When Seoul/LA-based Bros Studios, Korean webtoon platform Kenaz and Singapore’s Momo Film joined forces, yet another set of hopes, dreams and ambitions joined today’s most popular quest: producing “international content”.

The three companies plan to turn Kenaz’s webtoons into television series, beginning with "Mirror Game" and "All About Money".

"Mirror Game" is about a master illusionist with ill intentions who becomes a viral sensation after successfully hypnotising people online.

In "All About Money", three best friends unexpectedly come across a billion dollars and are thrown into the illicit world of crime and corruption.

Both titles were chosen for what Momo co-founder and producer, Si En Tan, feels is their international potential, putting Momo on the same gold-rush trajectory as thousands of others striving to connect with audiences globally (aka sell to Netflix or Amazon’s Prime Video).          

Just off two Golden Leopard wins in Locarno and as Momo’s latest feature, "Budi Pekerti", premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Tan says "Mirror Game", reminiscent of "Alice in Borderland", “has a compelling premise with good visual potential with its dystopian plot and magical elements”.

In addition to millions of views in Korea, "Mirror Game" is also popular in France and Turkey. This, she adds, underscores its international appeal. 

She chose "All About Money" because of its pace and high action. “This IP combines what we all love about K-drama and international hit shows, with great visual potential and engaging audiences with depictions of the criminal world,” Tan says.

Development on the two titles has begun, and the projects – Momo’s first foray into webtoon-based development – should be ready to pitch before the end of the year. 

These follow newly minted partner Kenaz’s webtoon-based Boys Love (BL) dramas, including "The Director Who Buys Me Dinner" and "Blooming". 

Kenaz’s CEO/founder, Woody Lee, says the company has been working on globalising its IP for about 18 months.    

This is part of a worldwide excavation of manga and webtoon stories to remake for streaming platforms that has, among others, resulted in "Drops of God" (Apple TV+), "Death Note" (originally for Nippon TV), and a slew for Netflix...  "Alice in Borderland", "All of Us are Dead", "Sweet Home", "Itaewon Class"... 

Lee describes this moment in time as “the golden age of webtoons being expanded into movies and dramas”. 

But there’s not a clear line to success.    “The most important thing for us is to respect the original webtoon and expand the world view at the same time. A lot of times, fans of the webtoon expect the same exact thing [from the TV series],” he says. 

“We are very focused on making our very Korean webtoons into a global universe. We want to keep what’s very Korean but also make it relatable for a global audience,” he adds.  

Joseph Jang, co-founder of Bros Studio, talks about translating “fantastic worlds” and “universal themes” of webtoons for global audiences, and the challenge of translating stories created for smartphones in a swipe-up environment, “where there are no limitations”. 

The two new projects are backed by Beach House Pictures ("Mr Midnight", "The Raincoat Killer"), which is already working with Bros on various non-scripted projects.   

Bros, which has partnered with Kenaz on its global strategy, is the bridge between Kenaz and Momo. BHP acquired a majority stake in Momo in November 2021.  

Jang talks about an entertainment environment beyond Korean drama. “We are in the golden age of not just of Korean content, but of Asian content in general,” he says. – Sara Merican/Janine Stein.  

Published in ContentAsia's 18-24 September 2023 eNewsletter