Kakao Entertainment said on the 13th that it will exclusively release on KakaoPage on May 16 the web novel "21st-century prince consort in royal school," which expands the universe of MBC's Friday-Saturday drama "21st-century prince consort."
The web novel contains the drama's unreleased behind-the-scenes stories, with writer Yu Ji-won, who wrote the original drama, directly taking part to enhance consistency and immersion. Based on the same universe as the drama, it explores the protagonists' past narratives and offers fans new stories.
"21st-century prince consort in royal school" unfolds around the royal school days of the drama's characters, set against a 21st-century constitutional monarchy Korea. Centering on Seong Hee-ju and Grand Prince IAAN, it plans to depict the formation of key relationships and characters' growth over a total of 30 episodes.
In particular, through the past stories of major characters such as Seong Hee-ju, Grand Prince IAAN, Min Jeong-u, and Yun I-rang, it will present each person's personality and narrative in a more multidimensional way. Timed to the drama's finale, it is expected to serve as content that carries the work's afterglow.
Kakao Entertainment is extending its IP value chain that connects media, music, and story by introducing a web novel following drama production and the OST. The project is drawing attention as a representative case of expanding a single IP into diverse content.
Meanwhile, KakaoPage is holding a pre-notification sign-up event to mark the web novel's release, offering participants various benefits, including special illustrations.