As a pioneer in domestically produced Korean dramas, did Zhang Chaoyang make the right move?

For the video industry, the model of spending money to buy copyrights and going all the way is a thing of the past. In the environment that encourages the cultivation of one's own "blood-making" ability, video websites have produced a large number of self-made online dramas in the past two years, including "The Darker Side", "So Young", "Wuxin: The Monster Killer", "Yuzui" and other excellent works.

In addition to constantly changing themes and styles, are there more innovative ways to play domestically produced dramas?

Last year, Sohu Video took a different approach and created the first Chinese online Korean drama. One year later, how effective is this model? Has it finally been recognized by the market and audiences?

"Queen of Evaluations" relays the new style of Korean dramas produced by China and South Korea, and the model is becoming more mature

In the eyes of Sohu Video CEO Zhang Chaoyang, Sohu Video has always been a video website with high emotional intelligence, which is mainly reflected in "spending little money to do big things" and using unique vision to produce and purchase dramas with great potential.

As a pioneer and pathfinder of domestically produced Korean dramas, Sohu Video has opened up a new cooperation model and style for customized Korean dramas on Chinese online video platforms. The Korean team shoots high-quality content suitable for Chinese Internet users to watch. This original "China-Korea self-production" has opened up a new style of Korean drama model and is becoming increasingly mature through the cooperation of multiple works.

Sohu Video has participated in the creation of many "new-style Korean dramas" starting with "High Quality Unrequited Love" and "Flower Volleyball". Judging from the data feedback from various platforms, Sohu Video's self-produced dramas have reached the online popularity of traditional TV dramas, creating a brand effect and potential market for Chinese online self-produced dramas.

Sohu Video's third self-produced Korean drama "The Queen of Evaluation" will also be exclusively launched on Sohu Video every Saturday and Sunday starting from July 2. It is understood that the drama tells the interesting story of "Van Gogh", an ordinary but very charming advertising company employee who is always thinking about "liking to rate everything" and looking for true love. It is a romantic love drama with a full sense of reality. The drama is directed by Zhao Xiuyuan, and South Korean Girls' Generation member Quan Yuri and actors Kim Young-kwang and Lee Ji-hoon have joined "The Queen of Evaluation" as the male and female protagonists.

As Sohu Video's self-produced Korean drama model becomes more mature, coupled with the fan effect of Korean stars, it can be expected that the number of clicks of "Queen of Reviews" can easily surpass the previous "High Quality Unrequited Love" and "Flower Volleyball".

Is this move made by domestic Korean dramas the right one?

In the past 20 years, Korean culture has never stopped producing high-quality works, leaving a deep-rooted impression on the Chinese people. Korean entertainment has also become the most influential foreign culture in China. In the past, the strategy of my country's video industry for Korean entertainment has been limited to the purchase of copyrights of Korean dramas and variety shows, live broadcasts of concerts, etc. Sohu Video's self-production strategy this time has given Korean entertainment content a new business model.

"Korean dramas made in China" means that they are promoted by Korean stars, the dialogues are all in Korean, and they are shot by Korean teams, but Sohu Video is responsible for script development, actor selection, scene selection, editing method selection and entertainment marketing. The jointly produced content will be exclusively broadcast on Sohu Video.

Zhang Chaoyang said that Sohu Video is very optimistic about the prospects and market of self-produced Korean dramas. Through the exploration of a series of works, it has opened up a broader creative style for domestic video platforms. In the future, it will also launch more comprehensive cooperation to create different types of "new-style Korean dramas" for the audience.

For video websites, this model gives producers an exclusive window period, unlike the past when they directly purchased copyrights. In the past, due to the uncertainty of the censorship system, video websites had the risk of delayed window period after purchasing copyrights. Many dramas were not yet online, but the audience had already watched them. Traffic was easily affected by pirated content, and the reduction in traffic affected revenue. After adopting the "Korean dramas made in China" model, video websites have fully grasped the initiative and subsequent IP operations.

To fight against "mass-produced web dramas" with high-quality products, not to blindly expand the number of self-made dramas, but to improve the quality and reputation of domestic self-made web dramas, this is the principle that Sohu Video has adhered to in the production of web dramas in the past two years. Faced with the high-intensity competition in China's online video industry, Zhang Chaoyang had to make this innovative move.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.