Jin Woo Hwang on Korean Format Innovation

Korea’s first dedicated format agency, Jin Woo Hwang’s Something Special has been riding the wave of the surging interest in Korean content, with the outfit having sealed more than 20 options on its titles in the last year. Ahead of unveiling its newest slate at MIPCOM, Hwang talks to TV Formats about the trends he’s keeping an eye on as he navigates his indie, co-founded with InSoon Kim, through the global formats sector.

TV FORMATS: What gains have you seen in your international business over the last 12 months?
HWANG: Since last year’s MIPCOM, Something Special has secured more than 20 option deals with international partners. The deals include 12 territories for Still Alive, three territories for The Penthouse Game, two territories for the comedy series Hit and Miss Tour, and three territories for the heartfelt reality format Unforgettable Duet. With these international achievements, we have been fortunate enough to expand our slate by representing more Korean hit shows, as well as our own original creations. And speaking of originals, Unforgettable Duet is gaining more interest than ever among our clients. With production of our full new season of Unforgettable Duet currently underway for a premiere in November on MBN in South Korea, we will likely announce more deals by the end of this year for this beautiful show.

TV FORMATS: What are the biggest challenges in bringing Asian creativity to the global market? And how are you approaching those challenges?
HWANG: The biggest challenge lies, above all, in whether we can successfully transfer the key factors of Asian creativity for international adaptation. To achieve this, more detailed information needs to be included in our materials, clearer methods must be provided and they must be well-presented. And Something Special has the best experience in doing this.

TV FORMATS: How do you see the scripted formats business at present, and how are you positioning yourself there?
HWANG: Over the past two years, we have witnessed a vast increase in scripted formats being taken and adapted for local territories around the world. More deals are likely to be made at MIPCOM. Creating original scripts is important, but it requires more time and money than unscripted. When everyone’s working on cost-efficiency, producing scripted formats can be a wise decision for producers. Several Korean scripted projects based on international scripted formats are currently being developed or produced, which is a relatively new trend. As for our position, although it is not easy for a Korean independent format player to obtain international distribution rights, we do have a few outstanding, award-winning scripted format projects in our slate. We expect our influence to expand further, just as we have become known in the non-scripted format space.

TV FORMATS: In non-scripted, what genres are driving gains for you?
HWANG: Currently, reality competition and entertainment genres are our core products. Korean formats have been providing a fresh take in the international marketplace with the hybrid genres (aka Korean twists). And our formats possess the strength of Korean creativity. For the past five years, Something Special has been bringing undiscovered format gems from the country. Our catalog has the number one dating, comedy and factual-entertainment formats of the country. And adding to this, we now have in our catalog the number one Korean reality competition format, Iron Squad (by the producer of Physical 100), which highlights a country’s top special forces. We are very proud to unveil the nation’s all-time top-rated broadcast and streaming reality competition hit to the world.

TV FORMATS: What are your goals for your international business in the year ahead?
HWANG: Every year, we are taking one step closer to our goals, becoming “the one-stop shop of Korean formats.” Something Special’s path writes new chapters in the history of the Korean format industry. Our goal is to become the best in Asia.