By Catherine Deen
For Yahoo! Southeast Asia
It is no secret that “Naughty Kiss,” a Korean remake of the hit Japanese manga “Itazura na Kiss” starring Hallyu star Kim Hyun Joong, ended its MBC television run with very dismal ratings of 4.9%. It is quite a feat, therefore, that the drama was recently featured in CNN’s “Talk Asia” with Anna Cohen.
According to the CNN report, Group Eight, the company that produced “Naughty Kiss,” also known as “Playful Kiss” or “Mischievous Kiss,” knew its target audience. Despite its poor television ratings, “Naughty Kiss” boasted of a huge online following, with fans from outside Korea following the series via video streaming websites. With international fans and the younger set preferring to use the Internet for entertainment, Group Eight struck a deal with YouTube to show an extra seven web episodes of “Naughty Kiss” after its television run. As of the date of the airing of Ms. Cohen’s report, the five web episodes have registered a cumulative total of 3.5 million views.
Asked about the impact of this deal on his career, the grateful yet surprised Kim Hyun Joong said, “Through YouTube, many people in Europe, the US and other countries that I have never expected have watched Playful Kiss. I am hoping that after getting to know me, they will keep interest in what I do in the future as well.”
With this amazing turnaround in the “Naughty Kiss” success story, it is clear that media networks must seriously look at the power of the Internet as a platform for distribution and revenue generation.
AP Photo
