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Exclusive: Streaming platform Rakuten Viki, which specializes in Asian content, has unveiled a new Korean drama, My Girlfriend is The Man!.

Viki will co-produce the series with Korea’s Studio N, marking the streamer’s first co-production partnership with the studio.

Based on a popular webcomic of the same name with more than 379 million global views, My Girlfriend is The Man! will debut exclusively on Viki later this year.

My Girlfriend is The Man! will star K-pop artists Arin (from Oh My Girl), Yoon San-Ha (from Astro) and Chuu (formerly a part of Loona), as well as actor Yoo Jung Hoo (Who Is She).

In the drama, Arin stars as Kim Ji-eun, a young woman and university student who one day wakes up as a man (played by Yoo). Kim explains the situation to her boyfriend, Park Yun-jae (played by Yoon), and they decide to stay together until she returns to her original appearance.

“Christmas Carol” is a 2022 Korean movie, categorized as Thriller, Crime, Mystery, and Revenge; based on the novel of the same name by Joo Won-Kyu; and is streaming on Tubi TV.

Summary: A young man is talking to his twin brother on the phone and can hear him being attacked. The police found his brother’s dead body on Christmas day and they closed the case as an accident. But he tracked down the killer to get revenge.

My Twin Brother’s Death Was Not an Accident

In “Christmas Carol”, Joo Wol-Woo and Joo Il-Woo are twin brothers. Joo Wol-Woo is mentally challenged. Or to use the politically incorrect word: he’s a retard. He’s pure and innocent, and he loves his brother. By contrast, Joo Il-Woo is “normal” and takes care of his brother, although he finds the responsibility burdensome and is often angry about it. Until … he sees his brother’s dead body.

In a world-first release, Webtoon, one of the world's largest webcomics platforms, has partnered with Dot Inc. to adapt two of its most popular titles for fans with sight impairments.

Via a media press release, Webtoon and Dot Inc. have partnered on two new comics to be available on Dot Inc.'s Dot Pad technology, which converts images to braille for people with sight impairments. Yumi's Cells by Donggeon Lee and Hooky by Mriam Bonastre Tur are the two comics to be released, with tactile versions set to be available globally on the Dot Pad.

Related Webtoon's Dark Moon: The Blood Altar Gets Debut Anime Teaser Trailer & Streaming Home Announcement

Dark Moon: The Blood Altar, an anime based on the hit Webtoon series, gets an Aniplex Online Fest 2024 announcement ahead of streaming on Crunchyroll.

Webtoon Reveals "World's First Tactile Digital Comics" With New Braille Releases

These new comics represent some...

Korean-made crime-comedy-thriller “I, The Executioner,” a sequel to 2015 hit ‘Veteran,” continued its spree at the top of the South Korea weekend box office. It earned $1.68 million in its fourth full weekend session, ahead of top-ranked new release “Joker: Folie a Deux.”

“I, The Executioner” saw its market share slip to 29%, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). The latest weekend increment gives the film a $49.97 million running total since releasing on Sept. 13. That makes it the fourth highest grossing film of the year in the country, behind “Exhuma,” “The Roundup: Punishment” and “Inside Out 2,” which is still some distance ahead on $64 million.

“Joker: Folie a Deux” opened with $1.17 million between Friday and Sunday and achieved a 21% market share, according to Kobis. Over its full five-day opening run, which included Thursday’s National Foundation Day public holiday, it accumulated $3.60 million.

Released the same day (Oct.

South Korea’s Plus M Entertainment has sold romantic drama Love In The Big City to a raft of key territories across Asia and Latin America ahead of its world premiere at Toronto.

The feature has been acquired for Japan (Kddi), Taiwan (Moviecloud), Mongolia (The Filmbridge), Vietnam (Cj Hk Entertainment), Singapore and Indonesia (Purple Plan), Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos (Sahamongkol), and Hong Kong and Macau (Neofilms) as well as Latin America (Great Movies/A2 Films) and worldwide inflight (Anuvu).

