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Why Korea, Japan are joining forces to make must-watch dramas
A scene from "Can This Love Be Translated?" featuring Japanese actor Sota Fukushi / Captured from Netflix
By Kim Se-jeong
Shifting production environment fuels cross-border collaborations
Netflix’s romance series “Can This Love Be Translated?” has drawn attention for many reasons, including the casting of Japanese actor Sota Fukushi as Hiro, a Japanese superstar whose initial contempt for Cha Moo-hee (Go Youn-jung) gradually turns into love as the story unfolds. Fukushi’s role is smoothly woven into the narrative as a Japanese celebrity working alongside a top Korean star, with several scenes filmed in Japan.
For viewers who follow both Korean and Japanese dramas, the casting of Japanese actors in Korean productions — and vice versa — is becoming increasingly common. More notably, this reflects a broader rise in cross-border content creation between the two countries.
The scope of collaboration varies by project.
“Can This Love Be Translated?” represents one of the simplest forms, involving mainly casting. Similarly, Season 3 of SBS’ action drama “Taxi Driver,” released November 2025, features Japanese actor Sho Kasamatsu as one of the villains. “Gimbap and Onigiri,” a Japanese drama released on Jan. 12, stars Korean idol-turned-actor Kang Hye-won in a leading role, opposite Eiji Akaso.
Amazon Prime Video Japan’s original “Marry My Husband” (2025) demonstrates a deeper level of collaboration — and proves it could succeed. Based on a Korean web novel and the hit 2024 Korean drama, the Japanese adaptation was directed by Ahn Gil-ho, best known for “The Glory” (2022), but featured an all-Japanese cast and was filmed entirely in Japan, undergoing final editing in Korea. Its popularity soared in Japan last year, becoming one of the most-searched drama-related keywords on Google Japan.
Netflix Japan’s original “Romantics Anonymous” (2025) brought together popular Japanese actor Shun Oguri and Korean star Han Hyo-joo. Production companies from both countries collaborated from the planning stage, delivering strong results. It was invited to the On Screen section of the 30th Busan International Film Festival and topped streaming charts in Japan, also breaking into the Top 10 in several countries, including Korea.
Disney+’s upcoming romance drama “Merry Berry Love” is a collaboration between CJ ENM and Nippon TV. Three Korean producers and directors reportedly joined the production team in Japan. Scheduled for release later this year, the series follows Korean actor Ji Chang-wook and Japanese actor Mio Imada on a Japanese island.
A scene from the Japanese drama "Marry My Husband," streamed on Amazon Prime Video Japan / Captured from imdb.com
Industry experts point to geography and long-standing cultural exchange as key reasons behind the growing number of Korea-Japan collaborations in entertainment.
“Korea and Japan are neighbors and many people travel between the two countries,” an industry insider said on condition of anonymity.
The rise of global streaming platforms has also made such collaborations more feasible.
“Because Netflix has viewership around the world, there’s interest in casting actors from other countries. Financially, streaming platforms also streamline the process. For example, when a project is a Netflix Korea original, Netflix Korea covers the costs. That makes collaboration much easier,” he added.
Producers with cross-border experience say that the rewards outweigh the difficulties.
Studio Modak producer Kim In-sik, who worked on the Netflix original food-themed show “K-Foodie Meets J-Foodie” (2025) featuring Korean singer Sung Si-kyung and Japanese actor Yutaka Matsushige, described the collaboration as fulfilling despite the challenges.
“I was 100 percent satisfied with the collaboration. It took a long time and created plenty of challenges for both sides. But when weighed against the reward of delivering Korean viewers fresh combinations and new content themes, the difficulty and stress feel entirely worth enduring,” Kim told The Korea Times.
As Korea-Japan collaborations become more common, some projects are now planning from earlier stages to enable deeper cooperation. Jay Sohn, a producer at Studio Dragon who was part of the Japanese production of “Marry My Husband,” said joint productions increasingly begin at the development phase, allowing both sides to maximize their comparative advantages.
“Recent Korea-Japan collaborations are increasingly structured as true partnerships from the outset. From development and casting to production methods and post-production, each stage is now designed to leverage the respective strengths of both countries,” Sohn said.
“Korea’s accumulated experience in global production and its highly developed systems are combined with Japan’s strong intellectual property assets and finely tuned emotional sensibilities. Together, these elements are driving projects toward a significantly expanded scale and a higher level of overall quality.”