[ⓓ FOCUS] "Good things are good no matter how many times you watch them"…'Yumi's Cells', Direction of Evolution

[Dispatch=Reporter Jeong Tae-yoon] 2021, 2022, and 2026. These are the years in which Tving's "Yumi's Cells" has evolved. In the meantime, there have been three cell divisions. (The male lead has changed three times). Yumi (played by Kim Go-eun) returned each season, and viewers did too. Season 3 ranked first in Tving paid subscriber contributors for two consecutive weeks following its release. Seasons 1 and 2 simultaneously re-entered the Tving top 10. In Korean drama history, there is no precedent for a webtoon-based series to proceed to season 3. Moreover, this IP is expanding from webtoon to drama and even to musical. What is the secret? Living cells, an actor who has accumulated time, and a super IP path designed from the beginning. "Yumi's Cells" has evolved on its own. ◆ The Power of a 3.5 Billion View Source The starting point is the source material. Writer Lee Dong-gun serialized "Yumi's Cells" on Naver Webtoon from 2015 to 2020 over five years. At the time of completion, cumulative views reached 3.2 billion (currently 3.5 billion views). However, more important than the numbers is the structural characteristics of this work. "Yumi's Cells" unfolds the romance and growth of an ordinary woman in her 30s through the perspective of cells in her head. One character repeatedly experiences episodes of dating different partners, breaking up, and starting over. Studio N took notice of this IP for the same reason. Studio N told Dispatch, "The webtoon was very famous, and compared to other works, we judged it to be an expandable story," adding, "We were confident we could do various things with this super IP." The expansion of the IP returned to reinforce the original work. In the two weeks after season 3's broadcast (April 13-26), views of the original webtoon increased 13 times compared to the two weeks before broadcast (February 28-March 13). ◆ The Design of the Season Format The device of cells, repeating episode structure, and the growth narrative of the character Yumi—these three elements became the source from which the work could expand differently into drama, animated film, and musical. Above all, this became the foundation for the drama's season format design. The production team approached it with the season format in mind from the beginning. Seasons 1 and 2 were also planned and produced simultaneously. Since the original work spans approximately four years of time, consuming it in a single miniseries was deemed virtually impossible. However, this choice carries considerable risk for a typical season format drama. The most powerful link for viewer immersion in a drama is the chemistry between characters. The moment the chemistry changes, existing fans might feel it's a completely different work. However, "Yumi's Cells" has a structure that avoids this formula from the start. Original webtoon fans already know that Yumi is a character who loves and breaks up multiple times. Casting changes for the male lead became an anticipation point rather than a shock. From Gu-woong (played by Ahn Bo-hyun) in season 1 to Bobby (played by Park Jin-young) in season 2, and to Soonrok (played by Kim Jae-won) in season 3—anticipation preceded each new casting each season. The high sync rate between the character image fans had envisioned from the original and the actual casting also contributed to favorable reception. The narrative structure of the original itself turned the weakness of season format dramas into a strength. ◆ The Language of Cell CG What most distinctly sets "Yumi's Cells" apart from other webtoon-based dramas is the cell CG. It employed a method of mixing live-action and 3D animation. This device is not mere visual differentiation. In the original, cells are key grammar that externalizes the protagonist's inner self. By personifying emotion, reason, desire, writer, and love cells, it visually unfolds the protagonist's decision-making process. Without cells, Yumi's inner self disappears, and without Yumi's inner self, the essence of this drama also disappears. Therefore, the key to serialization was how to implement cell CG. CG specialist company Locus implemented the cells using Unreal Engine-based real-time technology, and production took approximately 10 months. It was the first drama to attempt combining live-action and 3D animation. Season 3 took a step further. For example, in episode 6, a fully charged battery icon appears on both sides of the driving Soonrok, and the streetlight becomes a rhythm game judgment line crossing the screen horizontally. A scene showing the emotion of Soonrok, a homebody whose energy drains outside but becomes fully charged when with Yumi. This was expressed by overlaying graphics on the live-action screen rather than cell animation. Directing where the live-action screen itself moves by the grammar of cell town. As the boundary between cell scenes and live-action scenes blurred, season 3 completed its own pacing. ◆ Yumi's Growth The most notable change in season 3 is Yumi's position. Starting as an ordinary office worker in season 1, then an aspiring writer in season 2, and a star writer in season 3. It's not simply that the romantic partner changes. The person Yumi herself changes with each season. That's why viewers return each season. Not out of curiosity about who the next man is, but out of curiosity about where Yumi has arrived now. Viewers came to watch romance and ended up rooting for someone's life. Kim Go-eun has been acting that growth at the same temperature for five years. This is the most important asset of "Yumi's Cells." The Kim Go-eun of season 1 and season 3 are the same, but different faces. Kim Go-eun said, "Yumi was the first work in which I played the lead role," adding, "It seems I've come to know how to use the wisdom and know-how gained through my struggles as an actress in her 20s in this work now in my 30s." The clumsiness of early thirties and the weight of mid-thirties were inscribed not through acting but through time. It was possible because the character's age and the actor's age actually flowed together. The actor grew, and the character grew. That is why it did not waver even when the male lead changed. What held the series' identity was not the romantic partner but Yumi herself. And it was Kim Go-eun, who did not let go for five years. ◆ The Power of Super IP The production company structure is also noteworthy. The drama was jointly produced by Studio Dragon, Mericow, and Studio N. Studio N, a subsidiary of Naver Webtoon, is the platform holding the original IP and directly participated in production. It was not simply a co-producer. It served as a control tower that designed and managed the direction of the IP across all formats—drama, animation, and musical. Just as Disney and Pixar expand one IP into theme parks, musicals, and merchandise, "Yumi's Cells" was planned from the beginning as a super IP with multi-format rollout in mind. The beginning was not the drama. Before season 1 production, Studio N was already preparing animation with Locus. When Studio Dragon proposed drama production, it naturally joined. In this process, the cell CG assets already created led into the drama. The original musical "Yumi's Cells" also began preparation at the same time. Based on season 1, but adding original musical character 109 Cell, which does not exist in the original, it expanded the world once more. In Korean drama history, there is no precedent for a webtoon-based series to continue to season 3. This record is not merely a result of box office success. It is a result of the structural characteristics of the original work, pre-planned season format production, and direct participation of the platform holding the IP, all interlocking. "Yumi's Cells" has evolved. Each time the format changed, it accumulated change without damaging the original form, and that accumulation completed the IP in a stronger form. "Yumi's Cells" has proven this: a well-made IP does not die after the original ends. Drama expands musical, musical refreshes drama again, and that circulation revives the original. The cells are still alive and moving.

Who Wins? You Decide on MURAPOP

by. TaeYun Jeong