Much discussion centered on Korea’s content market revolves around intellectual property and more specifically one source multi-use IP. It goes beyond films and dramas extending to merchandise, games and more. Currently much IP in Korean content is born through webtoons and webnovels.

Such instances include Yumi’s Cells: The Movie (2024) and Concrete Utopia (2023) that were both sourced from webtoons. The IP was then adapted into series and films. Lotte is releasing Concrete Market (2025) that hits screen in December. Originally a drama it was then turned into a film illustrating the complex dynamics in the current content industry.

This week we look back at some of the early ways in which IP manifested beyond the screen seen through stage musicals based on films, while we also explore other ways in which IP could evolve in terms of theme parks as more visitors come to Korea owing to its vibrant cultural industry.

“Movicals” – Attack the Gas Station (1999), Bungee Jumping of Their Own (2001), Radio Star (2006)

An interesting trend in Korea during the 2000s was so-called “Movicals” that brought together the English word movie and the last syllable of musical. Such “Konglish” words (Korean words derived from English) are common in Korean, and they can quickly become popular. In this instance it referred to film-to-stage musical adaptations.

This has been widely seen in Hollywood cinema with musicals on London’s Westend and New York’s Broadway based on Hollywood IP and novels. Iconic examples include Sunset Boulevard, 42^nd Street, Hairspray and School of Rock. European films have also become successful musicals in the form of Billy Elliot and Once. This trend goes back decades with 42^nd Street stage musical that’s based on the 1932 novel and 1933 film premiering in Broadway in 1980 before hitting the Westend in 1984. But it was in the 2000s and 2010s that stage musicals adaptations became more prevalent.  

Similarly in Korea, this took off in the 2000s but it was particularly the latter part of the decade that saw many film-to-stage adaptations in Seoul and around the country. Many theaters in Seoul – both large and small - are located in Daehangno district dubbed Korea’s Broadway: a mecca for those training in Korea’s theater scene.

Several of Korea’s leading actors spent their formative years acting in plays in this part of the city in the 1990s: Sol Kyung-gu, Kim Yoon-seok and Hwang Jung-min. It continues to be a vibrant sector buzzing with students where young actors seek opportunities to learn and practice their craft. Actors including Hwang continue to perform in stage productions – he’s currently the lead in a local musical adaptation of Mrs. Doubtfire that’s playing in Seoul.

An interesting development in “movicals” was the different types of films that were then adapted into musicals reflecting the appetite there is for both storytelling and music in Korea. Kim Sang-jin’s Attack the Gas Station (1999) about a group of youths who rob a gas station was a film that captured the rebellious spirit of a younger generation and the uphill battles they faced in the wake of the IMF crisis. It’s also full of energy that would characterize much of the content of that era both in film and music where a new generation of artists were finding a voice.

The stage production came a decade after its release with the director, screenwriter (Park Jeong-woo) and composer Son Moo-hyun collaborating again using music from the original film. It was performed at the Baekam Art Hall in Southern Seoul.

Bungee Jumping of Their Own is an altogether different film about a college freshman (Lee Byung-hun) who falls for a fellow student (Lee Eun-ju) but their romance appears to come to an end when she is killed in accident. Critically acclaimed both as a film and as musical it is a compelling illustration of a Movical not least because it was a global production. It was produced by a Korean company Musical Heaven and Scottish writer Adrian Osmond directed the show. The music was composed by Will Aronson from the US, while the lyrics were written by K-pop lyricist Hue Park.

It marked the first time Aronson and Park worked together on a Korean musical, the pair made history this year with Maybe Happy Ending that became the first Korean musical to win Best Musical at the Tony Awards in Manhattan, New York generating headlines in the Korean media. Aronson also composed the music for an earlier stage musical adaptation of a film: My Scary Girl. Bungee Jumping of Their Own that deals with themes of gender premiered in Seoul in the fall of 2012 with further runs in 2013 and 2018.

