The Impact Of Dramas Like "Extraordinary Attorney Woo": How K-Drama Production Costs Are Changing & Skyrocketing

K-Dramas are taking the world by storm and in recent years have seen a rise in popularity as more and more people discover Hallyu (the Korean wave). As such, more production companies are trying to come up with even better K-Dramas that will grab the audience's attention and long-term focus more. One of the ways that they do this is by increasing their production costs to deliver a higher quality show.

We're sure you must've noticed the increase in scale when it comes to K-Drama productions recently, too. Today we're going to look at the ways that K-Drama production costs are changing and some evident examples.

 

The skyrocketing cost of K-Drama production due to shifting trends and the influence of OTT streaming

Then: High-budget broadcast dramas and trends

Before OTT streaming platforms became the order of the day, K-Drama viewers were mostly accustomed to K-Dramas produced by broadcasting companies such as SBS, MBC, tvN, KBS, JTBC, and many more.

Some of the highest-budget broadcast dramas that have been released include "Arthdal Chronicles" (2019, tvN - about 54 billion Korean won)...

..."The Legend" (2007, MBC - about 43 billion Korean won)...

... and "Bulgasal: Immortal Souls" (2021, tvN - about 40 billion Korean won)

Some other broadcast titles with high budgets include the "Penthouse: War In Life" franchise (from 2020, SBS - about 32 billion Korean won), "Snowdrop" (2021, JTBC - about 32 billion Korean won), and "The King: Eternal Monarch" (2020, SBS - about 30 billion Korean won).

These are just a few of the K-Dramas known for having a high production cost.

You