Exclusive: CEO Lee So-young of Saram Entertainment, "Expanding Global IP, Achieve it by Dreaming Specifically" (Interview ③)

OSEN  2021.03.11 글 선미경 기자 /사진 사람엔터테인먼트 제공

(인터뷰②에 이어) “희망하는 것을 구체적으로 꿈꾸고 있어야 이뤄질 수 있다.”

(Continuing from Interview ②) “You can only achieve what you specifically dream of.”

Saram Entertainment, a leading management company in South Korea representing actors such as Cho Jin-woong, Lee Jehoon, Uhm Junghwa, Lee Hanee, Byun Yohan, and Han Yeri, is headed by CEO Lee Soyoung. She is steadily expanding the company’s scope beyond actor discovery and management to global projects. Han Yeri's participation in “MINARI” (directed by Lee Isaac Chung) is a concrete realization of the global IP that CEO Lee Soyoung envisions.

CEO Soyoung Lee is steering Saram Entertainment with the vision of “expanding the energy and infinite potential of people into the content business.” She leads the company not only in actor management but also in discovering and planning high-quality cultural content as a comprehensive entertainment company. In an interview with OSEN, CEO Lee discussed her management philosophy, emphasizing that specific dreams are necessary to achieve goals.

"Dream specifically." This is CEO Lee’s firm belief as a leader. She stated, “Creating miraculous outcomes is possible when you dream specifically about what you hope for. People often ask, ‘How did actress Han Yeri come to be in ’MINARI'?' It was because I specifically dreamed and waited for such a project to come to fruition.”

Regarding Han Yeri’s role in “MINARI” and her foray into American productions, CEO Lee views it not as a Hollywood entry but as the start of international activities. She explained, “Rather than having a goal or intention of entering Hollywood, it should be seen as the beginning of overseas activities. The language may differ, but what’s important is using the language that conveys the emotions they seek in content. This example shows that emotions and authenticity are more critical than quantitative aspects.”

In the process of expanding global IP, Saram Entertainment is broadening its scope with various overseas projects. The company manages Korean agents for actor Ki Hong and writer Joe Menosky and conducted a global audition last month to discover the next generation of global stars.

CEO Lee expressed her expectations for the global audition project, saying, “Since our core is in Korea, we hope there might be foreign artists who want to work in Korea. This is just the beginning to open up that possibility. Although it may not be easy to find such artists right away, the significance of the global audition is ‘the start.’ By beginning with the concept we want, we can create expansibility, and people who aspire, dream, and prepare for it will emerge. If there are people who want to become actors in Korea, even 2-3 years later, we need to show them the system. Since this is a new activity area, it’s natural that only a few will apply initially, but over time, we hope to discover artists who dream of entering the Korean market.”

CEO Lee emphasized that the purpose of the global audition is not to achieve immediate results but to show that such opportunities exist, taking gradual steps towards realization. Through auditions and global projects, she aims to discover promising artists.

“The next goal seems to be discovering and developing artists,” said CEO Lee. “As we live in an era of multinational living, new members with such sensibilities will express emotional clashes uniquely. These actors will likely inspire audiences. Industry professionals need to show the basic expansibility of the business. We start with the concept of ‘this is possible’ and delve deeper.”

CEO Soyoung Lee’s vision is being realized through various projects at Saram Entertainment. She mentioned, “We have created a team called ‘Saram Originals’ to focus on IP development. We are building a system to develop IPs, considering how to expand stories and deliver them to people, similar to the 'MINARI' project. As we prepare for such projects, we feel that our plans are materializing faster than expected. There’s a sense of hope that we can achieve what we have dreamed of during our work. It’s a collective realization. Writer Joe Menosky and director Mike Figgis are also participating.” /[email protected]

OSEN 선미경 기자 [email protected]

Original Article :http://osen.mt.co.kr/article/G1111536154