In recent years, Korean dramas have witnessed a significant increase in multi-season projects.
If previously most works only lasted for one season, now more and more television stations and online platforms choose to expand successful brands instead of developing completely new stories.
SBS is considered a pioneer for this trend. The success of "Dr. Romantic" with three seasons of broadcasting and the highest rating of 27.1% has created a premise for a series of subsequent projects.
After that, works such as "Anonymous Driver", "Enthusiastic Priest", "War of the Upper Class" or recently "Perfect Partner" continued to expand into many seasons.
Currently, SBS has confirmed the production of a new season for "Perfect Partner", "Judge from Hell" is preparing to bring "Police Tycoon X" back to the screen.
Not only traditional television stations, online platforms are also promoting similar strategies.
Netflix continues to expand its brands such as "The Squid Game", "The Weak Hero", "Justice Dog", "The School of the Dead". Disney+ is preparing for season 2 of "Moving".
Meanwhile, Tving has just closed "The Cells of Yumi 3" and is considering developing "Chef Legend" into a multi-season project.
According to Korean media, the biggest reason comes from the increasing financial pressure of the Korean drama industry.
Production costs are increasing sharply while the level of competition is increasing, causing manufacturers to prioritize brands that already have loyal fans instead of taking risks with completely new projects.
Professor Yoon Suk Jin (Chungnam National University, Korea) said that multi-season films significantly reduce risks because the crew already has the character world, audience layer and formula for success from the previous season.
He also said that market changes make famous actors more open to returning to the next part, while previously many projects had failed due to schedule or remuneration issues. However, not all sequels were successful.
One of the biggest challenges of seasonal Korean dramas is the risk of repeating themselves. Unlike many American series that are long-term planned from the beginning, most Korean dramas only develop the next season after the first season is successful.
This sometimes makes the story structure lengthened or loses its inherent appeal. Professor Yoon believes that it is important for producers to find new storytelling directions, expand the world of characters or exploit supporting roles that have not been noticed.
