Broadcasters and streaming platforms are increasingly churning out TV dramas adapted from web novels and webtoons to cope with a downturn in the advertising market, rising production costs, and shrinking viewership in the content industry.

Last year, several dramas adapted from web novels or webtoons, including tvN's "Lovely Runner," "Marry My Husband," "Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born" and MBC's "When the Phone Rings," proved highly successful. These adaptations, often referred to as super intellectual properties (IPs), capitalize on the original material's established reputation and fan base.

The trend of adapting super IPs into dramas has emerged as a key strategy for both traditional television and streaming platforms, with plans to continue this approach this year.

Naver Webtoon's "Study Group" will be adapted into a Tving original drama, while Netflix will release "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call," based on Naver web novel and webtoon "Severe Trauma Center: Golden Hour." Kakao Webtoon's "Bunny and Her Boys" will be adapted into the MBC drama "Crushology 101."

What is noteworthy is that webtoon platforms and content providers are now directly engaging in production, moving beyond merely selling rights as they did in the past.

Tving's original "Study Group," set to premiere on Jan. 23, tells the story of Yoon Ga-min (Hwang Min-hyun), a student at a vocational high school who dreams of attending a four-year university and is forced to fight to focus on his studies.

Its original webtoon has been continuously serialized since January 2019 and even after an extended eight-month break, it consistently held the 11th spot in the Saturday series ranking on Naver Webtoon. The screen adaptation is helmed by YLAB Plex, the in-house production company of the webtoon's IP holder YLAB.

Netflix's upcoming medical drama "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call," starring Ju Ji-hoon, revolves around a brilliant trauma surgeon who joins a struggling university hospital. The show is produced by Naver Webtoon's subsidiary, Studio N.

The show was adapted from the popular Naver web novel "Trauma Center: Golden Hour," written by a practicing physician. It has also been serialized as a webtoon. With over 38 million cumulative downloads, the web novel became a major hit in the contemporary fantasy genre and the webtoon version was equally well-received. Both web novel and webtoon are exclusively available on Naver Series since 2019.

Last year, Kakao Entertainment, which enjoyed a halo effect when its web novel-based drama "Lovely Runner" became a huge hit, is now venturing into drama production.

MBC's new drama "Crushology 101," slated for April, is based on Kakao Webtoon "Bunny and Her Boys" and produced by the webtoon's IP holder Kakao Entertainment.

The rom-com series centers on a young woman after her first heartbreak, finding herself surrounded by a variety of men. The original webtoon, which accumulated over 170 million views, gained immense popularity not only in Korea but also in Japan, China, Taiwan and Thailand.

With a strong fan base and proven story appeal, these IPs are seen as valuable assets, prompting IP holding companies to take a more active role in production and share the potential profits from successful adaptations as the content market evolves.

Having previously demonstrated its production capabilities in Disney+'s "The Worst of Evil" and Netflix's "Gyeongseong Creature" series, Kakao Entertainment is now utilizing its in-house production know-how across its subsidiaries to develop new dramas.

"We have the best understanding of our IPs, which enables us to effectively expand them into various content formats. Our recent successes like 'When the Phone Rings,' 'Business Proposal' and 'Not Others' have attracted both existing fans and new audiences," a Kakao Entertainment official said. (Park Jin-hai/The Korea Times)