Naver Webtoon’s 'Money Game' set for global Netflix release

[NAVER WEBTOON]

Naver Webtoon’s hit survival franchise “Money Game” has been picked up by Netflix under the new title “The 8 Show” and is slated for global release next year, according to Naver Webtoon on Tuesday.

The series, adapted from webtoons “Money Game” (2018-20) and its sequel “Pie Game” (2020-21), revolves around eight participants from different backgrounds who compete to win the ultimate prize of 44.8 billion won ($34 million).

The two projects, drawn and written by cartoonist Bae Jin-soo, accumulated 300 million views globally for vividly depicting clashes between people from different classes, represented by the eight protagonists.

Naver Webtoon’s affiliate Studio N took the helm of the series’ production and was funded by Lotte Culture Works. It was directed by Han Jae-rim who was behind hit films “The Face Reader” (2013) and “The King” (2017) and features a star-studded cast of Chun Woo-hee, Ryu Jun-yeol, Park Jeong-min, Park Hae-joon and Bae Seong-woo.

The series finished filming back in December 2022 and the project has been waiting for a suitable channel to distribute the series.

“The project has been waiting a year to release the series on an appropriate platform,” a Naver spokesperson said. “We are delighted to have Netflix pick up the project and introduce it to viewers around the world.”

Korean survival genres have enjoyed major global success, the most iconic example being "Squid Game" (2021) which pushed director Hwang Dong-hyuk and cast members such as Lee Jung-jae and Hoyeon to stardom.

The series “Money Game” is one of the most expensive projects that Studio N has taken on, reportedly costing 24 billion won for the eight episodes. That means more than 3 billion won was spent per episode, similar to the scale of “Squid Game” which spent 2.8 billion won per episode.

The webtoon franchise was initially adapted into an American web entertainment show by Los Angeles-based media company Jubilee Media through its YouTube channel in March 2022, setting the first precedent for a Korean webtoon’s intellectual property (IP) being adapted into global video content with an overseas production team and cast members.

Webtoon content is seen as a treasure trove for content creators and streaming giants like Netflix to dig for new, unconventional narratives.

According to Naver Webtoon, 12 out of 40 Netflix Korea original drama series released so far were adapted from its IP, such as “All of Us Are Dead” (2022), “Sweet Home” (2020-) and “Hellbound” (2021-) and they all made it to the weekly Global Top 10 chart in the non-English language TV shows category.

A TV series adapted from its web-based IP is also a plus for the webtoon platform. The transaction volume for original webtoons and web novels 10 days after the adapted content is released skyrockets by 439 times compared to the same period before the launch and contributes to increased profits for original creators as well.

About 300 or more webtoon and web novel IPs are under development to be adapted to video content in collaboration with Naver Webtoon, Studio N and Naver’s other Toronto-based platform operator Wattpad.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]