Celebrating its 30th anniversary, leading entertainment company CJ ENM has unveiled the “30th Anniversary Visionary Selection.” The selections reflect milestone titles from the company’s content library that embody its footprints as the global IP powerhouse during its 30-year legacy.
Since the launch of its entertainment business in 1995, CJ ENM has been at the forefront of the Korean cultural industry as the K-content visionary. The company aspires to continue navigating K-culture, further signifying the anniversary with more endeavors throughout 2025.
As CJ ENM was gearing up for its 30th anniversary, Yoon Sang-hyun, CEO of CJ ENM had shared the company’s vision for 2025 at the town hall meeting held the past month. “CJ ENM is a company that loves to find the familiar within the unfamiliar and the thrill that comes with it. We live to discover untold originals. With this 30th anniversary marking the beginning of a new chapter, we recall our spirit of 30 years ago when we launched the K-culture business. Our hope is to entertain the entire world, traversing the boundaries of languages and generations.”
CJ ENM’s “Visionary” started in 2020 to honor irreplaceable figures who propose new visions emerging from their originality to the K-entertainment industry each year, across TV, film, music, and all forms of entertainment. The Visionary Selection of this year spotlights CJ ENM’s content IPs that demonstrated “No.1 Impact” and “Paradigm Shift” to Korean entertainment, affirming CJ ENM’s presence as the pioneer of the industry for the past 30 years.
The full list of “CJ ENM 30th Anniversary Visionary Selection” is as follows (in alphabetical order):
Film
– Extreme Job
– Joint Security Area
– Parasite
– Snowpiercer
– Veteran
Drama
– Dear My Friends
– Guardian: The Lonely and Great God
– My Mister
– Queen of Tears
– The “Reply” Series (Reply 1997, 1994, 1988)
– Signal
– Yumi’s Cells
Entertainment Show
– Grandpas Over Flowers
– New Journey to the West
– You Quiz on the Block
Music
– MAMA AWARDS
– SHOW ME THE MONEY
– STREET WOMAN FIGHTER
– Superstar K
Musical
– Kinky Boots
Often signified as a turning point in the history of Korean cinema, the film <Joint Security Area> is acknowledged as a Visionary Selection for transforming the public perception of inter-Korean relations by portraying humanity among isolated lives. <Snowpiercer> and <Parasite>, critically acclaimed and commercially successful films that spearheaded the global expansion of K-culture, are also recognized. Korea’s first global blockbuster film <Snowpiercer> which depicted dystopia in an eccentric environment is also listed for being a forerunner of K-culture’s globalization. Academy-winning <Parasite> captivated audiences worldwide and marked the pinnacle of triumph for Korean films.
As for dramas, the <Reply> series was recognized for presenting a new format intertwining entertainment show with K-drama, <Guardian: The Lonely and Great God> for showcasing a fantasy-romance genre going against stereotypes, <Dear My Friends> and <My Mister> for becoming a lifetime favorite connecting generations, viewers, and critics, and <Queen of Tears> for surpassing 600 million hours of cumulative global viewing time and exhibiting the power of K-storytelling worldwide.
Noted in the entertainment show category are <Grandpas Over Flowers> the first-ever senior reality show in Korea that expanded the grounds of reality shows and resonated with audiences across generations, <New Journey to the West> which presented a new direction for content by starting out as an online-based show and making its way to television, and <You Quiz on the Block> which positioned itself as a nationwide talk show with its deep-dive approach to human lives.
Music IPs that received the spotlight are <MAMA AWARDS> the unparalleled ONLYONE awards & show extending the reach of K-pop’s influence globally, <SHOW ME THE MONEY> and <STREET WOMAN FIGHTER> which started a new syndrome in K-entertainment by introducing unprecedented formats. Musical <Kinky Boots> the award-sweeping, first global co-production musical in Korea, is also listed for its achievements.
Unveiling of the 30th Anniversary Visionary Selection signals the start of CJ ENM’s anniversary year. The K-content leader’s aim for 2025 is to enlarge its global foundation, with major strategies including content investment, global IP expansion, and pioneering new genres, ultimately writing the next chapter of Korean entertainment.
