Studio Dragon Co., the CJ ENM drama studio behind several Netflix Korea hits, said Thursday it will mount a late-night musical version of its fantasy romance series at Blue Square Hanam in Gyeonggi Province, with previews starting Nov. 14 and eight performances weekly through January.
From stream to stage
The show will reuse original score elements licensed from the streaming soundtrack while adding live-band arrangements aimed at audiences aged 25 to 39—the demographic that drove the series to 48 million hours viewed in its first month on Netflix Korea. Casting announcements are slated for next week; producers promised a mix of musical theater veterans and drama actors willing to sing live without lip-sync tracks.
Blue Square Hanam, operated by Hanwha Group, opened additional subway-linked parking for the run after Studio Dragon said it expects 70 percent of ticket buyers to come from outside Seoul. Ticket prices will range from 77,000 won to 143,000 won, above the average for regional musicals but below top-tier Seoul concert rates.
Business logic
Studio Dragon’s parent has been diversifying revenue as advertising slows on linear TV. Live adaptations let studios monetize intellectual property twice while testing whether drama superfans will travel to suburban venues. Insiders said a successful Hanam run could trigger a Busan leg tied to the 2027 world expo cultural calendar.
Critics questioned whether a fantasy plot relying on visual effects can translate to stagecraft without overwhelming budgets. Directors responded that they will lean on projection mapping rather than physical sets, a technique popularized by recent K-pop concert tours.
Ticketing
Membership presales open Oct. 27 through CJ ENM’s Weverse shop, with general sales on Oct. 29. Industry analysts will watch sell-through rates to gauge whether Korean content companies can extract premium live revenue without relying on idol group fan clubs—a metric increasingly important as export licensing deals face stiffer competition from Japanese and Thai studios.
Local restaurants in Hanam’s Starfield district are extending hours on musical nights after the city offered reduced waste-collection fees for venues that stay open past midnight. Studio Dragon said it will livestream one performance per month for overseas fans who cannot reach Gyeonggi Province, with synchronized subtitles in English and Japanese.
Insurance underwriters reviewing the production said they required additional rigging inspections because the stage will suspend performers above the first three rows. Organizers agreed to cap overhead stunts at two per act, a compromise that kept premiums within CJ ENM’s budget while satisfying fire marshals concerned about evacuation paths under complex lighting rigs.