Lee Joon-ik’s comedy-drama Radio Star (2006) was also made into a stage musical about a former rock star who works at a local rural radio station as a DJ. The film features the enduring duo Park Joong-hoon and Ahn Sung-ki (Chilsu and Mansu (1988), Two Cops (1993), Nowhere to Hide (1999).

The musical was first performed in Seoul in 2008 helmed by Ko Sun-woong with the music scored by Jang So-yeong. Kim Da-hyun took on the younger role played by Park Joong-hoon while Jung Sung-hwa played his manager. Chung has also regularly played independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun in the stage musical Hero and too starred in the same role in the 2022 film adaptation by JK Youn.

There have been other numerous musical adaptations of films that also includes Waikiki Brothers, The Classic, Singles and 200 Pounds Beauty in what was earlier instances of film IP leaping onto the stage.

Unlike the US, UK and Japan that have world leading cultural industries, Korea doesn’t have huge theme parks that are centered around films IP. Places like Disney Land, Universal Studios, Harry Potter Studios are a big draw for tourists in North America, Europe, and Asia but Korea has yet to fully exploit its IP in this way.

Korea does have theme parks and there are locations across Korea where fans can visit studios and shooting locations including the Hapcheon Film Park where around 200 films, dramas and music videos have been filmed. The park is home to a Cheong Wa Dae set (Korea’s presidential office and residence) where films set in the blue house are shot but it’s not an IP-based amusement park.    

Instead, Korea’s theme parks and kids’ cafes partner with local IP holders. Lotte World Adventure in Busan teamed up with Catch! Teenieping for a spring festival this year where fans of the character could take advantage of photo zones and time-limited attractions.

The company that owns the IP SAMG Entertainment opened the “first urban character themed space in Korea” in December 2023 in the Parnas Mall in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province. There are also Pororo Parks (based on the animated character) for young children in the Seoul Metropolitan region though the one in Lotte World has since closed.

In September Everland – Korea’s biggest theme park in Yongin that’s owned by Samsung - in partnership with Netflix opened a KPop Demon Hunters-themed zone with attractions including mission games and character zones.

Looking ahead, there are several cultural theme parks being planned in and around Seoul – in part to handle large K-pop concerts as more tourists and fans flock to the country. At present, music concerts are performed at existing arenas such as the Goyang Stadium but to meet demand purpose-built venues are needed. The potential for partnerships surrounding IP is potentially huge as the plans include wider cultural-themed parks but there is still some way for these parks to be fully realized.

A K-Culture Valley in Goyang that includes plans for the world’s biggest K-pop concert hall has been in the works for years with CJ involved in building a large complex but the agreement between Gyeonggi-do and CJ was terminated. In October, however, the US based entertainment giant Live Nation Entertainment was selected as the preferred bidder for the project bringing it back to life.

In Hanam on the outskirts of Seoul there is a further project of a similar size in scope titled K-Star World that will cost an estimated19 trillion won to construct a complex featuring a K-content center, film studio as well as K-pop concert hall with 20,000 to 30,000 seats. The project was chosen as one of Korea’s “representative regional investment projects” at the 2025 Innovation Growth Forum.

Meanwhile, down in Hwaseong (south of Seoul) there are plans for a Hwaseong International Theme Park, which is a collaboration between Shinsegye that owns some of Korea’s largest shopping malls in Korea, Gyeonggi Province and the Hollywood studio Paramount. The project’s budget was increased from 4.5 trillion to 9.5 trillion won following discussions in the US between representatives of the partners involved in October.

The theme park would feature IP from Paramount that includes popular franchises in Korea: Mission: Impossible and Transformers. This comes as the media in the US are reporting that the studio has submitted a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery possibly paving the way for Warner Bros. IP to be at the park should Paramount acquire Warner Bros. The park is set to begin construction in the second half of 2026.

How all this unfolds remains unclear, but it does appear that Korea’s theme park industry is entering an interesting phase as it seeks to capitalize on the growth of Korean content, its IP and that of IP from overseas as well.

Written by Jason Bechervaise

Edited by kofic