Reboot the heyday

Chapter 3475 The Invisible Korean Wave Ban
Wang Taika's return to the country wasn't solely for accompanying his two sisters.

After two days of fun, the two sisters will be filming here, which can be considered a preview of the second season of "Jessica & Krystal".

The filming plan was set a long time ago, and now is the perfect time to film. It's the first variety show related to SM Entertainment after all the previous controversies.

Given Wang Taika's previous personality, he would have at least tried to get involved in the filming schedule. But now he has completely abandoned those ideas.

The relationship is already quite close, and sometimes going too far can be undesirable. Besides, their statuses are different now, and doing this in front of outsiders is inappropriate. Another point is that the technology in this area evolves quite quickly, and Wang Taika has long since abandoned this skill.

Like rowing against the current, if you don't move forward, you fall behind. After all, Wang Taika's current identity is no longer that of a filmmaker, but a manager of a large company, and some of his skills have indeed become neglected.

For example, my hand isn't as steady as it used to be when I hold the camera. After all, these past few nights have been filled with non-stop action; my back is shaking, how can my hand be steady? You can't possibly eat, drink, and have fun while effortlessly maintaining peak creative condition.

Sometimes pain is indeed a source of creativity, but Wang Taika is very happy now.

Most importantly, Wang Taika needs to handle some cooperation matters during his trip back to China. Although there is a very reliable professional manager in China handling these matters, Wang Taika will still need to be present when it comes to actually signing contracts.

While the two sisters were filming a variety show, Wang Taika booked plane tickets to several cities. Needless to say, he had various social engagements and toasts with leaders and company executives. It was all just polite talk and mutual flattery before happily signing contracts.

Alibaba, Tencent, and Wanda, these large conglomerates, all have recently established so-called large-scale entertainment industries, but Wang Taika secretly controls the distribution channels in South Korea. In business matters, if negotiations are possible, no one wants to attack each other. Therefore, Wang Taika began negotiating cooperation with these giants in this regard.

Since he was selling various resources from South Korea, Wang Taika didn't mind the cost. However, his bottom line was also clear: certain restrictions had to be imposed.

Don't forget, Wang Taika also set up a music show stage in China and invited many celebrities to support him. It's just starting to get going. If the Korean wave is allowed to enter China without restrictions, he will suffer a huge loss.

Wang Taika's current advantage lies in his exclusive resources in South Korea, his control over certain channels, and his influence over music show stages in China.

But in reality, this advantage is precarious. After all, commercial transactions can't be stopped, and these domestic companies can easily bypass him for cooperation. Which major company doesn't have South Korean shares? Even Kakao seems to have been brought up by Tencent.

However, relatively speaking, this would be more costly. Wang Taika must find the right balance, otherwise the negotiations will fall apart.

Negotiations on actual interests were quite difficult. The final concession was that Wang Taika would exchange South Korean resources for a period of protection for the company in the domestic market and relinquish a portion of his shares. Meanwhile, there's an unspoken rule among major companies: to restrict the Korean Wave.

After the meeting, Wang Taika also informed the relevant departments of the result. Despite his daily struggles in South Korea, he is a law-abiding citizen back in China.

On the one hand, he doesn't "eat the grass near his burrow," meaning China is always his escape route. On the other hand, there's the national context: in South Korea, no matter what he does, he can truly get away with it. But in China, a businessman is always a businessman; don't even think about crossing the line. People need to know their place.

Fortunately, Wang Taika has always been self-aware, so everything he does stays within the bounds of the rules. He has already accumulated initial capital in South Korea, and even in fair competition back in China, he is already far ahead. If he still resorts to illegal means to compete, then his level is truly too low.

Wang Taika's domestic companies use an AB share system, where he holds A shares and other companies hold B shares. The advantage of this system is that even if others hold more than half of the B shares, they are not qualified to interfere in the company's affairs.

Simply put, it means the same number of shares, but A shares have a larger weighting than B shares. After discussion, relevant departments expressed their approval of the series of collaborations reached by Wang Taika. However, this approval was undoubtedly tacit, because such actions of uniting major companies to resist are essentially monopolistic behavior.

However, when it comes to the Korean Wave, we can turn a blind eye. After all, the influence of the Korean Wave is indeed quite strong now, and there have been many social news stories caused by idol worship in recent years. The relevant departments want to be proactive, but this involves various public opinions, making it a difficult situation.

So the best approach is this: the relevant departments haven't explicitly prohibited it, but the major companies tacitly agree to it, and that's a good solution.

Wang Taika was essentially using someone else's strength against them. He had dealt with these publicity departments before because of his involvement in domestic music show performances, so he was quite familiar with the ins and outs of the business.

If you don't claim this cultural high ground, someone else will. The relevant departments are certainly paying attention to this, but they dare not easily issue any regulations, fearing it might backfire. With Wang Taika as a pioneer, the relevant leaders certainly have no objections, because this is also part of their political achievements.

Thanks to the attitude of the relevant departments, the subsequent negotiations went very smoothly. No matter how powerful these large companies are, they will make concessions when faced with the official stance. Otherwise, these negotiations would definitely not have been completed in a short time.

Near Shichahai in Beijing, there is a private courtyard house. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary residence, but inside it is a hidden gem, decorated in a low-key yet luxurious style.

Some banquets are not allowed openly, but since it's a society based on personal relationships, they still happen. It's just that nowadays people prefer these informal, grassroots ways.

Wang Taika's knuckles turned slightly white as he held the wine glass. The smell of Moutai mixed with smoke in the private room made the crystal chandelier dim.

The leader was busy and had already left for the next game. So everyone present was a businessperson, and they chatted freely.

Across from him, a vice president from some unknown company was still giving a long-winded speech about pan-entertainment and closed-loop ecosystems. Next to him sat an executive from another company, pulling Wang Taika aside to talk about the future prospects of self-media and the big data industry.

“Hmm, what you said makes a lot of sense.” Wang Taika hadn’t actually been listening closely; he just smiled and raised his glass, the amber liquid shimmering with tiny golden sparkles. “Go on, go on, I’m listening.”

The man next to me was already a little drunk, but seeing that someone was willing to listen to him, he started talking: "Let me tell you, I come from a technical background, so I know a lot about this. In fact, everything in this world boils down to two things."

Wang Taika absentmindedly interrupted, "Really? What?"

The man paused for a moment, then said, "Mathematics!"

This was an unexpected answer, and Wang Taika became interested for the first time, asking with a smile, "Mathematics is indeed amazing, but what does it have to do with the entertainment industry?"

"Data analysis, algorithms! Imagine if there were software that could calculate everyone's thoughts and then deliver targeted content."

Huh? Wang Taika then realized that there seemed to be a talented person sitting next to him.

(End of this chapter)