Drama “The Heirs” starring Lee Min-ho was not just a hit in Asia. It was just as sensational in the USA, surprising the drama streaming site DramaFever with 17 million hits in just three months and USD 1 million profits in six months. With 18 million visitors to date, DramaFever relies heavily on Hallyu dramas, which make up 65% of its content. Caucasians are the main visitors, accounting for 40% of the total, followed by Hispanics (26%). Asians make up only 15% of all visitors. In short, non-Asians are the main customers.

DramaFever, launched in 2009, only showed old dramas in the beginning. “The Heirs” was the first drama that the website invested in. “We had faith in Lee Min-ho’s dramas because they’ve all been a hit. So we invested in ‘The Heirs’ and became the sole distributor in the US. Of course, it was a success,” CEO Park explained. “All romantic comedies have succeeded, like ‘Coffee Prince,’ ‘My Lovely Sam-soon,’ and the recent ‘My Love from the Star.’ They really do well. But action series or thrillers are not that popular because the US makes them better. But when it comes to romantic comedies, Korea has no rivals. The Chinese market shows the same kind of reaction.”

“The biggest distribution markets are the US and China. If Hallyu dramas continue to progress at this rate, by next fall, Korea will be producing dramas that are hits in both the USA and China as they are being aired in Korea. When that happens, it will be a first in the world. Even American TV series haven’t enjoyed that kind of reception. The distribution rights of Hallyu dramas are becoming more and more expensive in the US and China because Hallyu dramas are becoming increasingly popular. I believe that it is more than possible for Hallyu dramas to dominate the world TV drama market.”

Mr. Park continued, “We’ve been running real-time streaming for two years now. As soon as an episode airs in Korea, we start on English subtitles and make them available 6-10 hours later. Two days after it airs in Korea, we have Spanish and Portuguese subtitles ready.”

The website made USD 50 million with “Boys over Flowers,” which was first new drama it streamed. It made bigger profits with Lee Min-ho’s “Personal Taste,” “City Hunter” and “Faith.” Then last year “The Heirs” generated USD 1 million in profit in 6 months.