‘The Glory’ Was a Hit. Now Netflix Is Spending Extra on Okay-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 ugly scene in a faculty gymnasium is likely one of the early, pivotal moments of “The Glory,” the 16-episode drama centered on bullying, social standing and revenge that has develop into the newest in a succession of South Korean mega hits for Netflix. Its breakout sensation, “Squid Sport,” grew to become the streamer’s hottest sequence of all time.

“The Glory,” which was launched in two components in December and March, is now Netflix’s fifth hottest non-English tv providing ever. Executives mentioned they have been considerably stunned to see how properly the present did internationally, noting that it reached the highest 10 non-English TV checklist in 91 nations.

It was one of many Korean hits, together with “Squid Sport” and “Bodily: 100,” that Ted Sarandos, co-chief govt 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 subsequent 4 years and famous that tales created within the nation “at the moment are on the coronary heart of the worldwide cultural zeitgeist.”

Don Kang, Netflix’s vice chairman of content material for Korea, mentioned it had been thrilling to see the present take off globally. “‘The Glory’ is a superb instance of a narrative that resonates authentically with native audiences, but in addition depicts themes of human psychology and social points, which audiences in every single place can relate to,” he mentioned in an announcement to The New York Occasions.

“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 sophisticated 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 placing visuals that propelled the recognition of “Squid Sport.”

Netflix officers mentioned they have been happy to find {that a} present targeted on story line and characters might journey in addition to it did. They mentioned 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-about too risqué, mentioned 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 contemplate.

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

There’s a motive so many individuals can relate. Virtually one in three college students reported being bullied in 2019, in response to a UNESCO report, which additionally discovered that the prevalence of bullying has elevated in nearly one in 5 nations. And though reviews of college violence in South Korea are comparatively low — about 2 p.c of scholars report being victims, in response to its Ministry of Schooling — the precise figures may very well be increased as a result of many college students are afraid to talk up, mentioned 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 World Prime 10 checklist for non-English tv for 13 weeks. (It has spent solely three weeks on the checklist of main non-English applications in the USA.) It grew to become one among 4 Korean sequence amongst Netflix’s 10 hottest non-English TV choices of all time, together with “Squid Sport,” “All of Us Are Useless” and “Extraordinary Legal professional Woo.”

Now the corporate is hoping to construct on these successes by releasing greater than 30 Korean sequence, movies and unscripted reveals this yr 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 high 10 for non-English movies.

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

“Korea is a storytelling powerhouse with the power to showcase uniquely Korean tradition and points,” he mentioned, “whereas conveying common feelings that resonate with individuals around the globe.”