Scripted

Well-made Korean crime thriller dramas by CJ ENM channel OCN have been remade in different countries around the world including Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The most popular crime K-drama Voice [in pictures], produced by Studio Dragon and broadcast on OCN, has been adapted by broadcasters outside of Korea and captured the hearts of numerous overseas fans. Broadcast for the first time in Korea in 2017, "VOICE" is a crime thriller which tells the story of a female cop with extraordinary hearing skills, working in the emergency call center. This team solves crimes and track down criminals, using the sounds they hear over the phone as their only clues.

In 2019, Nippon TV, Japan's first private broadcast station remade "VOICE" into Japanese version, "VOICE: Emergency Control Room 110. The Japanese remake recorded a viewer rating of 12.6% for its first episode. Thailand's national channel, True4U has also adapted "VOICE" and it became the hottest hit with 12.6 million views in the local online video service TrueID.

SVP of CJ ENM content business division Seo Jang-ho said, "OCN’s ‘VOICE’ not only scored its highest ratings every season it premiered in Korea but also received many earlier inquiries from other countries with unique concept, ‘Voice Track Thriller’. Three seasons in total were able to be commissioned because a strong lead character like ‘a detective with acute hearing skills’ leads the story. ‘VOICE’ is a good example that shows Korean genre is being recognized by the global market."

According to CJ ENM, different local versions of ‘VOICE’ were able to be successful especially because it adopted charming details from each country’s culture and values while keeping the originality of the unique concept, good storyline, and characters. The Japanese remake emphasized on humanism with a fast-pace, when the Thailand remake focused more on reality, differentiating from existing dramas in Thailand, to match young viewers’ high standards. This OCN’s well-made drama was able to settle as a global content with the efforts from the productions of each country to localize while maintaining our drama’s strengths.



OCN is looking for global viewers with remarkable dramas in 2020 as well. First, the new series titled, Tell Me What You Saw, featuring Jang Hyuk and Choi Soo-young, tells the story of a genius profiler who has lost everything and a rookie detective who has a remarkable ability to remember details. OCN global fans have been excited about this drama. Notably, this is Jang Hyuk's return to OCN after VOICE season 1 in 2017. Moreover, this drama reunites Jang Hyuk to director Kim Hong-sun who produced Voice, for the second time. Director Kim is also well known for OCN's hit series such as "BLACK" and "The Guest".

"Tell me What You Saw" is scheduled to be premiered in February on OCN.