Love In The Big City will play in the Special Presentations strand of Toronto, which runs from September 5-15 and...

South Korea’s Plus M Entertainment has sold romantic drama Love In The Big City to a raft of key territories across Asia and Latin America ahead of its world premiere at Toronto.

The feature has been acquired for Japan (Kddi), Taiwan (Moviecloud), Mongolia (The Filmbridge), Vietnam (Cj Enm Hk), Singapore and Indonesia (Purple Plan), Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos (Sahamongkol), and Hong Kong and Macau (Neofilms) as well as Latin America (Great Movies/A2 Films) and worldwide inflight (Anuvu).

Love In The Big City will play in the Special Presentations strand of Toronto, which runs from September 5-15 and...

Exclusive: Korean animated film Yumi’s Cells: The Movie will be released on streaming platform Rakuten Viki on July 19, after a theatrical run at the domestic box office in April.

The Asian-content focused Rakuten Viki has unveiled a collaboration with Chinese video site Bilibili to bring Chinese animated series Mom, I’m Sorry and Rakshasa Street seasons 1-3 to its platform.

Yumi’s Cells: The Movie was adapted from the eponymous webtoon, which originally received an enormous 3.5 billion views. The webtoon also spawned two live action drama series titled Yumi’s Cells in 2021 and 2022, which are available on Rakuten Viki. Broadcast rights to the show were sold to more than 160 territories.

According to the Korean Film Council’s data, Yumi’s Cells: The Movie grossed around $445,000 from 76,500 admissions at the Korean box office in April.

Yumi’s Cells tells the story of an office worker Yumi and the different kinds of cells in her brain,...

K-dramas often end with sadness, not happily ever afters, leaving fans devastated by tragic romances and unexpected deaths. Some popular K-dramas with sad endings, like "Now, We Are Breaking Up" and "Yumi's Cells," focus on heartbreak over happily ever afters. Heart-wrenching K-drama series like "Stairway to Heaven" and "Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo" show that not all love stories have a happy ending.

Content warning: This article contains discussions of suicide, terminal illness, and violence.

K-dramas rarely go past one season, or perhaps two if they're lucky, which often means viewers can find the K-dramas have a sad ending. The overarching storyline has to come to a close by the season finale, which can make for bittersweet conclusions. Not all of these endings are happily ever afters. Not all couples stay together, nor do the main characters finally get their shot at long-lasting love. In some cases, there might be a glimmer of hope,...

Kim Go-eun's versatility shines through in her diverse roles, from bubbly Eun-tak in Goblin to the sinister In-joo in Little Women. Despite tonal inconsistencies in Monster, Kim Go-eun's portrayal of Bok-soon is both heart-warming and intense, showcasing her acting skills. In Yumi's Cells, Kim Go-eun's performance as Yu-mi balances humor and sincerity, making the K-drama a joy to watch with its relatable nature.

Since her on-screen debut in 2012, Kim Go-eun has continued to show her versatility as an actor through incredible and varied performances in both K-dramas and in movies. Born in South Korea in 1991, Kim Go-eun stumbled into the world of acting by chance, yet has not looked back since. Now over a decade into her career, Kim Go-eun has been involved in some of the best K-dramas and South Korean movies to date and does not show any signs of slowing down.

Kim Go-eun's commitment to...

Yoonhee Choi has been named CEO at Barunson E&a, the South Korean sales and production outfit that is heading to this week’s European Film Market with major international expansion ambitions.

Choi joined the company in 2021 as managing director, overseeing domestic and international operations, and was promoted to COO in April 2023. She was previously head of international sales at Cj Enm, where she worked for eight years, leading overseas distribution of films such as Parasite, The Handmaiden and The Spy Gone North.

She takes over the role from Gene Hong (Brian) Park and Kwak Sin Ae.

Barunson E&a is...

Choi Yoonhee has been named as the new CEO of Barunson E&a, the Korean sales and production firm that is making a splash at the European Film Market in Berlin this week.

