How Netflix bring Asian Content to the Global Audience with Minyoung Kim
Fresh out of the studio, Minyoung Kim, Netflix’s VP of Content for the Asia Pacific (excluding India), shared her perspectives on how Netflix work with content creators across the Asia Pacific region and brings them to a global audience. In the same conversation, Minyoung discussed the importance of cultural adaptation and localization and provided behind-the-scenes insights into how the Squid Game became a global phenomenon starting from their focus on the Korean audience. Minyoung also addressed challenges faced by Asian content creators, offered her advice for aspiring filmmakers who want to collaborate with Netflix, and shared her thoughts on what great would look like for Netflix in the Asia Pacific.
“The most important lesson that I have learned is really Know your audience. You need to really understand your audience, and what they want because oftentimes the content executives make the mistake of programming for themselves rather than the audience. And I actually went through the exact same mistake when I first started, because I believed what I like is what audience like. So I think that's like the number one rule, really trying to understand the audience. That is number one. And as an individual, for me. I don't think it's only in Asia. I think globally building a relationship is really important. But trying to develop a relationship for the sake of a relationship never lands well. You can never, utilize the relationship. You build a relationship through great work and you build a relationship not only to get what you need but also to be able to say no.” - Minyoung Kim
Introduction
- Minyoung Kim, Netflix’s VP of Content, APAC excluding India (LinkedIn) How did you start your career and eventually end up working at Netflix?
- What are the lessons in your career journey that you can share with my audience?
How Netflix bring Asian Content to the Global Audience
- Can you provide an overview of Netflix and its vision and mission?
- How did Netflix start initially in the Asia Pacific region? What are the early days like given that you are part of the team that set it up?
- What is the current footprint of the business in the region?
- How does Netflix grow their distribution with partners given that Asia Pacific is such a diverse region?
- Let’s come to the content creation and curation. What strategies do you employ to ensure Netflix's content resonates with diverse audiences across Asia? How do these strategies differ from country to country within the region?
- What were your initial thoughts when you came across the script for 'Squid Game'? Did you anticipate the global phenomenon it became, and what do you think were the key factors in its worldwide success?
- What have been some of the biggest challenges in creating content for Asian markets, and how have you addressed them?
- How important is cultural adaptation and localisation in your content creation process?
- Can you give an example of how you've successfully locally adapted a project for a global audience?
- You mentioned the importance of building relationships with local creators. How do you approach these relationships, and what role do they play in the content development process?
- Could you elaborate on the concept of 'green-light rigour' at Netflix? How do you decide which projects to green-light, especially in a diverse and competitive market like Asia?
- What is your vision for the future of Asian content on the global stage? How do you see Netflix shaping this landscape?
- What advice would you give aspiring creators and filmmakers in Asia who want to collaborate with Netflix?
- How do you navigate the rapidly evolving streaming landscape, and what trends do you foresee in the Asian content market?
- My traditional closing question: What does great look like for Netflix in the Asia Pacific region?
Closing
- Any recommendations which have inspired you recently?
- Minyoung Kim's recommendations: The Boyfriend from Japan, Dr Climax from Thailand and Chicken Nugget from Korea on Netflix.
- BL's recommendations: The docuseries from Netflix, for example, Rise of Empires: Ottoman.
- How do my audience find you?
Podcast Information: Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin) hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed & edited in both video and audio format by G. Thomas Craig (@gthomascraig, LinkedIn).
