Korean streaming originals took center stage in Rome at “CODE KOREA: Korea’s OTT Original Showcase,” held in the Winter Garden Room of The Westin Excelsior Rome as part of the 12th edition of MIA | International Audiovisual Market. Organized by KOCCA – Korea Creative Content Agency and Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, with support from the Korean Cultural Center in Italy, the panel looked at Korean audiovisual production and new trends in the entertainment industry. It paid particular attention to over-the-top (OTT) originals made for Korean streaming platforms such as TVING and Wavve. The event came amid the Hallyu wave, the growing popularity of Korean culture in Europe, driven by K-pop groups, K-drama series, and renewed interest in Korea as a travel destination. Two leading names in the sector presented representative success stories: CJ ENM, the entertainment company and cultural trendsetter, and NEXTKEY, a content studio specializing in original IPs for the global market.
What CODE KOREA Stands For
The showcase is named after CODE KOREA, the brand Kocca Italia uses to bring together its local exhibitions and business initiatives. The acronym spells out the values that guide it: Culture, Outstanding, Design and Experience. Stella Heensun Suh, director of Kocca Italia, said:
“We are confident that CODE KOREA will serve as a starting point for co-productions and exchanges between Korea and Italy in the television industry.”
CJ ENM’s content showcase, presented by Diane Min, the group’s Head of Europe Sales, explored the creative elements and strategies behind the international success of Korean scripted series through three case studies spanning different genres, all produced by Studio Dragon, a CJ ENM subsidiary:
- The Legend of Kitchen Soldier, a TVING Original series combining action-drama and fantasy, in which an overlooked young soldier mysteriously acquires exceptional culinary skills, transforming ordinary army mess-hall food into haute cuisine and becoming a legend of Korean cuisine.
- Dear X, a TVING Original K-drama with psychological thriller elements, in which a successful actress with a troubled past and antisocial personality disorder manipulates everyone around her to exact revenge; however, the love and obsession surrounding her may ultimately bring about her downfall.
- True Beauty, a romantic comedy in which a bullied teenage girl becomes the most popular girl at school through her mastery of makeup, but a love triangle forces her to confront the meaning of genuine self-acceptance.
“The strength of Korean content lies in its ability to tell culturally distinctive stories with emotions that resonate across borders. From fantasy and psychological thrillers to romantic comedy, the titles we are presenting at MIA reflect the diversity of CJ ENM’s storytelling”,
adds Diane Min, Head of Europe Sales at CJ ENM.
“We look forward to working closely with European partners to bring these stories to new audiences and explore further opportunities for collaboration.”
NEXTKEY Pitches Betting on Fact to Europe
The showcase continued with a presentation by another leading player in the Korean and international audiovisual market, NEXTKEY. Jihie Kim, Head of Global Sales & IP Development at the company, introduced Betting on Fact (Wavve Original, Selected for KOCCA OTT Production Support Project), an innovative concept designed for an international audience and released as a Wavve Original series. Structured as a game show, Betting on Fact combines news with reality-show dynamics: eight isolated contestants, including one Faker, wager “Fact Coins” to distinguish real news from AI-generated fake news. Drawing on formats and storytelling conventions from different media, this disruptive show is designed to appeal to audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds.
“Korean OTT platforms have become a testing ground where bold concepts can prove themselves quickly. Betting on Fact was born there, and we are now ready to bring it to European partners as a format each market can make its own,”
said Jihie Kim, Head of Global Sales & IP Development at NEXTKEY.
Read more: ANICA Study Finds Italian Films Thrive Beyond Cinemas
