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Daniel Henney hosts the first-ever “K-Drama in L.A.”

May 15, 2014

The first-ever “K-Drama in L.A.” event opened Wednesday, with more than 100 industry representatives present and featuring actor Daniel Henney as a guest host.

Held by the Korea Creative Content Agency, the event gathered representatives from Korean broadcasting stations KBS, MBC, SBS, CJ E&M and JTBC, as well as American networks such as ABC, CBS, FOX and Sony, to discuss the spread of Korean dramas and to provide a forum for business.

A few titles, including the mega-hit drama “Man From Another Star,” “Empress Ki,” “A Secret Love Affair” and “Gap-dong,” were screened for the first time in the U.S. market.

According to KOCCA, Korean dramas have been on the rise in mainstream American media through popular content streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and DramaFever, where K-dramas have their own major categories.

Netflix only carried three K-dramas in 2012, but that number has now risen to 32, KOCCA said. In addition, sites like KDrama have been created to provide live streaming for episodes, it said.

About 18 million viewers watch subtitled content on DramaFever, 84 percent of them non-Asian, it said.

Henney, who hosted the event, said he has received fan letters from around the world, among them Dubai, South Africa and areas in Southeast Asia.

“In regards to production quality and distribution, Korean dramas can be counted in the world’s top three drama markets alongside American and Central American dramas,” said Kim Il-joong, director of KOCCA’s Los Angeles office.

Daniel Henney, who hosted the event, said he has received fan letters from around the world, among them Dubai, South Africa and areas in Southeast Asia.