will be a single season or multi-season, said Kim. 

In the upcoming months, Netflix is set to release big titled K-drama shows such as "Rugal," "Extracurricular," "The King: Eternal Monarch," "Time to Hunt," and "It's Okay to Not be Okay." — LA, GMA News