Park Eun-bin and Yang Se-jong to star in movie IP dramas such as 'Love Therapy'

Masterpieces Moving Beyond Webtoons to the Screen are Reviving as Dramas

The central axis of original IP (Intellectual Property) in the K-content market is shifting from webtoons and web novels to movies. As webtoon-based dramas such as 'Moving', 'Trauma Center', and 'Get a Grip' continue to be hits, production companies are increasingly turning their attention to movie IPs that once dominated theaters.

The first work to reach viewers is the tvN drama 'Spooky Romance'. Scheduled to premiere on the 18th of this month, this work is a remake of the 2003 film of the same name starring Son Ye-jin and Lee Min-ki. Park Eun-bin has been cast as Chun Yeo-ri, a chaebol heiress who sees ghosts, and Yang Se-jong as Ma Kang-wook, a prosecutor who is afraid of ghosts. While maintaining the core setting of the movie, the characters' occupations and relationships have been newly reimagined.

Netflix is also actively utilizing movie IPs. The Netflix series 'Scandal', scheduled for release in the third quarter of this year, is a remake of the 2003 film 'Scandal: A Romance in the Joseon Dynasty'. Reinterpreting the atmosphere of the original work, which deals with a dangerous love gamble set in the Joseon Dynasty, through the grammar of an OTT series, it stars Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook, and Nana.

The Disney+ original 'City of Fragments' also takes the movie 'Fabricated City' as its source material. This work demonstrated the potential for expanding movie IPs into series by reaching number one in the Disney+ TV show worldwide category immediately after its release.

Targeting the 4050 Audience and IP Diversification Strategies

As the main audience for dramas has recently expanded to those in their 50s and older, the broadcasting industry is turning its eyes toward past hits. An advantage for production companies is that they can expand characters and narratives that could not be fully captured within a movie's short running time into dramas of 8 to 10 episodes or more.

CJ ENM is at the center of this remake trend. 'Fabricated City', 'Spooky Romance', and 'Scandal: A Romance in the Joseon Dynasty' are all works distributed by CJ ENM. For a company with diverse content production capabilities across film, drama, and OTT, this presents an opportunity to expand IPs by recycling hits into various formats.

An industry insider explained, "While movies and dramas operated as separate markets in the past, we now have a structure where a single IP connects theaters, OTT, dramas, merchandise, and fan communities." He added, "In particular, hit movies from the 2000s have already secured public recognition, allowing them to target both nostalgia and new viewers simultaneously."

This trend coincides with the change in IP strategies within the K-content industry. An industry official stated, "The continuous emergence of dramas based on movie originals is linked to the change in IP strategy, including the expanded viewer base in the 40s and 50s. As the original IP market, which was dominated by webtoons, diversifies into movies, novels, and games, movies that were loved in theaters are being reborn as new narratives in the OTT era."

Preference for Proven IPs and Concerns Over the Shrinking Space for New Creators

There are also voices of concern regarding the phenomenon where production capabilities are concentrated on proven IPs. Critics point out that as the trend of producing dramas from hit movies, webtoons, and web novels strengthens, the discovery of new stories may slow down.

Pop culture critic Kim Heon-sik noted, "As competition in the content market is intense, the number of cases where past hit movies are adapted into dramas is likely to increase in the future." He continued, "As verifying commercial success becomes the priority in value judgment, it could lead to a decrease in the development of new IPs."