Encounter Budget

What Is the Budget of Encounter (2018)?

Encounter (2018), also known internationally as Boyfriend, is not a theatrical film. It is a sixteen-episode Korean drama series produced by Bon Factory and Studio Dragon for the South Korean cable network tvN. Studio Dragon did not publicly disclose the production budget. Industry estimates for premium tvN drama from this period, particularly those starring top-tier Hallyu performers, place the per-episode cost in the range of KRW 600,000,000 to KRW 1,200,000,000 (approximately $530,000 to $1,070,000 at 2018 exchange rates), which would put the full sixteen-episode series budget at approximately $8,500,000 to $17,000,000.

The series' budget was likely toward the upper end of that range given the casting of Song Hye-kyo (Descendants of the Sun, That Winter, The Wind Blows) and Park Bo-gum (Reply 1988, Love in the Moonlight), two of the most globally bankable Korean stars of the 2010s. Cuba location filming, period-style production design, and Studio Dragon's premium drama infrastructure further pushed the show's cost above the standard tvN drama baseline.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

A premium tvN drama at this scale typically distributes spend across:

• Above-the-Line Korean Star Talent: Song Hye-kyo and Park Bo-gum commanded the highest per-episode performer rates in the Korean drama market at the time, with Song reported to have earned approximately KRW 100,000,000 per episode (about $90,000 USD) and Park earning a comparable headline figure. Their combined performer cost across sixteen episodes represented a substantial share of the total budget.
• Cuba Location Shoot: The opening Cuban-encounter sequences were filmed on location in Havana and other Cuba locations, an unusual and expensive choice for a Korean drama. International travel, local crew, location permits, and the production logistics of shooting in Cuba added meaningful incremental cost.
• South Korean Production Footprint: The bulk of principal photography took place in Seoul and other Korean locations, with the Donghwa Hotel storyline requiring premium upscale-hotel set construction and location filming at real Korean hotels. The Korean Film or Video Production credit applied to qualifying local spend.
• Production Design and Wardrobe: The contrast between the wealthy-political Cha Soo-hyun storyline and the working-class Kim Jin-hyuk storyline required two distinct production-design and wardrobe registers. Song Hye-kyo's wardrobe in particular drew significant fashion-media coverage and Korean luxury-brand product placement.
• Studio Dragon Premium Infrastructure: Studio Dragon's status as Korea's leading drama studio (and as the CJ ENM-owned producer behind Crash Landing on You, It's Okay to Not Be Okay, and Mr. Sunshine) brought premium post-production, music supervision, and platform-distribution infrastructure to the project.
• Sixteen-Episode Format: The standard sixteen-episode Korean cable drama format meant a roughly four-month broadcast window and a corresponding eight-to-twelve-month production schedule, with cumulative production-management costs spread across the longer commitment.

How Does Encounter's Budget Compare to Other Premium K-Dramas?

Encounter sat within the upper tier of Korean drama budgets for 2018-2019. Comparable series included:

• Mr. Sunshine (tvN, 2018): Estimated KRW 40,000,000,000 total budget (approximately $36,000,000) | 24 episodes. Studio Dragon's flagship 2018 epic, also distributed through Netflix internationally, represented the upper ceiling of K-drama budgets and ran concurrent with Encounter's development.
• Crash Landing on You (tvN, 2019-2020): Estimated KRW 20,000,000,000 (approximately $17,500,000) | 16 episodes. The Studio Dragon hit drama starring Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin occupied a similar budget tier to Encounter and demonstrated Netflix's growing investment in tvN drama through international licensing.
• Descendants of the Sun (KBS, 2016): Estimated KRW 13,000,000,000 (approximately $11,500,000) | 16 episodes. Song Hye-kyo's previous record-breaking drama set the audience expectations for her subsequent projects, including Encounter.
• It's Okay to Not Be Okay (tvN, 2020): Estimated KRW 22,400,000,000 (approximately $20,000,000) | 16 episodes. The Studio Dragon successor drama, distributed simultaneously on Netflix, illustrated the rising K-drama budget tier in the post-Encounter period.

Encounter Performance and Cultural Impact

Encounter premiered on tvN on November 28, 2018 with strong opening numbers, peaking at a 10.3% rating in the Nielsen Korea PPM measurement for a single episode. The series averaged approximately 8.0% across its sixteen-episode run, placing it among the highest-rated tvN dramas of 2018-2019 and well above the cable-network commercial threshold.

