Jooyoung Ahn, the director behind sex-meets-dystopian-tech drama sequence S Line, has drawn consideration to the tempo of change in Korean TV for the reason that Covid-19 pandemic.

In an interview with Deadline, Ahn mentioned the worldwide growth in Okay-drama and whether or not funding might proceed at present charges.

“The market is altering so rapidly that it’s loopy,” she stated. “For the reason that pandemic, Korean drama has been in some methods oversupplied internationally, however the demand has stood up. Some motion pictures and reveals utterly disappear after which emerge once more, and the change feels prefer it comes each two or three months, so it is vitally onerous to foretell what comes subsequent.”

Netflix has dedicated billions of {dollars} to content material from Korea, which now solely trails motion pictures and TV reveals from the U.S. on the service, in accordance with latest evaluation. The likes of Disney+ and Paramount+ have made inroads into the Asia nation, whereas native gamers reminiscent of Tving are additional driving demand and distributors includig CJ ENM have performed a very good job of purchasing Korean content material internationally.

Ahn was in France over the weekend to advertise her new present S Line, which is taking part in in competitors at Canneseries in opposition to the likes of Belgium’s Finish Sport, Iceland’s Reykjavik Fusion. The present – which stars the likes of Lee Soo Hyuk, Arin, Eunsaem Lee and Nam Kyu Hee – had its world premiere yesterday.

The present follows a lady who, since start, has been in a position to see pink traces that join sexual companions. When a pair of glasses is developed that offers the wearer the identical energy, it plunges Korea into disaster as societal boundaries are damaged down. The girl, Hyun-heup, performed by Okay-pop star Arin, groups up with a detective to cease the disaster and discover the particular person behind the glasses.

“It’s a completely authentic idea primarily based on the webtoon the place pink traces present how individuals are linked,” stated Ahn. “The fundamental theme that audiences ought to take away is how human society might collapse when the boundaries are stepped on.”

The present leans closely on themes reminiscent of sexual disgrace, the hazards of know-how and surveillance in society to create a singular Okay-drama story, however this initially nervous Ahn that it might restrict its attain. She had been involved about western audiences understanding the strategy, provided that “the east is historically extra sexually conservative.”

Nonetheless, with the present chosen for competitors out of a major variety of entries, she stated: “Given folks really feel the theme is contemporary and authentic, what’s vital is what you’ll be able to draw from the themes that serve folks’s frequent curiosity.

The sequence, which is being shopped internationally by Korean distributor Sidus, doesn’t but have a platform. It’s primarily based on a webtoon of the identical identify, although Ahn, who co-created the sequence, has deviated considerably from the supply materials, by which everyone seems to be all of the sudden in a position to see the S-lines.

Ahn revealed that she is now engaged on a mission that mixes “melodrama and fantasy,” and famous she desires to discover a narrative that “reveals one thing about human nature by creatures and vampires, one thing very style heavy.”