"Reader, it's real." "The Hunter with the Mess" → "The Admiral: The Poem"...the novel's original content craze

By Minjeong, Cho

Jun 20, 2025

'Reader, it's real.' 'The Hunter with the Mess' → 'The Admiral The Poem'...the novel's original content craze



Contents based on web novels and feature novels are heating up the video in the first half of 2025. As the imaging of webtoons and web novels has become a box office guarantee check beyond temporary trends, each platform has also started genre experiments and format expansion.

'Reader, it's real.' 'The Hunter with the Mess' → 'The Admiral The Poem'...the novel's original content craze
The actors pose at the production presentation of the STUDIO X+U mid-form drama 「'The Hunter with the Mess" held at the Ramada Seoul Sindorim Hotel in Guro-gu, Seoul on the 12th. From left, Kang Hoon, Park Joo-hyun, and Park Yong-woo.

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LG Uplus STUDIO X+U's mid-form drama 『The Hunter with the Mess』, which was first released on the 16th, is based on the novel of the same name. It is a crime thriller that takes place when Se-hyun (Park Joo-hyun) of the autopsy discovers traces of Yoon Jo-kyun (Park Yong-woo), the father of a serial killer who thought he died 20 years ago, in his body. Before its release in Korea, it was invited to the Cannes International Series Festival and recognized for its work, and after it was released through Disney Plus, it ranked first in the overall content rankings, proving its popularity.

'Reader, it's real.' 'The Hunter with the Mess' → 'The Admiral The Poem'...the novel's original content craze
'Salon de Holmes' lead actors Lee Si-young, Jung Young-joo, Kim Dasom, and Nam Ki-ae (from left). Photo courtesy =ENA
'Reader, it's real.' 'The Hunter with the Mess' → 'The Admiral The Poem'...the novel's original content craze
Photo courtesy=ENA
The ENA drama 「Salon de Holmes」, which premiered on the same day, is also based on the novel of the same name. The work is a comic-womance play in which four women punish 'Villain' in the apartment against the backdrop of the Gwangsan Jugong Apartment. Actor Lee Si-young is also drawing attention in that she chose her return work after divorce. Director Min Jin-ki said that the pleasant team play of realistic female characters such as former detectives, insurance kings, Queen Alba, and Super Madangbal is the strength of the story around us and the power of female-centered contents.




Also in the movie market, anticipated works of the original web novel are about to appear. Released on July 23, 'Omniscient Reader's View' is a fantasy action blockbuster based on a web novel of the same name serialized in the Naver series. The work, which has accumulated more than 200 million views since its series in 2018, is set in a world that unfolds on the day the novel that has been serialized for more than a decade is completed. It depicts the process of saving the ruined world with the main character in the novel 'Yoo Joong-hyuk', who is the only reader.

The imaging of web novels and long novels is no longer an option, but a necessity. The original content, which combines a high fandom base and original narrative, is becoming the most powerful weapon in an era when competition between platforms is intensifying.






mj.cho@sportschosun.com