Korean drama economics combine domestic broadcast advertising, international distribution licensing, and rapidly growing streaming-platform fees:

• Production Budget (estimated): KRW 600,000,000 to KRW 1,200,000,000 per episode (approximately $530,000 to $1,070,000)
• Series Order: 16 episodes
• Total Estimated Investment: approximately $8,500,000 to $17,000,000 for the full series
• Worldwide Gross: Not applicable (license-fee model across tvN broadcast and international streaming)
• Net Return: Recouped through tvN broadcast advertising, Netflix international licensing, Viu and iQIYI regional licensing, plus Korean domestic streaming and merchandising
• ROI: Internal to Studio Dragon and CJ ENM economics; not publicly disclosed

The series was simultaneously streamed internationally through Netflix, Viu, and other regional platforms, with strong viewership in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Park Bo-gum and Song Hye-kyo's pairing drove significant Hallyu fashion and tourism interest in the Cuba-set scenes, with several Cuban locations becoming popular Korean-tourist destinations in 2019. The series did not return for a second season, which is standard for Korean cable dramas in this format.

Encounter Production History

Encounter was developed in 2017-2018 under Studio Dragon's premium tvN drama slate. Writer Yoo Young-ah, known for The Crowned Clown and Just Between Lovers, scripted the sixteen-episode series with a focus on class-divide romance and Korean political-family dynamics. Director Park Shin-woo, who would later direct It's Okay to Not Be Okay, attached to the project in early 2018. The series was shot across mid-to-late 2018 primarily in Seoul, South Korea, with location work in Cuba for the opening encounter sequences.

Casting Song Hye-kyo and Park Bo-gum brought significant pre-broadcast attention. Song Hye-kyo was a globally established Hallyu star coming off her 2017 marriage to Song Joong-ki and her hiatus from acting work since Descendants of the Sun (2016). Park Bo-gum was a fast-rising star whose Reply 1988 and Love in the Moonlight performances had made him one of Korea's most-watched young actors. The casting drew controversy in Korean media regarding the twelve-year age gap between the two leads, which the show addressed directly within its storyline.

Production wrapped in January 2019 to meet the simultaneous broadcast schedule. Studio Dragon's international-licensing arm sold the show to Netflix, Viu, iQIYI, and other regional platforms for simultaneous overseas distribution. The Cuban location work in particular generated significant Korean and international press coverage during and after the broadcast run.

Awards and Recognition

Encounter received nominations at the 2019 Baeksang Arts Awards (Korea's premier television and film awards) for Best Drama, Best Actress (Song Hye-kyo), and Best Actor (Park Bo-gum). At the 2019 APAN Star Awards, the series and its leads received multiple nominations across drama, actress, and actor categories.

Within the Korean drama awards circuit, Park Bo-gum received the Top Excellence Award (Actor) at the tvN10 Awards and the Asia Star Awards. Song Hye-kyo did not win a top trophy for the role but received broader Hallyu industry recognition for the performance, including significant brand-endorsement growth in the aftermath of the series. The show's international streaming performance contributed to subsequent Studio Dragon and Netflix Korea licensing arrangements.

Critical Reception

Encounter received mixed-to-positive reviews from Korean and international critics. The series does not carry a Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer score, as the small number of professional English-language reviews did not meet the platform's minimum threshold. MyDramaList, the leading international K-drama review platform, lists the series with an 8.0 average rating across approximately 38,000 reviews. IMDb users have given it a 7.6 average rating.

Korean trade publications including Star News and OSEN praised Song Hye-kyo's performance and the show's production design and Cuba cinematography, while noting that the central romance moved at a deliberately slow pace and that the political-family subplot was underdeveloped. International K-drama press, including outlets such as Soompi and AllKpop, focused on the chemistry between the two leads and the fashion-and-fashion-tourism cultural impact of the Cuba sequences.

Some Korean and international critics objected to the show's emphasis on lifestyle and aspirational imagery over dramatic stakes, but the broad audience reception, the strong international streaming performance, and the show's lasting cultural footprint as a Hallyu-era touchstone romance have placed Encounter among the more widely cited Korean dramas of 2018-2019.