EXCLUSIVE: K-content venture Utopai East has acquired Alquimista Media, the Seoul-based production house led by former Warner Bros. Korea boss and DramaFever co-founder Hyun Park.
The deal for 100% of Alquimista hands Utopai a slate of 15 scripted television and feature film projects in active development, and comes as Korean culture continues to flourish in the west. Financial terms on the deal were not disclosed.
The slate spans action and spy thrillers, crime and supernatural stories, fantasy and science fiction, romantic comedies, family titles, and period projects. Further genres and formats are being explored, with all projects developed for international audiences.
Among Alquimista’s recent projects is Bedford Park, which was produced in association with the studio, with Park, the company’s founder and CEO, serving as executive producer. The Stephanie Ahn film premiered at the recent Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Debut Feature and was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics.
This comes three months after we revealed L.A.’s Utopai Studios and global tech firm Stock Farm Road teamed to launch Utopai East as a joint venture focused on piping Korean content into Hollywood. The Alquimista acquisition is the next step in that plan.
Utopai East plans to integrate Utopai Studios’ AI video storytelling technology across both the existing slate and future projects. Utopai Studios was formed to make cinematic AI tools for TV and film productions, with Utopai East acting as a more traditional production outfit.
“We are building Utopai East to define the next era of global entertainment,” said Kevin Chong, CEO of Utopai East. “We are truly excited to launch with the Alquimista Media team in Korea, one of the most powerful creative engines in the world today, and lay the foundation to build a global studio platform that combines world-class storytelling with advanced AI production infrastructure.”
Alquimista’s team will lead development and production in Korea under the Utopai East banner, with founder and Hyun Park, founder and CEO of Alquimista, continuing to oversee the process and building out a slate of Korean and Japanese IP.
Park has more than two decades of industry experience across Asia, Europe, and the Americas, having held senior leadership roles at CJ ENM’s Studio Dragon as Head of the Global Division, as well as co-Head of Warner Bros. Korea, alongside his brother, Suk Park. He was also co-founder of U.S.-based international streaming platform DramaFever, which he created with Suk Park and Seung Bak in 2009.
He is joined at Alqumista by Wonjo Jeong, former Head of Development at Apple TV Korea and EVP at Moho Films. Jeong’s credits include The Handmaiden, Stoker and the BBC series Little Drummer Girl. Jeongdo Jang, former exec producer at Studio Dragon, will also form part of the team. He has more than 30 credits to his name, including big-named Korean TV dramas Our Blues, Alchemy of Souls, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? and Live.
“Becoming part of Utopai East allows us to scale our creative ambitions globally while staying true to the DNA of Korean and Asian storytelling,” said Park. “We’re excited to empower our creators with Utopai Studios’ AI technology platform to unlock bolder and more expansive storytelling. At a time when meaningful investment and long-term conviction are increasingly rare, we’re deeply grateful to Utopai East for doubling down on our stories and creators and signaling confidence in the region’s creative future.”
Cecilia Shen, co-founder and CEO of Utopai Studios, said welcoming Park to Utopai was an important moment, due to Korea’s important position in the global creative ecosystem. Yesterday, KPop Demon Hunters song “Golden” won the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media, highlighting how Korean culture has integrating into western entertainment.
“This acquisition is about supporting great storytellers at scale,” she added. “By combining an established creative team and slate with the production technology we’ve been building, we’re focused on helping projects move from development through production more efficiently, without compromising the creative process.”
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