iQiyi is all set for the global premiere of its newest Original K-series Jirisan on 23 October.

The event kicked off with a highlight video of Jirisan, with the sneak preview showcasing the different seasons of Jirisan peak. The K-series follows a team of national park rangers who are responsible for the search and rescue on Jirisan. Experienced ranger (played by Gianna Jun) and rookie ranger (played by Ju Ji-hoon) are set to unravel the secrets of the peak.

Present at the global press conference held on 13 October were Jirisan cast members Gianna Jun, Ju Ji-Hoon, Oh Jung-se, and Cho Han-Cheul; together with screenwriter Kim Eun-hee, and Director of Photography, Choi Sang-mook.

Screenwriter Kim Eun-hee said that she previously wrote a story with a police officer in the lead and was focused on finding the cause of a murder after it occurred. But for Jirisan, Eun-hee said that park rangers would be trying to prevent incidents. 

Jun said, “Few actors have worked with writer Kim consecutively. I am very thankful for that. The charm in her scripts is that details that seem unimportant at the start, turn out to be crucial at the end.” 

Ji-hoon added, “I’ve worked with writer Kim for five years. She’s like a relative, someone who I will greet during a festival, and we meet often. Her scripts are extremely detailed.” 

iQiyi’s rapid growth attributed to more Korean content

During the press conference, iQiyi’s Vice President for International Business, Kuek Yu-Chuang bared the streamer’s growth in Korean content over the past year.

Kuek revealed that in 2021, iQiyi is on track to launch over 7,000 hours of entertainment. He added that iQiyi now has content teams based in Japan and Korea to scout the next beloved Asian stories for the international audience, making them the only Asian streamer with a global footprint across the Asia Pacific, EMEA, and Americas. 

The Vice President said, “As of Q2, iQiyi has over 106 million paid subscribers worldwide with over 350 million viewing hours a day—and is considered one of the fastest-growing streaming services in Asia.” 

Kuek attributed iQiyi’s rapid expansion to its relentless investment in providing best-in-class viewing experiences and its extensive library of premium Asian content. 

One of the reasons for iQiyi’s exponential expansion is through Korean content. Kuek revealed that at the end of 2020, 38% of the total drama watch time was contributed by K-dramas. In 2021, the streamer launched 30% more Korean titles compared to last year, which included significant investments in Korean Originals such as My Roommate Is a Gumiho and So I Married The Anti-Fan.

Kuek added, “With our Korean original content gaining extreme mainstream popularity over the past year, we’re excited to accelerate our original content production come 2022 and beyond. It is clear that in 2022, our focus will be producing original Korean dramas that will continue to appeal to our international audience.” 

Jirisan premieres on 23 October at 20:00 SGT on the iQiyi International app or iQ.com across 191 territories.