• PRODUCTS
    • Listen: Social and Digital Intelligence
    • Respond: Social Media Response
    • Analyze: Page Analytics
    • Publish: Social Media Publishing
    • Social Studio Alternative
    • Command Center
    • Sentiment API
  • PRICING
  • RESOURCES
    • Reports & Whitepapers
    • Premium Reports
    • Webinars
    • Radarr Academy
    • System Status
  • BLOG
  • COMPANY
    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Media Coverage
    • Contact Us
  • FREE 7-DAY TRIAL
  • BOOK A DEMO

Movie Reviews by Marketers: Island – A Global Masterpiece, Domestic Flop

  March 16, 2023
  Radarr Admin
  Media Monitoring

“Island” is a Korean fantasy-hero drama set on Jeju Island about three individuals – Won Min-Ho (Lee Da Hee), Van (Kim Nam-Gil), and Johan (Cha Eun-Woo) – fighting against a greater evil set to destroy the world.

The six-episode mini-series aired on TVing in South Korea and on Prime Video globally for over three weeks and is based on a popular Naver Webtoon with the same name. Right after its release, “Island” became the first K-content to enter the Top 10 on Amazon Prime Video, certifying K-Dramas’ popularity overseas. What is interesting is that within South Korea itself, the series received mixed reviews from the audience. While Cha Eun Woo and the other lead characters acting were the main attractive point of the series, the audience felt that the storyline was bland and disappointing.

                           SOUTH KOREA AUDIENCE                               

INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE

The negative sentiment from the South Korean audience is higher than the International audience. The ‘Island’ drama is based on an action webtoon; the South Korean audience is more familiar with the story, and their expectations are way beyond the international audience. The central part missing is the lack of romance, which the audience expected greatly from the lead cast. Here are the top four negative conversation themes for the series:

  1. Sad Ending. For the global audience, drama series with tragic endings are very acceptable, such as Daenerys’s death on Game of Thrones or How I Met Your Mother (before it turns downright ridiculous as Ted runs back to Robin with a blue French horn in his hand). On the contrary, the audience in South Korea expected a happy ending for the lead cast, leading to the local audience not liking the series.
  1. Don’t Like Having a Season 2. Unlike the global audience, the local audience in South Korea started hating the trend of the second season in general. They expect the story to be finished in one season, as it might also create a distraction if other potential K-dramas are released during the second season. The audience had high hopes for Season 1, but when it ultimately disappointed, they had low expectations for Season 2.
  1. Not enough romantic scene. Appealing to the global market, “Island” focused on thriller and horror themes – meanwhile, the audience familiar with the webtoon was expecting romance. The lack of focus on romance or less romantic scenes satisfied the global audience but disappointed the local audience.
  1. Clash with other K-Drama ‘The Glory.’ On top of the disappointing storyline, “Island’s” release was also not optimal. At the same time as the series’ season pilot, another K-Drama, “The Glory,” was also released on Netflix. While “Island” was released per episode, “The Glory” was released as an entire season. This untimely release date forced viewers to choose between binge-watching the whole season of “The Glory” or watching bits or pieces of “Island’s” early episodes. With a strong storyline & well-structured flow of events backing “The Glory” series, “Island” paled in comparison. 

With six episodes released on Season 1, “Island” Season 2 will air on February 24, 2023. Will the show maintain its global interest and manage to attract the local audience as well?

Introduction – Hi, everyone. I am Kokila Devi, working for Radarr Technologies as an Insights Analyst. I completed my master’s degree in Data Analytics. I’m fascinated by watching Kdramas, and I’ve used the Radarr platform to find out why a particular Kdrama performed well internationally but flopped in South Korea.

*Analysis based on a sample of social media conversations using keyword matches from December 2022 to January 2023.

Recent Posts

View All Posts

Trusted by 1000+ brands

  • Book A Demo with Radarr

Book A Demo

Name

Company Name

Work Email

Job Title

Phone Number

Thank you for contacting us!
We will be in touch with you shortly.
linkedin live guide for marketers
A Complete Guide To LinkedIn Live And Why Your Brand Should Consider It
| Social Media Marketing

Learn how to use LinkedIn Live for marketing and branding. If you’re a digital marketer, you’ve definitely heard of

marketing strategies that are not discounts
Three Effective Marketing Strategies That Are Not Giveaways
| Social Media Marketing

Discounts and giveaways have been known to generate engagements – who doesn’t want a chance to win prizes? Of

blackpink jakarta concert
Blackpink Jakarta Concert: Insights For Concert/Event Organizers
| Media Monitoring

As part of their world tour, the South Korean girl group Blackpink greeted their fans in Indonesia with the

Key Learnings from the Brand Safety Summit 2023 in Singapore
| Media Monitoring

And how Social Listening can help brands ensure brand safety. Last 15th of March 2023, top global marketers, ad

youtube shorts guide for marketers
Complete Guide To YouTube Shorts To Reach Your Brand Audience
| Social Media Marketing

Learn all about using YouTube Shorts for branding and marketing. Videos are a great way to reach out to

digital nomads and what to do with them
The Digital Nomads and What to Do With Them
| Behind The Scenes

A digital nomad works online from different locations, adopting a nomadic lifestyle as they travel from one place to

movie reviews by marketers - pathaan
Movie Reviews by Marketers: What the Internet is Saying (and We Think) About Pathaan
| Media Monitoring

Pathaan is an action-thriller movie released on January 25th, 2023, starring Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham, and Deepika Padukone.

Movie Reviews by Marketers: Island – A Global Masterpiece, Domestic Flop
| Media Monitoring

“Island” is a Korean fantasy-hero drama set on Jeju Island about three individuals – Won Min-Ho (Lee Da Hee),

complete guide to tiktok live for brands
TikTok LIVE for Brands: Everything You Know to Make It a Success
| Social Media Marketing

Learn why we think brands should experiment with TikTok Live. TikTok officially has over 1 billion monthly active users

social listening mistakes your brand needs to avoid
8 Common Social Listening Mistakes Your Brand Needs to Avoid
| Social Listening

Learn how to derive the most insights from social by avoiding these social listening mistakes.  Social listening can be

Radarr Newsletter

Become part of our list for updates and get first dibs on free industry reports. Sign up today!

Radarr

Radarr Command Center

Radarr Sentiment API

Copyright Radarr 2021

Privacy Policy

Terms of Use