Choi, who joined the firm in 2021 from Cj Enm, takes over from Gene Hong (Brian) Park and Kwak Sin Ae. She joined as MD, overseeing domestic and international operations, and in April 2023 was upped to COO.

Barunson E&a has been in operation since 1996, though was not involved in international sales all that duration. Notable past titles include Bong Joon-ho’s “Mother” and Oscar-winner “Parasite,” on which Cj and Choi headed international distribution. Barunson E&a has also been behind Kim Jee-woon’s “The Good, the Bad, the Weird” and his more recent “Cobweb.”

The company’s upcoming slate also includes the next two features from director Bong Joon-ho, as well as projects from directors Kim Sung-hoon and...

South Korean producer Barunson E&a is to invest in upcoming Indonesian horror film Respati and has secured worldwide sales rights to the feature ahead of the European Film Market (EFM).

It marks the second investment in a non-Korean title by the company since expanding into international co-production, financing and sales in October 2022. The first was Indonesian action feature 13 Bombs, produced by Jakarta-based Visinema, which screened at Rotterdam earlier this week.

Barunson E&a, which is known as the producer of Oscar-winner Parasite and Kim Je-woon’s black comedy Cobweb, will begin pre-sales of Respati at the EFM, which begins...

A feature-length fully-animated version of smash hit Korean series “Yumi’s Cells” will launch next month at the European Film Market in Berlin. International rights to the property were picked up by Barunson E&a, part of the Korean Barunson conglomerate that also produced Oscar-winning live-action film “Parasite.”

“Yumi’s Cells: The Movie” is a 3D feature animation based on the popular Naver webtoon series of the same title that debuted in 2015. Production of the film is by Locus Animation (formerly Sidus Animation), which was previously responsible for “Red Shoes and Seven Dwarfs” and Studio N, a subsidiary of Naver Webtoon. The film is currently in post-production and will be delivered later this year.

Locus’s latest work, “Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning” is also debuting at the EFM.

“Yumi’s Cells” revolves around an office worker Yumi and the myriad of cells inside her brain – such as Rational Cell, Emotional Cell, Anxiety Cell,...

Image Source: Getty / Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis; Getty / The Chosunilbo Jns/Imazins

It seems Blackpink's Jisoo and Ahn Bo Hyun's romance wasn't meant to last because the famous pair split after only a few months of dating.

Back on Aug. 3, it was revealed that Jisoo was dating Ahn after the pair were photographed meeting up in pictures obtained by Korean news outlet Dispatch. Jisoo and Ahn's respective agencies, Yg Entertainment and Fn Entertainment, confirmed the new relationship. "They are getting to know each other with positive feelings," the agencies said in a statement to Newsen (via Soompi), adding, "We would be thankful if you look upon them with warmth."

However, on Oct. 24, after three months of low-key dating, Korean news outlet Jtbc reported that the pair had split. A source told the publication, "Jisoo and Ahn Bo Hyun's relationship naturally became distant due to their busy schedules, and...

First looks at both upcoming films revealed.

South Korea’s Plus M Entertainment is set to launch sales on romantic drama Love In The Big City and revenge thriller Revolver at Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market.

A first look at both titles can be seen above.

Revolver reunites Cannes best actress winner Jeon Do-yeon with director Oh Seung-uk for the first time since The Shameless, which played in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2015. Jeon is also known for roles in Lee Chang-dong’s Secret Sunshine, for which she won the best actress award at Cannes in 2007, and more recently Netflix feature Kill Boksoon,...

Shin Hye-Sun’s much-anticipated comeback is a webtoon adaptation. See You In My 19th Life is extremely fun, and it’s so interesting to see Ahn Bo-Hyun in this role that’s so different from anything we’ve seen him do before, although he slightly resembles his character in “Yumi’s Cells.” Still, that’s a more realistic show, whereas See You In My 19th Life has a fantastical element that makes him feel even more out of place, but it works perfectly. In the first two episodes, we got introduced to the characters Seo-Ha and Yoon Ju-Won. Ju-Won was a beloved friend to Seo-Ha, but she died when they were young, leaving Seo-Ha alone; except that that was Ju-Won’s 18th life, and she remembers all her past lives. When she’s born again in her 19th life, she’s determined to come back to Seo-Ha, so that’s how...

