Momentum — The Wind Rising Around Yeo-reum
More than ten CF offers had already come flooding in for Han Yeo-reum. Jegal Rok decided to wait a little longer.
Once Strange Tales (Gimyodam) ended and the final box office numbers for Faster Than the Law were tallied, her market value was bound to soar even higher.
"How high will she climb?"
Jegal Rok tried to predict it for a moment, but strangely, no answer came easily.
Just how far could Han Yeo-reum grow?
The full-blown race for audiences had begun.
Momentum.
"What the…."
Reporter Wi of Deodeok.B found herself recalling a familiar word. It was so vivid that nothing else could possibly describe it.
"This is honestly insane."
Yeo-reum's momentum was on another level. Faster Than the Law blew past the three-million-admissions mark in a matter of days.
As Faster Than the Law swept through theaters, attention turned not only to its leads but to the supporting cast as well. Influencer 1 — the endearing, dim-witted scene-stealer — had etched herself into audiences' memories with a refreshing entrance.
Movie YouTubers introducing Faster Than the Law naturally slipped in talk about Influencer 1 — about Han Yeo-reum. She was the hottest rising name of the moment, so putting her in the thumbnail was simply a given.
The power of a magnetic character is greater than anything else. Yeo-reum delivered on every role that came her way.
A single year. That was all it took. A rising talent who had been in the public eye for barely a year was already making her name known far and wide.
"And it doesn't stop there…."
But Yeo-reum's influence didn't end with the screen. The more popular Strange Tales (Gimyodam) became, the higher the view count and comment traffic climbed on the Gimyodam reaction video Daily Media had uploaded earlier.
The clip videos of Gimyodam uploaded by JC ENM were guaranteed at least 200,000 views as a baseline.
The most popular video had already passed one million views. It was no exaggeration to say that after each episode aired, the entire internet was talking about nothing else.
Seo-ryeong, who kept tugging at your heart. Seo-ryeong, walking toward her death. Seo-ryeong, promising nothing about tomorrow.
Deodeok users gathered together and wept, day after day.
Anonymous (211.168)
Sobbing sobbing please.. For the finale, just having Seo-ryeong's real name revealed as the ending would be enough. Nobody knowing her name after all this time — does that even make sense??
Anonymous (223.38)
Every time Seo-ryeong just stands there expressionless I feel like crying. Like her smiling face is all an act and THIS is who she really is.. T_T
Anonymous (211.234)
Does she really have to act THIS well?? My heart is being torn to shreds, I swear f—k sobbing
Yeo-reum's momentum didn't stop at her work, either.
(Yeo-reum fan meeting selfie.jpg)
(Screenshot of Yeo-reum's recent Olive Young sighting.jpg)
Every time a sighting post goes up, it's always Han Yeo-reum carefully hugging the girl and taking a photo with her..
And lately at every single Faster Than the Law fan event, she's clinging right beside the unnie, taking photos like she's running some "Make My Girls" project — and every single one of them apparently came back saying she smelled SO good their faces turned red.
Everyone is dying to know what perfume Han Yeo-reum wears
Before anyone realized it, the phrase "Han Yeo-reum's scent" was going viral all on its own. ALAB's new product — the Cheongdam Dokgo Gyeol ampoule — claimed the number one spot with ease, even at a steep discount. The fashion brand N that had signed Yeo-reum as a model, along with Creamy Soda, saw their sales climb right alongside her.
With her face now known beyond her projects as a star in her own right, Han Yeo-reum was — whatever anyone said — the rising blue chip of the advertising world.
"Hey, Reporter Wi. You hear?"
Anyone rooting for Han Yeo-reum was grinning ear to ear, the situation so delightful that laughter came unbidden. Reporter Wi, one of their number, was scanning reactions about Yeo-reum as always when a colleague beside her spoke in a low voice.
"This is real. Off the record, but official."
"What is it?"
"Jegal Rok is…."
Gulp. The mere mention of Jegal Rok's name brought a rush of anticipation.
Reporter Wi swallowed, staring at her colleague's slowly opening mouth.
Somehow, she could just feel it. A gut instinct that whatever came out of that mouth would be anything but ordinary.
"The moment Strange Tales (Gimyodam) finishes its run, they're releasing it overseas. Immediately."
"What?"
Reporter Wi cried out, her voice rising with excitement.
"Overseas distribution rights can only be repriced after a show ends its run! Does that even make sense?"
"It doesn't. But Jegal Rok bundled it with the show format JC ENM produced and sealed the deal. He especially poured effort into Taiwan."
"Taiwan, then…."
The two naturally thought of the Japanese market. Productions that found success in Taiwan were watched closely within Japan as well.
If Strange Tales (Gimyodam) succeeded decisively in the Taiwanese market, its odds of success in Japan would climb dramatically.
Come to think of it, Korean dramas have always tested the waters in Taiwan, Thailand, and Hong Kong first before renegotiating their price for Japan….
And right now, Beyond the Closed Door was enjoying a near-syndrome level of popularity in Japan. A Korean Wave drama with a different genre could still easily capture attention.
"There's a reason Jegal Rok turned down the Chinese investment. That man always intended to secure Taiwan first. Wow… seriously, is he out of his mind?"
Every piece of the puzzle clicked into place. Reporter Wi, too, stood dumbfounded. There was no telling how many moves ahead the man was looking.
Success in Canada.
Expansion into Latin America and the Caribbean. Service launches in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and beyond.
Entry into the European market. Service begins in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
The following year — expansion into an original-drama content platform, competing head-to-head with the legacy broadcasters.
Western Europe: France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg.
Without pausing to breathe, the brand chose Japan as its first Asian expansion.
"Which countries have we yet to reach?"
An OTT platform that had gone beyond devouring the world's broadcasters and simply taken them over. Netholics.
"The Middle East, Singapore, India, and so on."
"Hmm…."
A woman's hand reached out toward the globe on her desk. With a playful little tap, the globe spun lazily around — whirr.
"Oh, look. We missed this one."
A very small country caught at her fingertip.
Shall we go? Or not?
One of the nations with the highest per-capita movie attendance on the planet. An annual moviegoing public of more than two hundred million. A country that had commanded premium prices in the Chinese and Japanese markets. A nation with world-class ultra-high-speed internet infrastructure, ready and waiting.
"Korea, then."
And so Netholics — the platform that would soon rewrite the paradigm of visual content across the entire globe — was beginning to move, toward Korea.