OCN, From Movie Channel to Genre Drama Channel

OCN was just a channel for movies in the beginning. Now it's the go-to spot for 'genre dramas'. It's been presenting mystery, school, and legal dramas unlike ground-wave channels and it has been successful so far. These dramas have gone multi-season right away and succeeded in securing a firm market by securing even hardcore fans.

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- The beginning of genre dramas with "God's Quiz", expansion to season drama

OCN introduced its first cable drama in 2004 for the first time in Korea and continued to bring out dramas of various subjects. In the early days, the mainstream was materials like rom-coms and dramas for adult viewers, which were easily accessible from other channels, not investigative and criminal dramas.

The movie channel tried to turn around with drama, but it was not easy. Then OCN took a challenge and came out with a genre drama that was never seen before. The first of its kind was "God's Quiz". It is one of the best medical investigative dramas on OCN and for the first time in Korean drama history, fans started to petition for a multi-season production.

"God's Quiz" is the story of forensic scientists who investigate corpses that have suffered unknown deaths. The partnership of Han Jin-woo, played by Ryu Deok-hwan, and Kang Kyung-hee, played by Yoon Joo-hee, who are complete opposites in character and occupation had the most influence on the drama. Investigating unresolved deaths or cases linked to rare diseases worked well with the dark, yet warm reality of patients with rare diseases and their families, and drew sympathy from viewers.

"Special Affairs Team TEN", "Cheo Yong: The Paranormal Detective", "Bad Guys", "Squad 38", "Voice", "Life on Mars", "The Guest - Drama", "WATCHER" and "Class of Lies" are other additional hits that make the face of OCN more solid and distinct.

"Voice" has plans to be remade in Japan and Thailand. TV and VOD sales have already begun in America, Canada, France, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore and European countries (56 countries in total).

OCN is also presenting its "Dramatic Cinema" project, a combination of dramas and movies, taking advantage of its once-film channel beginnings. This is seen as a new type of production that combines the formats of movies and dramas and has attracted a large number of movie producers.

The first example of "Dramatic Cinema" was "Trap - Drama". The series, which is a hard-boiled chase thriller that seeks the shocking truth in a case involving a national anchor in a trap, has the highest viewer rating of 4.9% (based on Nielsen's subscription) and has been invited to the crossover section of the 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival's "Korean Fantastic" section.

"Bad Guys", which rated 4.1%, was produced into a movie called "The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos" and is coming out in September. The leading cast are Ma Dong-seok and Kim Sang-joong, just like in the original drama.

- Aiming for hardcore fans and not just the ones in their 10s and the 20s

It took OCN almost 10 years to come out with its first genre drama, "God's Quiz". It chose a genre that is easily accessible on any channel and that was somewhat unfamiliar to viewers, unlike the typically popular rom-com and low-end dramas. A genre drama was OCN's most seamless approach to viewers.

OCN had mainly been dealing with classics or action blockbusters and it was therefore commonly accepted that OCN was for actions movies. So it decided to distinguish itself with a genre drama. When viewers were tired of the overheated competition of ground-wave dramas, OCN built its competitiveness through materials that had never been tried before.

The target audience has changed as well. While people in their 10s-20s and 40s-50s watched rom-coms and low-end dramas, OCN created a hardcore level with genre dramas, and secured a unique audience. As such, OCN has established a market in the drama industry through genre.

Director Hwang Hye-jung from OCN says, "OCN is aiming to be a STORY-ENTERTAINMENT channel. Thanks to the affection of many viewers, it is solidifying its fanbase. In the future, we will repay you for your love with various genre dramas".

She added they will prove that there is no limit to the expansion of genre through original lineups.