IU X Byeon Woo Seok, Seo In Kook X Jisoo..Kakao Entertainment Proves Its Global Studio Status

*This content was translated by AI.

Kakao Entertainment (co-CEO Kwon Ki-soo, Jang Yoon-joong, hereinafter Kakao Entertainment) is drawing attention from all over the world with its stellar well-made production lineup in 2026. Expectations are also high for Kakao Entertainment's 2026 lineup, as it has introduced a series of global mega-hit works every year, including "I was completely deceived," "Bad Performance," "Nine Puzzle," "Eunjung and Performance," and "Black Nuns." This year, Kakao Entertainment plans to further strengthen multi-studio synergy with its affiliated production companies and management labels, expand the success cases of original webtoons/web novels, and solidify its status as a representative studio of global K contents.

◆ Organic collaboration between the headquarters, the production company, the production company, and the actors.. Kakao Entertainment Expects New Works With Synergy

This year, a large number of new works with Kakao Entertainment, affiliated production companies and actors will be released. JTBC's new Friday series "Shining" (directed by Kim Yoon-jin/written by Lee Sook-yeon), which will premiere on March 6, is produced by Kakao Entertainment with SLL, and Park Jin-young (BH Entertainment) and Kim Min-joo (Management Forest) plan to create fresh excitement by decomposing each other's first love. It is a drama about young people who shared their own world becoming each other's faith and light that shines on the direction of life, and Park Jin-young and Kim Min-joo will show various charms from their 19th youth to subway engineers and Guok Stay managers. In April, MBC's new Friday-Saturday drama "The Grand Prince Lady of the 21st Century" (played by Yoo Ji-won/directed by Park Joon-hwa and Bae Hee-young) will premiere.

Kakao Entertainment is in charge of production with MBC, and IU (Idam Entertainment) and Byun Woo-seok will play the title role. Following last year's "I was completely deceived," expectations are high for Kakao Entertainment's production-actor synergy this year. The 21st Century Grand Prince's Wife is a romance drama that breaks down the fate of Prince Ian, a man who is a chaebol with everything in the background of the 21st century constitutional monarchy Korea, but who is annoyed by his status as a commoner and the son of a king, but who is sad because he can't have anything. Fans around the world are paying keen attention to the romance chemistry between IU and Byun Woo-seok.

In addition, MBC's new Friday-Saturday drama "Liar" (directed by Cho Young-min/scripted by Baek Jae-young) is a well-made psychological thriller produced by Kakao Entertainment, a movie house, and Yoo Yeon-seok (King Kong by Starship) and Seo Hyun-jin (Management Forest), who play the title role, and Netflix series "Monthly Boyfriend" (directed by Jungsik Kim/scripted by Namgung Do-young) produced by Kakao Entertainment, Wind Pictures and Wynat Media is also set to be released on March 6.

◆ Story IP Original Well-Made Drama Production Proves Unrivaled IP Crossover Competitiveness

Kakao Entertainment, which has been creating the "Official Boxing Formula of Original Drama" by planning and producing story IP such as "In-house Face-to-Face," "Nam Nam," "The Phone You Called Now" and "Bad Yeon" as dramas, will also present original works of popular webtoons in 2026. As it has led global box office success by making use of the original's unique charm and adding differentiated fun to video works, it will prove its unique IP crossover competitiveness again this year.

The Netflix series "Deulji" (directed by Kim Hong-sun/scripted by Lee Jae-gon), in which Ryu Jun-yeol and Seol Kyung-kyu are united, was produced by Kakao Entertainment with H House and Studio Pim based on Kakao Webtoon of the same name. It is a tracking thriller about Moon Jae, a reclusive novelist, working with a loan shark who pursued him to regain his life from an unidentified "field rat" who took everything from him in an instant, and will be released in the third quarter.

MBC's new Friday-Saturday drama "Killer of a Married Woman" (directed by Jongho Yoon/script by Kim Eun-hee/produced by Main Factory, Wind Pictures, Studio Fim) is also based on the original Kakao Webtoon with 180 million cumulative views and is set to air in the second half of this year. "The Killer of a Married Woman" is a drama about a working mother with the world's most cutthroat job's struggle to defend her work-life. Actor Gong Hyo-jin will play the role of a five-year-old housewife with a husband and a four-year-old daughter and a killer, Yeobo Na, who punishes a heinous criminal. Actor Jung Joon-won plays a journalist in the social affairs department of a newspaper with "a kind husband, a kind father, and a good person."

◆All the luxury actors appear... A series of 'trust and watch' casting - movie anticipation films lined up

The series and movies joined by "Believe" actors are also expected. The Netflix series "The Last Line Boy" (directed by Kim Kyu-tae/played by Jang Myung-woo) is a production of all the colorful actors such as Choi Min-sik, Choi Hyun-wook, Heo Jun-ho, Kim Yoon-jin and Jin-kyung, and was produced by Kakao Entertainment and G-Tist. It will be released in the second quarter as a suspense drama about Heo Moon-oh, a failed writer and professor of Korean literature, discovering the genius of Lee Kang, a boy at the end of the classroom, and obsessing over his writing. Netflix film "Cross" (director Lee Myung-hoon/produced by Sanai Pictures, Plus M Entertainment, and O'Racritic), which was loved for Hwang Jung-min and Yeom Jung-ah's exhilarating action and pleasant marital chemistry, will also return as a sequel, while Netflix series "Wonderfuls" (directed by Yoo In-sik/written by Heo Da-jung/planned by Kang Eun-kyung/produced by Romantic Crew, Kakao Entertainment/Co-produced Fantagio) is also set to be released.

Kakao Entertainment said, "We plan to introduce a variety of well-made works based on Kakao Entertainment's unique IP value chain competitiveness, including excellent creativity and global networks in 2026. We will further solidify our influence as a global studio that conveys laughter and emotion to the world and expand the horizon of K contents."

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*This content was translated by AI.