What does it mean when a drama production company decides to expand beyond the screen? Can a fan’s emotional connection to their K-dramas television series be transformed into something they can touch, buy, and collect? And might this expansion be a new business model for the Korean entertainment industry?
That is precisely what Studio Dragon — the juggernaut behind some of the biggest K-tv dramas and part of CJ ENM’s family — is trying to achieve. By focusing on merchandise and pop-up stores, Studio Dragon is bridging fan love to a new growth engine.
Let’s dive into how Studio Dragon is changing how audiences experience K-dramas through merchandise.
Merchandise Business Expansion
In 2023, Studio Dragon launched a test run by opening three pop-up stores. A year later, by August 2025, we had already opened four pop-ups with the promise that Tyrant’s Chef would open the fifth before the end of the year.
What’s most surprising in my own opinion is how dramatically our approach has changed as a company. We’ve transitioned from thinking of merch as an additional afterthought at times, during event exhibitions, to thinking about pop-up stores as the start of something new, an entirely independent business model.
No longer is Studio Dragon just a ‘producer‘ of shows, but a creator of omnichannel, fan-focused interchangeable experiences, extending the life of our shows beyond the final airing of each drama episode.
Let me walk you through a number of recent case studies that show this change.
Successful Pop-up Case Studies
Studio Dragon’s approach to pop-ups has already yielded some amazing returns, and demonstrates the potency of drama-driven merchandise.
- Queen of Tears – A true phenomenon. What started as a pop-up in Seoul moved to Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines to huge crowds. In fact, in Tokyo, there were over 10,000 attendees at the pop-up, with ticket sales so fast additional pop us were planned.
- Mom’s Friend’s Son – Established an overseas demand for faire, primarily in Japan and Taiwan, where fans bought up drama merchandise.
- Jeongnyeon – Mainly Korea centric, conducted (4) regional pop-ups in Seoul and Daegu to stay close to existing fanbase.
- Ask the Stars – Went global, entering China and Japan , demonstrating how Studio Dragon is delivering its content to international audiences.
- He’s a Black Dragon – He’s made a further step in innovation by unveiling an online pop-up store, allowing people from all corners of the world to get a hold of his merch.
- Unknown Seoul – He’s teamed up with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, crafting special collaborative merch that excites fans both locally and abroad. The Fairy and the
- Cowherd – An order of magnitude above success. Its 6,000 ticket pop-up sales sold out in under two hours and in only three days more than 3,000 people visited.
- Tyrant’s Chef – The newest shift. Riding high on solid viewing figures, he’s setting his sights on his own pop-up store, to be the second addition to Studio Dragon’s growing list in 2025.
Overseas Fan Demand
The demand for K-drama pop-ups isn’t just strong in Korea; it is thriving abroad.
In Japan one representative from Tower Records confirmed they constantly get requests for K-drama pop-up stores. Because Korean dramas are so popular now, they are simply called k-drama events when these pop-ups happen and they occur on many platforms globally. Internationally, fans are eager to create connections with pop-up stores as they connect naturally with merchandise and events themed around their favourite K-drama.
The same enthusiasm can be seen in Taiwan and the Philippines, both also hosting sold-out events before this article was published. These fans don’t just travel to South Korea to binge-watch dramas, but are actively engaging in K-drama experiences where they go from watch to what they are experiencing outside the fan culture.
Industry Challenges
While the K-drama merchandise explosion is promising, there is a significant hurdle: intellectual property (IP) rights.
For many titles, especially Netflix Originals, the production company itself does not own the merchandise rights. This means that even if a drama is successful on a global scale, the company that created it cannot independently create or make money off related products and related pop-up shops.
People knowledgeable in the industry say if the merchandise business is to turn into a stable and scalable revenue stream, the industry needs to be restructured. If production companies are given more access to IP rights, they could run fandom-led business models – just like games and Webtoons do by monetizing through characters, storyline and fans!
Without this restructuring, K-drama merchandise wave might just stop short of reaching its full potential. This challenge mirrors cases like the G-Dragon copyright controversy, proving how crucial proper IP management is for sustainable growth
Market Potential
The numbers speak for themselves—the global pop-up shop market is flourishing. Valued at nearly $18.9 billion in 2025, it is forecasted to double to a staggering $39.5 billion by 2033 and grow at a whopping annual rate of 14%.
The explosive growth of pop ups illustrates the power of pop-up, experiential retail on the world stage. For K-dramas, the opportunity is tremendous: with a bit of IP rights management and fan engagement, Korean production companies can have fun with fandom culture while tapping into multi-billion-dollar industry.
In short, if dramas would combine storytelling and merchandise proliferation, they could anchor themselves in the global pop-up market like the brands, games, and webtoons have.
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Conclusion
Studio Dragon’s venture into merchandise is more than a side gig—it’s becoming a potent new profit stream beyond drama production. The recent pop-up experiences of The Queen of Tears, The Fairy and the Cowherd have shown one thing loud and clear: domestic and international K-drama fans are absolutely ready to spend money on K-drama experiences.
The remaining hurdles are overcoming the industry’s IP rights problems. If production companies could leverage their own stories and characters without restrictions, the opportunities could be endless.
The global pop-up market is projected to almost double in less than a decade, which puts K-dramas at the doorstep of a huge wave. It is exciting to think that, if Studio Dragon stays at the forefront, K-drama merchandise could find itself on par with drama in a truly global marketplace.
