What Is the Story of K-Webtoon 'Bareun Yeonae Giljabi' That Entered Japanese Terrestrial Broadcasting?

'Winner of the Grand Prize at the Naver Webtoon 2017 Youth Romance Contest'
First Domestic Work to Enter Japanese Terrestrial Broadcasting Without Drama Adaptation

Webtoon 'Barun Yeonae Giljabi' cover. [Photo by Naver Webtoon]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyunjung] Naver Webtoon’s 'Bareun Yeonae Giljabi' (True Love Guide) is being adapted into a drama by Japan’s major broadcaster TV Asahi. This marks the first time a Korean webtoon has entered Japanese terrestrial broadcasting without having been made into a drama domestically.

On the 7th, Maeil Business Newspaper reported that Naver Webtoon and Japan’s TV Asahi signed a drama production contract for 'Bareun Yeonae Giljabi,' whose intellectual property (IP) is owned by Naver Webtoon. Rising Japanese actors such as Honda Kyoya and Otomo Karen have been cast, and filming was recently completed with final post-production underway.

The drama is scheduled to be released next year through the TV Asahi channel and the Japanese OTT platform 'TELASA.' TELASA is a company jointly established by TV Asahi and KDDI, one of Japan’s three major mobile carriers.

'Bareun Yeonae Giljabi' is a webtoon that was serialized on Naver from May 9, 2018, to July 26, 2021, with a total of 159 episodes. Since July 2018, it has been translated and serialized in simplified Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Thai, English, Spanish, and other languages through Naver Webtoon’s overseas services. An audio drama was released in September 2020, and it has also been published as a total of 12 volumes in print.

The story begins when the upright college student 'Jung Bareum' decides to start dating and falls for his senior Shin Jaehyun, who works at a caf? where his friend is employed. With its distinctive color palette and art style, it charmingly and lovingly depicts the happiness of everyday romance. It is not just a simple romance but also allows readers to witness the growth of the protagonists, earning much love from male readers as well.

The author, Namsuro, won the Grand Prize at the 'Naver Webtoon 2017 Youth Romance Competition' with this work.

Unlike movies or dramas, webtoons do not have background music, but 'webtoon soundtracks' tailored to the characters and story create a synergistic effect. Since the collaboration track 'Why Is Love Never Easy?' with Red Velvet’s Joy in April last year, 13 artists including Lee Hi, XIA (Junsu), Jeokjae, Loco, Shin Yongjae (2F), 10CM, Heo Gak, KCM, Younha, Joji, Lyn, Yang Yoseop, and Jung Eunji have participated in the 'Bareun Yeonae Giljabi' collaborations.

According to the Japan Publishing Science Research Institute, Japan’s digital manga market size is 411.4 billion yen (approximately 3.95 trillion KRW), the largest in the world. Attention is focused on whether this development will accelerate the global expansion of K-webtoons.