The South Korean TV industry has been transforming shows while bringing back renowned stars to the small screen as a way of countering stricter government policies in China and an overall decline in TV viewership.
According to the Global Times, 2015 was a year of transformation for the South Korean TV industry.
Establishing stringent policies about local streaming in a major market for exported Korean shows like China greatly affected the TV industry's performance. The South Korean TV industry continued experiencing a steady decline in viewership for prime time TV series since most young people shifted to alternative forms of entertainment.
From mid 2015, the South Korean TV studios adapted to the changes by transforming the way they produce and distribute their series, shifting from conventional methods of shooting and broadcasting as series after every few episodes, to waiting until the series is completely shot before broadcasting. Besides, studios currently channel more money and effort on bringing back famous starts like Lee Young-ae, Joen Do-yeon and Kim Hye-soo.
With regard to content, apart from producing shows from A-list scriptwriters like Park Hye-ryun ("Pinocchio"), Kim Eun-sook ("Secret Garden") and So Hyeon-kyeong ("Prosecutor Princess"), many popular comics and novels are also lined up for TV adaptation. There is also broadening of genre to range from suspense and action shows to career and vampire dramas.
The same publication reported that in 2015, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television put in place policies aimed at streaming sites called the "Foreign Restriction Decree."
The regulations stipulate that all local streaming sites should acquire a license to broadcast series. The implication was that all series should be reviewed by concerned government authorities in their entirety before they can be broadcast.
As a result, many South Korean shows could no longer be shown simultaneously in China and South Korea because only part of a show's episodes would be produced and broadcast at a time. By the time a series makes it to China, broadcasting would be complete in South Korea, and therefore Chinese streaming websites would pay less for the airing rights.