Global IP content studio Eo Content Group's 'My Perfect Secretary' (directed by Ham Joon-ho and Kim Jae-hong, written by Ji Eun, produced by Studio S and Eo Content Group) has achieved great success by capturing both artistic quality and viewership ratings, raising expectations for Eo Content Group's follow-up projects in 2025.
The SBS Friday-Saturday drama 'My Perfect Secretary', which premiered on January 3, surpassed double-digit viewership ratings within just three episodes and maintained steady double digits thereafter, achieving its highest rating of 12% and a peak of 14% during the final episode, solidifying its position as the unrivaled champion of Friday-Saturday dramas. Notably, the 2049 target viewership rating, a key indicator of channel competitiveness and popularity, recorded a high of 4.4%.
Additionally, it has repeatedly ranked first in TV and cast popularity, and secured the top spot in drama brand reputation in January-February 2025, earning praise as a perfect romance bible.
Moreover, it gained immense popularity not only in South Korea but also worldwide. Within just two weeks of airing, it ranked first in viewership across 123 countries, including major nations such as the USA, Brazil, the UK, France, the UAE, and India, showcasing the strength of K-romance dramas globally.
The close-care romance between CEO Kang Ji-yoon (played by Han Ji-min) and secretary Yoo Eun-ho (played by Lee Joon-hyuk) has provided warm healing and deep emotional resonance to a diverse audience, leaving a lasting impression even after its conclusion.
Regarding the success of 'My Perfect Secretary', Eo Content Group's CEO Oh Eun-young stated, "When we encountered the rookie writer's item in 2020, I was confident that the fresh perspective from the role reversal of a female CEO and a male secretary, along with the delicate emotional lines of two seemingly different yet similar individuals, would resonate deeply with viewers and provide comfort." She added, "The combination of a good item, Studio S's outstanding drama production capabilities, and the passionate performances of all cast members, including Han Ji-min and Lee Joon-hyuk, created an incredible synergy."
As a result, industry expectations for Eo Content Group's next projects are also high. Following the success of 'The Night Has Come', which ranked first in Netflix Korea dramas in December 2023, Eo Content Group is set to air dramas 'Gyeonwoo and Seonnyeo' (tvN) and 'Tangeum' (Netflix) in 2025.
The drama 'Gyeonwoo and Seonnyeo' (directed by Kim Yong-wan, written by Yang Ji-hoon, produced by Studio Dragon, Dexter Pictures, and Eo Content Group), which is confirmed to air on tvN in the second half of this year, is a youth romance drama depicting the story of a high school girl shaman who saves her ill-fated first love. The meeting of actress Jo Yi-hyun, recognized for her charming and strong characters in the 'Hospital Playlist' series and 'The Wedding Battle', and actor Choo Young-woo, who has risen to fame through 'The Lady in Dignity' and 'Severe Trauma Center', is generating anticipation. Notably, Dexter Studio, which boasts top-level visual effects (VFX) in Asia, will participate in digital color correction (DI), promising a work with differentiated visual completeness on par with overseas OTT platforms.
Both 'My Perfect Secretary' and 'The Night Has Come' are original IPs developed directly by Eo Content Group in collaboration with rookie writers, while 'Gyeonwoo and Seonnyeo' is a project that Eo Content Group picked up during the planning stage of a webtoon production company in 2019, acquiring the video adaptation rights immediately after the webtoon was serialized in 2020. The Netflix original drama 'Tangeum', which is also on the lineup this year, is based on a novel discovered by Eo Content Group, showcasing the studio's IP discovery capabilities.
Projects aiming for a crank-in within this year are also attracting attention. The mystery drama 'Flower of Death', which won the grand prize at the '2023 Broadcast Video Content Planning Proposal Contest (Korea Creative Content Agency)' and proved the quality of its script, along with the action drama 'Baek XX' based on the popular Naver webtoon of the same name, and the historical fantasy romance drama 'When the Light Shatters', based on a work that won the grand prize at the KT web novel contest, are all in the final stages of script completion and are preparing for production.
Additionally, Eo Content Group is preparing several romance and romantic comedy dramas that follow in the footsteps of 'My Perfect Secretary'. This includes the drama 'Desirable Love', based on the original work by writer Jo Yoo-jin of the film 'Pilot', and the drama 'Sorang Sorang Sorang', depicting the diverse love of one woman and three men, totaling five romance dramas in progress. Furthermore, they are making strides in overseas collaborations, starting with the mystery fantasy drama 'Red Box', which is co-produced with the USA, and expanding to collaborations with China and Japan. The series for 2025 will also extend to short-form dramas, with three innovative and bold short-form dramas set to begin filming soon.
In addition to dramas, Eo Content Group is also set to release films. The film 'Baeksu Apartment', starring Kyung Soo-jin (directed by Lee Ru-da, produced by Big Punch Pictures, Nova Film, and Eo Content Group, distributed by Plus M Entertainment), is a mystery comedy drama about investigating the source of the noise that echoes through the apartment at 4 AM, set to hit theaters on February 26. Other horror films such as 'Next', 'Focus', and 'Underpass' have also completed production and are exploring theatrical releases within the year. Additionally, preparations are underway for films 'Well', 'Just Turn Your Head a Little', and 'Pyongyang Gold Rush'.
Following films and dramas, Eo Content Group's IP business will extend to webtoons and novels. Starting with the webtoon 'Dottabi's Love', which will be launched on Kakao Page in June 2024, and the novel 'The Sound of Five Hearts', published through Yes24 in January 2025, Eo Content Group plans to accelerate the diversification of its IP through webtoon production and novel publishing in 2025.
The industry is particularly focused on Eo Content Group's capabilities in discovering and nurturing new creators. Both the drama 'The Night Has Come', 'My Perfect Secretary', and the film 'Baeksu Apartment' have all debuted new writers or directors discovered by Eo Content Group. In a reality where it has become more challenging for new creators to debut due to rising production costs, Eo Content Group has recognized their strengths and continuously developed projects, allowing them to grow as key players in K-Contents.
Eo Content Group's CEO Oh Eun-young stated, "Through collaboration with over 200 writers from diverse backgrounds, we have developed numerous IPs across various media, and through a strategic approach that aligns with industry trends, we are producing successful results not only in films and dramas but also in short-form dramas, webtoons, and novel publications." She expressed her ambition to continue the variations, changes, and expansions of their IP both domestically and internationally in 2025.
[Geum Bit-na, MK Sports Reporter]
