(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Won-hee = Korean film companies are knocking on the Southeast Asian market in a variety of ways, from utilizing intellectual property rights (IP) to collaborating with local directors.
As the domestic film market's recovery slows, it appears that the number of cases of turning to the growing Southeast Asian market is increasing.
◇ Utilization of popular IPs such as ‘Descendants of the Sun’… Remake active
According to the film industry on the 27th, movies using domestic IP are being produced in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and the Philippines.
Distributor NEW participated in the planning and production of the Indonesian movie 'Descendants of the Sun Indonesia' (working title), which recently completed filming.
This movie is a remake of the drama 'Descendants of the Sun' starring Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo, which aired in Korea in 2016. The original drama, which depicts the growth and love of soldiers in an unfamiliar land, recorded the highest viewership rating of 38.8% nationwide when it aired in Korea.
The movie added local sentiment and background to the original narrative. Director Hanung Bramantillo, who directed the Indonesian remake of the Korean film 'A Gift from Cell No. 7' (2013), and Reza Rahadian, who is considered one of Indonesia's national actors, joined.
The Indonesian film 'Abandoned Hospital No. 402', which was released at the 30th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival last July, is also an example of utilizing domestic IP.
‘Abandoned Hospital Room 402’ is an Indonesian-style remake of director Jeong Beom-sik’s horror film ‘Gonjiam’ (2018). The story of Indonesian streamers going to an abandoned hospital in Korea created a different tension from the original.
There are also cases where Korean IP independently expanded its world view overseas.
A representative example is the movie ‘Second Gift from Room 7’, which has been confirmed to be produced in the Philippines.
This film is a remake of the sequel to 'The Gift from Cell No. 7' produced in Indonesia. Director Lee Hwan-kyeong's 'Gift from Room 7', which attracted 10 million viewers in Korea in 2013, gained popularity by being remade in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Turkuye, and a sequel that did not exist in Korea was made.
NEW, which owns the 'Gift from Room 7' IP, gave meaning to this by saying, "It has increased the possibility of global franchising of K-content."
◇ Korean film company chooses localization strategy… Vietnam box office domination
In some cases, production begins with original IP in collaboration with local creators in Southeast Asia.
CJ ENM is a business that knocked on the door of the Vietnamese market early on as part of the group's global strategy. CJ ENM, which entered Vietnam in 2011 by distributing the movie 'Quick', began producing local films in the local language and with local actors in 2014.
The film, which captured universal local sensibilities, led to success.
'The House of No Man' (2023), which CJ ENM's Vietnamese subsidiary CJ HK Entertainment participated in production, broke the all-time box office record with a profit of $20.2 million (5.78 million), and 'My' (2024) earned $21.46 million (6.43 million), breaking the all-time box office record in one year. As of the 31st of last month, 'My' is ranked 2nd and 'The House of No Man' is 3rd in terms of box office success.
In this year's Vietnamese annual box office, three works in which CJ HK Entertainment participated dominated the top rankings, including 'Pipong: Blood Demon' (2nd place), 'Zero Meets Hero' (3rd place), and 'Maso: Forbidden Ritual' (4th place).
Production company Barunson E&A joined hands with director Joko Anwar, who is considered the master of Indonesian horror.
Joko Anwar is considered a director who captivated both the box office and critics, including making Indonesia's highest-grossing film 'The Worshiper of Satan' in 2017 and being invited to the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival with 'A Copy of My Mind' in 2015.
Following its participation in the production of director Joko Anwar's horror film 'Ghost in the Cell', Barunson E&A will also begin distributing 'Satan's Worshiper: Origins'.
‘Ghost in the Cell’ will be available in Korea on the 7th of next month.
◇ A film company turning its attention to the growing Southeast Asia... "New Opportunity"
Korean film companies' entry into the Southeast Asian market is accelerating amid the slow recovery of the domestic film market following the spread of COVID-19.
According to the Korean Film Council, the cumulative number of viewers from January to August this year was 87.26 million, an increase of 28.9% (19.58 million) compared to the same period last year.
It is highly likely that the number of annual audiences this year will increase compared to last year, but it is expected to fall short of the level of 200 million viewers per year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, the film market in Southeast Asia is growing steadily. In particular, Vietnam is one of the markets that is growing rapidly thanks to its young population structure and economic growth.
According to the Korean Film Council's '2025 Film Industry Settlement' report, the number of viewers in Vietnam last year was 71.2 million, a 31.1% increase from the previous year.
Domestic film companies are actively responding to this rapidly growing demand in Southeast Asia.
Lee Jeong-ha, CEO of Contentpanda, NEW's content distribution affiliate, explained, "At a time when the growth of the domestic market was slowing due to the outbreak of COVID-19, we approached with the direction of generating additional profits by co-producing or remaking with proven IP. In a situation where there were not many original stories, family comedy 'Gift in Cell No. 7' etc. met local demand and were successful."
It is expected that domestic film companies' expansion into the Southeast Asian market will become more active in the future.
NEW plans to actively engage in co-production, and CJ HK Entertainment plans to expand its worldview to other countries by discovering local original IP. Barunson E&A is discussing plans with Thailand's largest studio, GDH.
Ko Gyeong-beom, global project director of CJ ENM's film division, said, "We are now in a situation where we have no choice but to turn to overseas markets. As the Southeast Asian market is expected to grow similarly to Korea in terms of economy and culture, there seems to be room to naturally utilize the know-how and IP we have accumulated over the years."
He then pointed out, “I think this is a situation where business owners need to see opportunities and actively expand (business).”
