{"id":488678,"date":"2026-06-12T04:32:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T04:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/488678\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T04:32:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T04:32:08","slug":"cj-enms-kitchen-soldier-filing-for-love-and-the-next-korean-wave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/488678\/","title":{"rendered":"CJ ENM’s ‘Kitchen Soldier,’ ‘Filing for Love’ and the Next Korean Wave"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWhen \u201cThe Legend of Kitchen Soldier<\/a>\u201d screened at Series Mania in Lille this March, Sebastian Kim was watching the audience as much as the screen. The series had been viewed internally at Korean media giant CJ ENM<\/a> as a gamble.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe viewed it as a bold and somewhat risky project, as it incorporates comedic elements that some might describe as \u2018too Korean\u2019 and \u2018too raw,’\u201d says Kim, head of the Content Business Unit at CJ ENM. What happened in Lille changed his thinking. \u201cCompelling comedy and authentic storytelling can transcend cultural and linguistic boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat conviction has since been borne out by the numbers. Premiering May 11, the 12-episode series \u2013 which mixes comedy, food, fantasy and military life around a soldier who discovers a virtual quest screen guiding him toward becoming an army cook \u2013 reached No. 2 overall on Disney+ Japan and ranked among the top three Korean drama titles on HBO Max across 17 countries and territories, performing especially strongly in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. On Rakuten Viki it landed in the top five across the Americas, Europe, Oceania and MENA, and reached No. 2 on Russian and CIS streamer IVI. A London screening co-hosted with the Korean Cultural Center UK on May 28 drew more than four times the attendance CJ ENM had anticipated.<\/p>\n

\n\tRunning alongside it, romantic comedy \u201cFiling for Love<\/a>\u201d \u2013 a 12-episode series in which an internal auditor investigating a workplace scandal finds himself falling for the colleague he is meant to expose \u2013 has delivered its own emphatic results: No. 1 across all Rakuten Viki regions and territories, No. 1 drama and No. 2 overall on U-NEXT in Japan, and No. 1 on Mongolian streamer Inche TV throughout its run.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe two titles are, by design, almost complete opposites. One was a sure commercial bet; the other a creative leap. \u201cRather than proving that only specific types of Korean stories can succeed globally,\u201d Kim says, the pair demonstrate that this is the moment for K-dramas to widen their range. Romantic comedies will remain a dependable foundation whose appeal holds across generations and borders. \u201cStriking a balance between familiar favorites and bold innovation is essential.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat balance is complicated by a shift in how audiences consume content \u2013 one Kim identifies as his most pressing concern. \u201cPeople are now conditioned to expect an emotional hit within seconds,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s a real problem for a 16-episode Korean drama that takes time to build. We\u2019re not just dealing with a marketing challenge. The format itself feels mismatched to how audiences consume content today.\u201d The accelerated consumption cycle has also compressed the window in which a title can generate revenue, with mid-tier content suffering most.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe question isn\u2019t \u2018how do we make our dramas shorter,’\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s \u2018which single moment in this story makes someone want to watch all 16 episodes?\u2019 Distributors who can answer that question well have a real edge.\u201d Longer term, he anticipates formats built to function across both short and long-form from inception \u2013 not a threat to distribution, he argues, but a structural opportunity.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the question of how Korean content reaches different markets, Kim is precise about the limits of any unified theory. Japan, shaped by geographic proximity and sustained cultural exchange, tends to respond to familiar Korean talent in ways that bear little resemblance to audience behavior in Europe, the Americas or the Middle East. Platform demographics complicate the picture further. \u201cSome platforms have a predominantly Gen Z audience, while others attract viewers in their 40s and 50s,\u201d he says. \u201cUnderstanding these audience dynamics is essential when evaluating a title\u2019s potential in each market.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor CJ ENM\u2019s next phase of expansion, Kim identifies MENA and India as the company\u2019s most immediate strategic priorities, with investment in dubbing central to the push. Both regions have robust local entertainment traditions whose audiences are accustomed to consuming content in their native languages. On co-productions, the company is working with TBS on \u201cInfinite Loop\u201d and \u201cSynchro Game,\u201d and with Nippon TV on \u201cMerry Berry Love,\u201d a cross-cultural romantic comedy designed for Japanese and global audiences.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe next wave is Korean storytelling becoming part of how other cultures tell their own stories,\u201d he says, \u201cthrough co-productions, format adaptations and creative partnerships across the Middle East, Southeast Asia and beyond. Less Made in Korea, more Made with Korea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAlongside that geographic shift, he sees the industry\u2019s centre of gravity moving from individual titles to IP ecosystems \u2013 dramas and artists as starting points rather than finished products, seeds of worlds that can grow through games, live experiences and fan communities. \u201cThe companies that build worlds around their content,\u201d he says, \u201cwill be the ones that last.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCJ ENM produces and distributes content across television, film, music and live entertainment, and operates franchise properties including \u201cI Can See Your Voice\u201d and live events brands KCON and MAMA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When \u201cThe Legend of Kitchen Soldier\u201d screened at Series Mania in Lille this March, Sebastian Kim was watching…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488679,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[55743,146,225828,85,46,225829],"class_list":["post-488678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-cj-enm","tag-entertainment","tag-filing-for-love","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-the-legend-of-kitchen-soldier"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}