Studio Dragon extends to Hand/Midyear..My male friend → Hatsukoi Dogs revealed
May 08, 2025
|
Studio Dragon will release a Japanese drama 'Marry My Husband' in June through Amazon's video streaming service Prime Video, and a Korea-Japan joint production 'Hatsukoi Dogs' in July in partnership with Japanese terrestrial TV station TBS. In August, the Japanese Netflix series 'Soulmate' (original title: ソウルメイト) will be released worldwide. "We will continue to introduce a global IP that incorporates the strengths of K-drama into dramas with a focus on the U.S. and Japan."
First, the Japanese version of 「Marry My Husband」, which will be released worldwide on June 27 through Prime Video, is not a remake of a Korean drama, but a new adaptation of the original web novel to suit Japanese sentiment. Studio Dragon and CJ ENM JAPAN were in charge of the project, Freedro Pictures, which produced the movie `The Girl We Loved Back Then,' and Shochiku, a large Japanese production company with a long history, were in charge of the production. Producer Son Sa-young of Studio Dragon, who was in charge of the Korean version 'Marry My Husband', and producer Lee Sang-hwa of CJ ENM's global content production team will work together as the executive producer of the Japanese version 'Marry My Husband' to demonstrate the production capabilities of K-drama.
Studio Dragon planned this work early in the spring of 2023 before introducing the Korean version of 'Marry My Husband'. Since the end of the Korean version early last year, the production team has begun to produce the Japanese version in earnest, going back and forth between Korea and Japan, and since January this year, producers have been dispatched to Japan to focus on final work before the Japanese version is released.
"Hatsukoi Dogs", which will be released for the first time on TBS in July, is a Korean-Japanese joint drama made by Studio Dragon in partnership with TBS, one of the five major terrestrial broadcasters in Japan. It is a healing romance drama about a third generation of Korean conglomerate, a Japanese veterinarian, and a lawyer who meets a dog with a huge secret, building friendships and healing wounds in conflict. Working as a divorce lawyer, he claims that love is an illusion, but deep down, the role of Aiko Hanamura, who wants to believe in love, is Kiyohara Kaya, the role of Kai Shirosaki, a veterinarian who is kind to everyone but is not close to people, is Narita Ryo, and Woo Seo-ha, a third-generation conglomerate who looks innocent but hides enormous abilities, is played by Nine-woo, who moved to Japan from Korea. Producer Kim Gye-re of Studio Dragon participated as a collaborative producer and writer, directed tvN 'Lies for No Use', and co-directed by Roh Young-seop of Studio Dragon, who won the Silver Remy Award at the Houston International Film Festival in the U.S. for tvN's one-act play 'Walk'.
In August, a Japanese drama 'Soulmate' produced by Studio Dragon's subsidiary G-Tist will be released worldwide through Netflix. The Netflix series 'Soulmate' is a story about Ryu, who abandoned everything and left Japan, accidentally saves his life with John's help at a foreign church, and the two, who were shaken by an uncertain future, are set in Berlin, Seoul, and Tokyo and have been healing and comforting each other's pain for 10 years. Acting actor Hayato Isomura will play the role of Narutaki Ryu, and Ok Taek-yeon, who was also very popular in Japan with the drama "Vincenzo", will play Hwang Yo-han. Hashizume, a novelist, screenwriter, director, and creator who is doing various activities in Japan??Key will write and direct.
With this, Studio Dragon has become a studio that produces drama IP simultaneously in three countries: Korea, the United States, and Japan. It is part of an effort to expand the K-drama industry by combining the strengths of K-drama with competent creators abroad. Studio Dragon introduced season 1 of the 2023 mid 'The Big Door Prize through Apple TV+ through co-production with the US production company Skydance, and also unveiled season 2 in 2024 thanks to favorable reviews from critics.
A Studio Dragon official said, "'Mid 'Reading Destiny', 'Marry My Husband', 'Hatsukoi Dogs' and 'Soul Mate' are all examples of Korean production companies making their own dramas in the local language and expanding the global territory of K-dramas, unlike the way they invested production costs in overseas dramas or sold remake copyrights.' "Japan is an attractive market where the size of the drama market is large and the life of hit IP lasts for decades." We plan to melt Studio Dragon's global box office experience into Japanese local production dramas."
lunamoon@sportschosun.com
