Parasite Producer Barunson E&A Launches International Ventures, Debut Slate at AFM

Posted by Larita Shotwell on Friday, July 19, 2024

Barunson E&A, the Korean production company best known for its role on Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” is to expand into the international market for rights sales and separately into cross-border financing and co-production. Its sales initiative will debut at the American Film Market in Santa Monica next week.

The rights sales operation is to be headed by former CJ Entertainment staffer Choi Yoonhee set as MD of Korean and international operations, and former K-Movie executive Eunyoung (Sylvie) Kim as head of the international business division. They will open the doors at AFM with three feature films and a TV show.

The films include: “Nocturnal,” a gritty mystery action produced by Sanai Pictures (“Hunt,” “The Spy Gone North”); “Honeysweet,” a romantic comedy written by director Lee Byung-hun (“Extreme Job”); and “Love Reset,” a quirky romantic comedy about a couple losing their memories in the midst of a divorce.

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The TV series is an unscripted golf and travel reality show called “Birdie Boys,” riffing on Korea’s obsession with golf and involving five K-Pop stars Leeteuk and Shindong of Super Junior, Nichkun of 2PM, Baek-ho of Nu’Est and Kan Min-hyuk of Cnblue.

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The company has already announced its attachment on the next two features from director “Parasite” director Bong Joon-ho. Barunson is also attached to projects from director Kim Sung-hoon (Netflix’s “Kingdom” and “A Hard Day”; director Kim Jee-woon (“The Good, the Bad, the Weird,” Apple TV+s “Dr. Brain”); director Lee Yong-ju (“Seo Bok” “Architecture 101”; and writer Moon Ji-won (“Extraordinary Attorney Woo”).

The second strand of the international outreach will operate earlier in the production cycle focusing on co-production and film finance.

They describe their mission as “representing creative and daring projects from across the world, while its co-production and financing operations aspire to produce globally successful content with world-renowned talent, placing no restrictions on film or serial format, scale, genre, location, and language.”

Both moves reflect a growing global appetite for Korean content, growing familiarity with the country’s filmmaking talent, and moves by leading Korean practitioners to secure better rights and deal terms.

Larger Korean companies have ridden the Korean wave and expanded overseas through acquisitions, such as CJ ENM’s purchase of Endeavor Content (now renamed as Fifth Wave); JTBC Studios’ acquisition of Wiip; and Naver’s purchase of Wattpad.

Barunson has been in operation since 1996 and now has a stock market listing and a span of interests that stretch from film and TV to K-Pop and from healthcare to green investing.

“Parasite” was produced with CJ Entertainment, which also handled the Korean theatrical release and international sales.

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