Hollywood’s major studio Paramount has chosen Korea as its first partner to advance to Asia. On June 16, Paramount+ held a ‘Media Day’ to introduce ‘Paramount+ Brand Hall,’ launched in partnership with TVING, a Korean OTT platform. 

Many people attended the event, such as Mark Specht, Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Central & Northern Europe and Asia, Paramount, Catherine Park, Senior Vice President, Head of Office & Streaming for Asia, Paramount, Jay J. Yang, CEO of TVING, Actors Ha Yerin and Gong Junghwan of Halo, a Paramount+ Original Series, and Lee Joonik, Director of Yonder, a joint investment series between Paramount+ and TVING. 

Executive Vice President Mark Specht said, “Asia is the future ― the future of the population, technology, and creativity. Asia is the continent to be on if you want to succeed … And Korea, in particular, is a perfect market to launch our service for the first time and continue to expand in the Asian market,” explaining the meaning of choosing Korea as the first Asian country to advance to the Asian market. He also said, “With CJ ENM, we are not only launching Paramount+ with TVING; our partnership goes beyond the streaming service as we also have a comprehensive, strategic partnership that includes co-production, content licensing, and distribution.” 

Also, Paramount+ and TVING’s first joint investment work, Yonder, was introduced. Yonder is the first OTT entry by the representative Korean film director Lee Joonik, who made King and the Clown, The Throne, The Book of Fish, etc. 

At the event, Director Lee Joonik explained, “Yonder tells a story of a man who receives a message from his deceased wife and goes to a place known as ‘Yonder,’ where the wife uploaded her memories before her death, and where he can be reunited with her.” Yonder stars Shin Hakyun, Han Jimin, Lee Jungeun, and Jung Jinyoung, and it will be released to the world through TVING and Paramount+ in the second half of this year. Starting with Yonder, Paramount+ and TVING plan to produce 7 pieces of Korean content over the next 2 years.