Netflix has been on a roll this year with the constant addition of Korean webtoon adaptations like Weak Hero Class 1, Duty After School, and the Lookism animated series. While it premiered several of these shows the previous year—including the hit zombie series, All of Us Are Dead, which became a blockbuster—this year has an abundance of adaptations lined up. Since Korean webtoons aren't as popular as Japanese comics, Netflix's choice to produce live-action adaptations of these works brings the creators a lot of recognition.

In light of the webtoon's popularity, the new action thriller series Bloodhounds has piqued audiences' interest. Kim Jo Hwan, better known as Jason Kim, directs the series, which stars Woo Do Hwan, Lee Sang Yi, Park Sung Woong, and Huh Jun Hoo, all of whom are well-known in the Korean drama industry.

Initially, the series was intended to be titled "Hunting Dogs," but that was changed to "Bloodhounds,...

Warner Bros. Discovery among those to have secured rights to action feature.

South Korean sales firm Finecut has sealed a raft of Asia deals for action-thriller Christmas Carol ahead of its local release on December 7.

Warner Bros. Discovery has picked up the film for Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and Brunei, while it has also been sold for Japan (At Entertainment), Taiwan (Cai Chang International) and Thailand (Sahamongkolfilm International).

Based on a Korean best-selling novel of the same name by award-winning author Joo Won-kyu, the story follows a young man who sets out to avenge his twin brother,...

With so many streaming services to choose from, finding a new show or film to discover is rarely an issue. Especially not on Netflix, the streamer that essentially started it all, and continues to churn out quality originals to add to their already-stacked catalog. Each month on Netflix introduces titles both new and old, but not every title's got a permanent home on the platform. There's also the small issue of Netflix's promotion strategy: With so many movies and shows coming and going with each passing month, there's always the chance that something truly great is going to slip through the cracks. "Blonde" is finally getting its long-awaited (and scandalously-rated) release on the streamer, but the Ana de Armas starrer is far from the only exciting development on Netflix.

Whether you're on the hunt for a soapy thriller, a star-crossed romance, or some adult animation, there's plenty to go around this month.

Korea’s Cj Enm and its production subsidiary Studio Dragon, along with Naver Webtoon’s affiliated company Line Digital Frontier are partnering on a Japan-based joint venture under the tentative name Studio Dragon Japan. The new production studio will be established in the first half of this year, with 30 billion won (23 million) invested by the three entities.

Studio Dragon Japan’s stated goal is to be become the market’s leading production company by delivering premium content based on Cj Enm and Studio Dragon’s expertise combined with Line Digital Frontier’s premium original IP. The new company will encompass all stages of content production from development and investment to production and distribution.

Studio Dragon is Asia’s largest scripted television studio with over 183 global premium IPs, and produces about 30 series every year distributed via various platforms. The studio is known for such popular series as Crash Landing On You,...

It would be fair conclusion to say that 2021 was a successful year for K-Dramas. The year, through many cable and national broadcasting networks, the country’s tv industry released many successful series. Streaming giant Netflix too came in strong, buying world-wide distribution rights to many popular titles, while also doubling down on their own original productions, investing heavily into content from the country and increasing output too, to the point of releasing a new K-Drama almost every month in the second half of last year. Of course, the success of a number of these shows is now well-known, but other streaming services like iQiyi, Viki etc. also played an important part in getting several Korean series out to the wider worldwide audience, resulting in a strong year for shows of various genres.

Without further ado, here is the list of the 20 best K-Dramas of 2021, in descending order.

20. Hospital Playlist: Season 2 (dir.