Disney Korea and Kakao Plan K-Culture Fund for 10 K-pop Projects
Disney Korea and Kakao Entertainment are teaming up to turn K-pop stars and Disney characters into new screen projects together.
The two companies said on 16 September they will set up a joint K-culture fund to develop the work, with around 10 projects planned over the medium to long term, according to Deadline.
The plan centres on IP, meaning existing music, artists, characters and stories that can be reused across shows, films and other releases. Disney Korea and Kakao said they want to combine K-pop IP with Disney's stories and characters, and take that mix to viewers outside Korea.
The companies have tentatively named the vehicle the K-Culture Fund, as reported by SBS News. No titles yet. No price tag either.
Disney and Kakao did not disclose a financial figure for the fund. They said further details still need to be ironed out, including how the fund will be organised and what gets made first.
Kakao Entertainment began in 2021 as an offshoot of Korean media company Kakao. It now works across music, drama and webtoons, which are scrollable digital comics that often feed screen adaptations.
Disney has been building its Korean slate for several years. Moving, a superhero drama about parents with secret powers and the children who inherit them, was its first original show in Korea.
For fans, this means waiting a little longer. There is no cast, no release date and no confirmed home for viewing yet, whether cinema, broadcast or streaming. What has been announced is the structure and the aim: to expand K-pop IP globally, as described by Maeil Business Newspaper.
