February 25, 2025, SEOUL, KOREA – Kakao Entertainment has joined hands with a highly esteemed Japanese studio and director to accelerate its inroads into the global market and consolidate its international studio presence.

Kakao Entertainment recently announced that it has inked a partnership with BABEL LABEL, a renowned Japanese content studio. Together, they will co-develop new dramas and films and adapt Kakao Entertainment’s story intellectual properties (IPs) like webtoons/web novels into video formats, pursuing multifaceted cooperation.

As the first project of their partnership, the two companies will jointly produce a work that will be helmed by Michihito Fujii, the director from BABEL LABEL who has gained both artistic and commercial success across the globe for his sensitive and subtle directing style. Given that this is Fujii’s first collaborative project with a Korean company, the upcoming production is already generating a massive stir.   

Co-production with Michihito Fujii

Fujii bagged six trophies at the 43rd Japan Academy Film Prize for his film “The Journalist” (2019), which stars Korean actress Shim Eun-kyung. It was also made into a Netflix series and shown in 190 countries around the world. With his another movie “Faceless” (2024), Fujii made history by winning 13 awards in 12 categories at the 48^th Japan Academy Film Prize. Moreover, Fujii’s “The Last 10 Years” (2022) made 3 billion yen ($20.4 million) in box office revenue in Japan alone, while drawing some 560,000 viewers in Korea. His Japan-Taiwan co-production “18X2 Beyond Youthful Days” (2024) attracted 2.8 million viewers across Asia and earned 2.6 billion yen ($19.3 million) in box office revenue, capturing significant attention in Japan and beyond.

Fujii is also known for his deep interest in K-content, having served as director and executive producer for the Japanese remakes of the Korean movie “A Hard Day” and the drama “Nevertheless,.”

Synergy-boosting partnership

BABEL LABEL, founded in 2010 with Fujii, is a content studio housing numerous ingenious writers and directors, who have risen to prominence for their gripping, genre-crossing works.

By forming a partnership with BABEL LABEL, Kakao Entertainment plans to blend its core competencies with those of the Japanese studio, building synergy and cementing its global studio status through the planning and producing of globally influential IPs. Kakao Entertainment, reputed for its well-crafted productions armed with unique creativity and compelling storytelling, will join forces with BABEL LABEL to run different projects targeting the international market. The capabilities of BABEL LABEL, which has pioneered new territories with its distinctive individuality, delicacy and creativity, will marry Kakao Entertainment’s unmatched strength in K-content production, elevating both companies’ capabilities to the next level. Together, they will not only produce new dramas and movie but also explore ways to adapt Kakao Entertainment’s story IPs into videos, further diversifying their collaboration.  

“BABEL LABEL clinched a partnership with Kakao Entertainment based on the firm belief that together, we can reach broader seas and scale higher mountains,” Fujii said. “We will take a leap forward as a global studio and strive for the growth of Korea and Japan’s media industries.”

Jang Se-jung, Content CIC CEO at Kakao Entertainment, said, “Thanks to the global popularity of K-content, the world’s content industry is now paying significant attention to the impressive production abilities of K-dramas and K-films, the actors, and the limitless story IPs, such as web novels and webtoons. Based on our partnership with BABEL LABEL, we will present a variety of well-crafted works with synergy to strengthen our global studio competitiveness and further widen K-content’s scope worldwide.”

In 2025, Kakao Entertainment, the operator of a multi-studio system embracing both production houses and talent agencies, is poised to turn its beloved webtoons/web novels into dramas as part of its IP crossover projects. The upcoming MBC drama “Crushology,” the Netflix series “Karma,” and the Watcha series “Secret Relationship” are all based on its highly sought-after webtoons. The company also plans to showcase a range of works featuring A-list actors, including the forthcoming Netflix series “When Life Gives You Tangerines” starring IU and Park Bo-gum, and the Disney+ series “Nine Puzzles” featuring Kim Da-mi and Son Suk-ku. Actor Lee Byung-hun’s eagerly anticipated film “The Match” will hit local theaters on March 26 as well.