WEBTOON’s ‘Money Game’ Adapted to U.S. Web Reality Show, First in Webcomics
WEBTOON’s ‘Money Game’ Adapted to U.S. Web Reality Show, First in Webcomics
- Money Game is the first webtoon adaptation for an online reality show by a global production team and cast members
- First episode live on YouTube channel Jubilee which has over 7.1 million subscribers
- The series is a take on the original webcomic’s survival challenge with eight participants battling for a USD 300,000 prize
2022-03-15
Global storytech platform WEBTOON announced that its popular webcomic series ’Money Game’ has been adapted for a web-based entertainment show in the U.S. The thriller webcomic written by creator Bae Jin-soo in 2018 is the first Korean webcomic intellectual property (IP) that has been made into online entertainment content by an overseas production team and cast.
Jubilee, an American interactive YouTube Channel run by Jubilee Media with over 7.1 million subscribers, uploaded the first episode of the show on March 15. The unscripted series consists of five episodes and features eight participants who are kept in separate cells in a facility located in Los Angeles, California, for 10 days. Contestants are allowed to purchase basic necessities to make it through the 10-day period—but at 100 times the usual cost. The last person standing will take home the remaining money from the starting pool of USD 300,000.
The webcomic-based online show is garnering a lot of interest as it differs from the original webcomic series’ setting, and features a diverse cast from different backgrounds and occupations. The original ‘Money Game’ webcomic was first adapted for a Korean YouTube channel by Jin Yong-jin in 2021, attracted a lot of attention in Korea. The American online series is directed by Mark Arbitrario, who was behind a number of Emmy Award-winning TV shows, and produced by U.S. entertainment company, Transparent Arts. Transparent Arts has produced various TV series, films and online content for streaming platforms including Netflix, Revolt TV, JTBC and YouTube, and also manages global artists such as Far East Movement and rapper Yultron.
The original ‘Money Game’ webcomic series IP has been highly sought after for its creative premise, strong gamification elements and realistic depictions of psychological behavior. Bae Jin-woo, the original series creator, said “I wasn’t expecting to see an adaptation of my work happening on a global scale. It means a lot to me that the concept of the online show is fully based on the original webcomic. It is clear that the power of webcomic IPs are well recognized globally, beyond South Korea.”
Throughout the production of the series, WEBTOON worked closely with Jubilee Media to lend its insights and knowhow of webcomic IP adaptation to the process and was actively involved in casting as well as setting competition rules. To further enhance the overall quality of the content, WEBTOON advised to amplify the story’s premise to make it more captivating and to intensify its gamification elements.
“As Korean unscripted online shows become increasingly popular, the U.S., which pioneered reality TV, is looking to produce more online content based on webcomic IPs — something that Korea has popularized,” said Kim Bum-hyu, director of Global IP Business at WEBTOON. “We've established an IP value chain that allows us to adapt successful webcomic content for other forms of entertainment, such as films and TV series, which in turn attract a global audience to the original content.”
The original ‘Money Game’ webcomic series is a survival thriller where eight participants compete over 100 days for a cash prize of KRW 44.8 billion (approx. USD 27 million). First published on WEBTOON in 2018, the series received positive reviews for its realistic and critical depiction of the negative sides of the capitalism and basic human instincts. The webcomic series is available to read on WEBTOON and SERIES (NAVER’s webcomic, webnovel, and e-book platform) via web browser and mobile app.
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