Disney Seeking Next Big K-Pop Hit After Striking Ten-Project Deal With Kakao — SkimNews
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- Disney Korea struck a deal with Kakao Entertainment to launch a "K-culture fund" targeting around 10 projects over the medium to long term, combining K-pop IP with Disney's stories and characters to "take the K-IP ecosystem to the next level" globally.
- Neither company disclosed a figure for the fund, and both stressed the deal still needs to be ironed out before formalizing the arrangement.
- Kakao Entertainment, founded in 2021 as an offshoot of Korean media conglomerate Kakao, owns agencies, production companies, and entertainment arms that it will bring to the partnership.
- Disney already has K-content presence in Korea, including "Moving," described as its first original show in the region, alongside K-pop documentaries and films centered on acts like BTS.
- The partnership comes in the wake of the runaway success of Sony's "KPop Demon Hunters" on Netflix — the animated musical about rival K-pop bands living double lives as demon hunters that the article frames as last year's biggest hit.
- A Kakao Entertainment spokesperson positioned K-pop as a "global cultural phenomenon shaping trends across areas including fashion, beauty, and lifestyle" and said the goal is content "global fans have never experienced before."
Why it matters: Disney and Kakao are explicitly chasing the global breakout formula that made Sony's "KPop Demon Hunters" a phenomenon on Netflix, betting that pairing K-pop talent with a global brand IP engine can produce a similar crossover hit. With no dollar figure attached and roughly 10 projects over the medium-to-long term, the deal signals a strategic platform play rather than a one-off — Disney locks in a Korean production partner while Kakao gains access to Disney's worldwide distribution muscle.
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