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riven by recent hits such as the Academy Award-winning film ‘Parasite’, or the global success of music-game show formats such as ‘I Can See Your Voice’; K-content has become more popular in the past few years, with growing demand from new international markets. Meeting this demand for new content shouldn’t be a problem for Korean producers, who are known for being trend-setters when it comes to TV concepts and formats. “Korean content creators and providers have to be sensitive to trends and constantly looking to present something new to bring fresh ideas,” said Jangho Seo, SVP, Content Business Division at CJ ENM, who spoke to ttv about his company’s upcoming productions, including new projects across Europe and the US, and the new slate for Mipcom Online+, where Korea has been chosen as this year’s Country of Honor.
‘I Can See Your Voice’, the music mystery show which premiered in 2015 and now it is preparing for season 8 in Korea. This format has been commissioned in 12 different countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Thailand, the Philippines and more. Most recently, its US version made its successful debut on FOX with great results. We are proud of its global success and believe that ICSYV entertains
global audiences of all ages and together with their family. Korean formats have been booming in the last couple of years. What makes them so special for the international market? Korean audiences are particularly trend sensitive, so Korean content creators and providers have to be sensitive to trends and constantly looking to present something new to bring
“Latin America and Spain are both a challenge and an opportunity in expanding CJ ENM’s global footprint.”
I-Land Format
What new titles will be CJ ENM be presenting at Mipcom Online+? CJ ENM is a horizontally integrated company and our content portfolio has been in such a wide variety of genres. Moreover, we have been expanding our reach beyond the Korean and Asian markets via our active finished and format sales business. At Mipcom 2020, we will be presenting new scripted shows such as suspense romance drama ‘Flower of Evil’ and Sci-fi drama ‘Train’. For the non-scripted formats, we would like to present ‘I-LAND’ which is music competition show to develop and produce the next generation idol group like BTS for the global stage, and the physical game show ‘Cash back’ that is co-developed by CJ ENM and Bunim/Murray productions. Which are other titles would you highlight from CJ’s catalogue? We would like to highlight on our global mega hit format Flower of Evil Drama
fresh ideas. I think the wide variety of innovative content is what makes Korea such an appealing market to international buyers.
Cash Back Format
ttv Magazine
CJ ENM also constantly comes up with new formats to meet the market. This has led to a very diverse library with many unique formats hence giving us big opportunities to meet worldwide audiences. With so much content available, people everywhere are looking for things they have never seen before and Korean content definitely offers a unique sensibility that is new and fresh to international viewers.
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