K-dramas at London bookstores and cinemas... CJ ENM brings them closer to local audiences

[Financial News] London's bookstores and cinemas are being transformed into spaces where audiences can encounter Korean dramas. The venues are expected to offer opportunities to watch productions together, discuss them with directors, and learn more about Korea's culture and people beyond the screen.
CJ ENM announced on the 30th that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korean Cultural Centre UK and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) UK Business Center to promote the expansion of Korean content in the United Kingdom. The three organizations will jointly organize Korean drama screenings and content-industry exchange programs, while continuing local promotional efforts and professional networking.

The first joint initiative is Curated Korea 2026, which will run from October 1 to 21. Through programs encompassing drama, literature, and food at the Korean Cultural Centre UK, Foyles, and Garden Cinema, the event will showcase contemporary Korean culture.
The program was designed to enable local figures from the cultural and arts communities and audiences to go beyond simply watching productions and speak with the people shaping contemporary Korean culture.
The drama screening program will open on October 1 at the Korean Cultural Centre UK with a screening of The Ordinary Jackpot followed by a question-and-answer session. On October 8, Study Group will be introduced at Foyles' Charing Cross branch. It is a school action drama about a protagonist who struggles to improve his grades after entering a notorious school.
On October 9, Bon Appétit, Your Majesty will be screened at RSA House, followed by a discussion with director Jang Tae-yoo. Attendees will hear directly from the director about the story of a chef who travels back in time and encounters a tyrannical king with an absolute palate.
On October 16, Garden Cinema will host a screening of Dear X and an opportunity for attendees to connect with one another. The production tells the story of Baek Ajin, a woman who wears a mask to escape from the bottom and rise to the highest level, and those she brutally tramples along the way.

Building on this event, the three organizations plan to expand opportunities for audiences in the United Kingdom to encounter Korean content in their everyday lives while continuing exchanges between the content and cultural sectors of the two countries.
Kim Do-hyun, head of CJ ENM's Content Distribution Business Unit, said, "This partnership is meaningful because it enables us to create opportunities for audiences in the United Kingdom to encounter a diverse range of K-content more closely and engage with it in greater depth." He added, "We will continue to create diverse opportunities for exchange so that local audiences can naturally encounter and broadly enjoy CJ ENM's productions in their everyday lives."
Park Hyo-geon, director of the Korean Cultural Centre UK, stated, "At a time when interest in Korean content is growing in the United Kingdom, cooperation that connects the strengths of different organizations is important beyond the projects of individual institutions." He added, "Using this agreement as an opportunity, we will develop a cooperative model through which the public and private sectors can work together to introduce Korean content more effectively."
Park Jeong-yeon, director of the KOCCA UK Business Center, said the three organizations would combine their expertise and networks to support the expansion of Korean content in the United Kingdom. She added, "We will actively support the continued expansion of exchanges and cooperation between content-industry professionals and cultural and arts figures in the two countries."
[email protected] Shin Jin-a Reporter