Itaewon Class producer buys into Mare of Easttown co-producer to make English-language versions of Korean dramas in Hollywood
- Parasite was an Oscars sensation, Minari earned critical acclaim – Korean-language content is winning over Western viewers and JTBC Studios wants a part of that
- The producer of hit K-dramas Itaewon Class and Nevertheless has bought control of talent agency CAA’s production arm to make English-language programming
The TV drama Itaewon Class, about a young entrepreneur who seeks to avenge his father’s death by taking down his rival at a powerful corporation, has built a loyal global following on Netflix.
But media executive Jeongin Hong believes there is even more potential for the 2020 Korean-language series.
Hong, whose company JTBC Studios produces the show, wants to develop an English version of the series with the potential help of wiip – a Hollywood company behind HBO’s Mare of Easttown and other acclaimed shows.
Such possible collaboration was one of the driving forces behind JTBC Studios’ decision to acquire a majority stake in the content arm of powerful talent agency CAA.
“There is a great meaning for us entering into the Hollywood production market, producing in English, producing with American or international talents out there to expand our business,” says 36-year-old Hong, senior vice-president at JTBC Studios. “There’ll be instant synergy.”
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Korean-language series and movies have become more widely accessible through streaming services like Netflix, which has invested heavily in such programming. Additionally, several South Korean shows have been successfully adapted to American audiences, including Fox’s singing competition The Masked Singer and ABC’s medical drama The Good Doctor.
Korean businesses view the US cultural sector as a largely untapped market, said Dal Yong Jin, a professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, who has co-written a book on the globalisation of Korean culture.
Although not widely known in the US, JTBC Studios is a big deal in South Korea, where it produces numerous TV shows and movies annually and has grown rapidly.
It got a big boost in April 2017 when it signed a multititle licensing deal with Netflix, which also later agreed to co-develop JTBC’s prime-time TV dramas globally.
“For the last several years, we have had a wonderful partnership with JTBC, driven by our common goal of telling great stories made in Korea and our members in Korea and around the world have fallen in love with shows like Itaewon Class, Run On, Sisyphus: The Myth, and Nevertheless,” said Don Kang, Netflix’s vice-president of content (Korea).
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Companies like JTBC Studios are increasingly eager to expand production to accommodate the voracious appetite of streaming sites for content, and to compete in a fast-changing market, analysts said.
Wiip was founded in 2018 by former ABC executive and founder of BBC America Paul Lee and Matteo Perale, a former CAA executive. The company, whose name stems from the acronym “word.idea.imagination.production,” employs 32 people. Wiip was a producer on HBO’s Mare of Easttown, which has been nominated for 16 Emmy Awards, and the Apple TV + series Dickinson.
“JTBC Studios are fantastic partners who love the content produced by our studio,” Lee said in a statement.
Overcoming cultural differences between American and Korean businesses can be a challenge.
“They have developed different styles and corporate cultures, and therefore, in order to develop quality products, they must develop mutual interests and good partnerships,” Jin said.
Hong said he is cognisant of making sure wiip retains its culture and that collaborations aren’t forced.
“My job is not to push them to do something together,” he said, “but my job is when they decide to do something together, I’ll make [it] happen seamlessly with speed.”
