Numerous Korean OTT dramas such as The Glory and Casino have become hugely successful. In line with this trend, OTT platforms such as Netflix, Watcha Play, and Disney Plus have been providing services aimed at Korean viewers. However, driven by the popularity of Korean dramas on OTT platforms, illegal streaming sites uploading these dramas are also gaining acceptance. Recently, an illegal site called Noonoo TV has come under the spotlight.
What is Noonoo TV?
Noonoo TV, a pirate streaming website run by a Korean, recently received criticism for illegal video distribution. Noonoo TV is a popular domestic streaming site in Korea. It is known to be located in the Dominican Republic to avoid a crackdown by Korean police. Many dramas and movies are being uploaded on the site, and users who visit the site can watch those videos free of cost. Noonoo TV makes profits through illegal gambling advertisements on their website. For two years, Noonoo TV uploaded many dramas without permission, in violation of the copyright law. Therefore, drama and movie industry officials have called for a crackdown on this illegal act.
Busan Metropolitan Police announced that they have launched an investigation on March 16 to trace the system administrator of Noonoo TV. Officials noted that the total views of videos on the website reached one-and-half-billion, far higher than the domestic views of charged OTT services. The police said an international investigation to search for the administrator was launched with support from related facilities, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST).
Reverse effect
Meanwhile, with major broadcasting companies seeking a crackdown on Noonoo TV, the increasing attention has triggered an unintended consequence by helping promote the website. The coverage on TV news has attracted the attention of middle-aged people, with many searching for Noonoo TV because the dramas and movies that are streamed only on Netflix and Disney Plus are available free of cost. Commenting on JoongAng Ilbo’s article on Noonoo TV, some users said on account of the news, the website is becoming increasingly popular with growing access. According to Google Trends, the volume of search terms related to Noonoo TV increased 4,900 percent after the police revealed the investigation about illegal websites.
Noonoo TV's reaction to the investigation
Driven by the recent controversy over copyright violations, Noonoo TV recently announced on its website that it will delete all videos related to domestic OTT and original series. However, popular Netflix dramas like Attorney Woo and The Glory continue to be available on the website. A newly released movie has also been uploaded. Suzume no tojimari, a Japanese movie released in Korea in March, is available on the website.
Noonoo TV users are not taking the situation seriously. Most of them believe that they can easily move to another illegal site. Many similar illegal websites are easily accessible and are expected to replace Noonoo TV. When people search for alternatives to Noonoo TV, posts listing a least a 100 similar sites appear. It is evident that arresting the Noonoo TV operator is not a fundamental solution. However, permanently ending illegal sites seems unlikely in the near future, as it is difficult to keep track of new alternative sites that continue to emerge.
Illegal webtoon distribution websites
Illegal online websites have been a severe and chronic problem in Korea. The domestic webtoon business is also facing serious damage. A few years ago, a website named Bamtokki was a hot topic. It provided many webtoons from paid webtoon sites. In principle, readers could view the webtoons by paying the fee when using those websites. However, the system operator of Bamtokki uploaded many works without permission. Anyone could connect to the site and watch various webtoons without paying. This site also gained an enormous amount of money by showing illegal advertisements for adult goods and gambling advertisements. It is known that the returns of this form of advertising reached more than KRW 9 million won.
Many creators complained about these illegal websites. Following the distribution of charged webtoons, people making them were significantly impacted. The damage is assumed to be 200 billion won. The system operator of Bamtokki installed the server in the U.S. and was supported by an assistant who operated from Cambodia. The operator was arrested in 2018. Busan Police found the record of a bankbook that the operator used to manage the profits from the website. In the process of investigation, the biggest webtoon platform, Naver and Lezhin Comics, filed a lawsuit for damages. The verdict mandated a fine of 1 billion won each on both platforms, totaling 2 billion won.
However, after the shutdown of Bamtokki, various illegal websites providing webtoons emerged, many of which continue to be available. Even though the police and entrepreneurs in webtoon business are supporting a crackdown, it seems difficult to catch up with the speed of forming illegal websites. According to research by MCST, the entire scale of illegal webtoons is assumed to be more than 800 billion won. Furthermore, domestic webtoons are exported illegally as Korean webtoons are translated into languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and English. The extent of damage has grown manifold, in line with the increase in viewership in foreign countries.
The damage to creators
The damage caused by sites promoting illegal content is said to be close to 5 trillion won. The number of views on Noonoo TV, analyzed by OTT business, totaled more than 1.812 billion since it was launched in 2021. This figure is equivalent to Netflix, a large streaming company with 10 million domestic subscribers. It seems that illegal websites are threatening the OTT services market. According to the Korea Copyright Commission, if additional copyrights and overseas distribution profits are also to be taken into account, it will be difficult to assess actual damage. OTT companies indicated that the problem was growing multifold because there was no end in sight. Government agencies have not taken any action or measure, deteriorating the situation. The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) has blocked access to the illegal websites at least 20 times since October 12, 2021. However, Noonoo TV circumvented the ban by creating alternative sites periodically. Noonoo TV has its server in the Dominican Republic, making it difficult to crack down.
The damage to the webtoon industry also appears to be serious. According to a 2022 webtoon artist survey conducted by the Korea Creative Content Agency, some writers said that their monthly profits fell to less than half due to illegal distribution of works. As the number of paid service users decreased, the webtoon industry also found it challenging to expand its business. Comico, a webtoon platform, started its service in Vietnam, but ceased operations because of the severe unauthorized copying of webtoons through illegal translation. Since the number of paid service users did not increase, it also became challenging to operate the service.
In the case of illegal sites with servers located overseas, international cooperation is imperative, but it is difficult to proceed as the host country is not affected.
Efforts to eradicate illegal sites
To deal with the situation, a Video Copyright Protection consortium was created in Korea. The consultative body explained that members include the Korea Film Copyright Association, which consists of broadcasters, filmmakers and distributors, broadcasting and film content production studios, OTT platforms and Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world's largest piracy response organization.
The webtoon industry is also working on new countermeasures, including teaming up with platforms to come up with countermeasures. For example, in the case of Naver, they will use AI technology, “Toon Radar,” which can monitor pirated webtoon service sites to check for the user information in the uploaded webtoon.
However, private-level efforts have limitations. Some believe that the government should empower the MCST. To crack down on illegal sites with servers overseas, it is time for cooperation, with the support of the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The government also responded to these opinions and released a joint response. The MCST held its first meeting on March 28 with the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Korea Communications Commission, and National Police Agency. The government plans to strengthen cooperation among ministries and identify specific tasks to improve the system by investigating and cracking down on copyright violators, blocking access to pirate sites, responding to overseas copyright infringement, and improving user awareness of illegal contents.
