Something Special, the Seoul-based international Format agency founded by Format specialists Jin Woo Hwang (President & Executive Producer) and InSoon Kim (EVP & Head of Content) announced they hired well-known format producer Jacob (Jongbin) Han as the company’s Head of Productions. His first role will be to produce the full series of the heartfelt Unforgettable Duet commissioned by MBN and funded in part by a recently awarded KOCCA Fund.
Han comes from 12 years of production experience, including nine years as Senior Producer producing entertainment and doc programs at MBC (Korean terrestrial network). During that time, he was nominated as the Korean Producer Association’s Best TV Producer of the Year in 2021. He also won Best Programme Award from Korea Communications Agency (KCA), Dec 2020 for Mystery TV: Surprise, a Best Programme Award at MBC in Dec 2018; and an award for the Broadcast Critique Foundation for Broadcast Culture, Dec 2018. Just prior to his appointment at Something Special, Han worked at uhomes.com as Content Operation Manager, United Kingdom for two years as the head of the content operations team where he created and localized content for social media channels in Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Thailand. He holds a MSc Media & Communications’ degree from the London School of Economics in the UK.
Unforgettable Duet is an original unscripted series that follows a dementia patient whose families gather mementos and a favorite song to help them recall the past. Together, they ride on a Memory Bus filled with these deeply personal mementos that reveal long forgotten life moments for each of the participants. The show then steps into the studio with an emotional Duet performance by the patient and family member, followed with a heartfelt tribute song to the participant from popular singing artists. This emotional musical series is a magical, healing experience helping the patient and their family to remember what is truly important.
Hwang and Kim stated, “Something Special are pleased to celebrate our 6th year in business with Jacob Han as our new Head of Productions who will oversee several of our projects, starting with the wonderful Unforgettable Duet this summer. His vast international production experience, along with our recent investment will help propel Something Special to the next level.”
Han commented, “I am thrilled to join Jin, InSoon and the entire Something Special team as Head of Productions. Something Special has been a leader of Korean Formats, breaking new ground by taking our formats onto the world stage. As my first project, I am honored to produce the full season Unforgettable Duet which was one of the highest rated specials last year.”
