SEOUL -- CJ ENM, the South Korean entertainment group that produced the Oscar-winning 2020 film "Parasite," forged a strategic partnership with Japan's broadcasting group TBS to co-produce and distribute various content covering dramas, movies, entertainment and animation for Japanese and global fans.
CJ ENM and TBS will also push for the co-production of web cartoons, organize offline concerts, and develop content formats. Web cartoons, widely known as webtoons, are digital comic books created to fit into web or mobile platforms. South Korea is the birthplace of webtoons, with its digital comic books gaining popularity abroad. Popular digital comics have been recreated into various content including games, TV dramas and films.
"Through this agreement, the two leading content companies in South Korea and Japan will bring together their production capabilities to showcase various content that works globally," Choi Jin-hee, a top CJ ENM official in charge of movies and dramas, said in a statement on June 15, vowing to introduce content targeting global markets by expanding collaboration with global content partners.
CJ ENM, credited with promoting Hallyu (Korean cultural wave) in the global scene, has launched an aggressive push for content production through cooperation with global players such as Netflix, the world's top over-the-top service. Studio Dragon, the drama-making wing of CJ ENM, has successfully attracted a global audience with "Sweet Home," a Netflix Original remake of a South Korean webtoon, in 2020.
TBS managing director Tatsuo Sugai said the partnership between TBS with excellent creators and CJ ENM with global content competitiveness would create synergy in producing new content targeting the global market.