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Utopai Studios has completed the integration of its Asia-Pacific joint venture Utopai East into its global operations, naming veteran media executive Hyun Park president of Utopai Studios APAC region.
The move consolidates
the company’s Korea-based production arm, its Japan development business, regional partnerships and a slate of more than 18 film and television projects under one global studio umbrella. Park will oversee development, production, partnerships and expansion across Asia-Pacific while continuing to lead IP development for Utopai Studios overall.
Utopai Studios currently has some 25 film and television projects in development and production companywide, with its first titles set to enter production in 2026 and releases planned for 2027. The integration links creators in Korea and Japan directly to the company’s global development, production and technology teams.
Utopai East launched in November 2025 as a joint venture between Utopai Studios and Stock Farm Road and moved from launch to operating scale in 10 months under founding CEO Kevin Chong. In that time, the venture established a permanent production base in Korea, built out a development operation in Japan, expanded its regional AI production capabilities and formed relationships across the live-action and anime industries. Chong now serves as chief operating officer of Utopai Studios.
The venture was built to develop East Asian intellectual property for global audiences, capitalizing on the international reach of Korean film and television, the worldwide popularity of Japanese anime and a renewed global appetite for Japanese live-action content. South Korea’s content exports hit a record $14.9 billion in 2025, according to preliminary government figures, while Japan’s anime market reached a record JPY3.84 trillion ($24.2 billion) in 2024, more than half of it from overseas revenue. Netflix and Amazon are also increasing their investments in Japanese live-action and animated content aimed at global audiences.
“Kevin led the business from launch through integration, and Hyun helped build the creative and production engine at its center,” said Cecilia Shen, CEO and co-founder of Utopai Studios. Shen added that Park brings a combination of creative judgment, local market knowledge and global experience that makes him the right leader for Utopai Studios APAC’s next phase.
A key step in that expansion came in February 2026, when Utopai East acquired Alquimista Media, the production company Park founded in Seoul. The deal gave Utopai East its Korean production base and grew its pipeline by more than 15 scripted film and television projects. Alquimista Media’s recent credits include an executive producer role on “Bedford Park,” which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics after winning the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Debut Feature.
With more than two decades of experience spanning Asia, Europe and the Americas, Park has held roles including head of the global division at CJ ENM’s Studio Dragon, co-head of Warner Bros. Korea and co-founder of U.S. streaming platform DramaFever.
In Japan, Utopai East assembled a team dedicated to originating and adapting Japanese IP for global audiences, working with local creators, producers and studios while forming ties across the country’s live-action and anime sectors. The regional slate includes “Half Moon,” a German-Korean live-action feature written and directed by Hyo-joo Yang, with Germany’s In Good Company and Korea’s Paper Barn also attached alongside Utopai Studios, which is presenting the project as well as co-producing and investing in it. Principal photography is set to begin in Germany the first week of September, with Utopai Studios’ technology supporting select visual elements on the filmmaker-led production.
“Our opportunity is to connect the region’s creators and intellectual property with international production resources while applying technology in ways that expand what filmmakers can achieve,” Park said. “We have built the foundation; the next phase is turning it into an enduring platform for Asian stories to reach audiences worldwide.”
