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Barunson, the acclaimed studio behind the Academy Award-winning film Parasite, has partnered with the Story Foundation to introduce nPLUG, a blockchain-powered platform designed to enable fans to remix cultural and entertainment IP legally.
Developed with the support of Story’s Web3 division, Nproject, the initiative marks a significant step toward reshaping how intellectual property is shared, monetized, and expanded in the digital age.
Redefining IP in the Korean Content Industry
Korean storytelling has become a global phenomenon, with productions like Parasite and Squid Game, as well as viral sensations like “Baby Shark,” capturing worldwide audiences. Yet, while K-content has proven its cultural reach, the underlying business models often sideline creators. Streaming platforms and distributors frequently capture the lion’s share of profits, leaving studios and creators with limited long-term benefits.
The collaboration between Barunson and Story aims to change this dynamic by placing creators at the center of value creation. Through tokenization and programmable licensing, nPLUG will provide a structure that enables creators to retain ownership, raise capital directly from fans, and share in the benefits of their work.
 
Introducing nPLUG
Set to debut in Q4 2025, nPLUG will be the first platform to integrate programmable licensing into short-form digital content. Running natively on Story’s Layer-1 blockchain, nPLUG will allow users to remix licensed IP into new creative works such as short videos.
The platform’s key features include on-chain licensing that embeds permissions directly into digital assets, automated royalty distribution to guarantee fair compensation for both original IP owners and remix creators, and smart contract–based attribution that ensures transparent tracking of provenance and usage.
Through these mechanisms, fans, creators, and studios can collaborate more openly, with revenue from advertisements and in-app purchases automatically shared among all stakeholders.
Backed by Cultural Legacy
Barunson adds strong credibility to the project. The studio has created internationally acclaimed titles across various genres, including Parasite, Mother, Inside Men, The Age of Shadows, and Cobweb. With this history, the company is well-positioned to lead the next phase of IP innovation by bringing globally recognized works on-chain.
Shin-Beom Kang, CEO of Barunson, emphasized the broader vision:
“Barunson has been at the forefront of Korea’s cultural content industry, producing and developing a wide range of works across film, drama, metaverse, gaming, and live performance. This collaboration with Story and Nproject marks a pivotal step toward building a transparent and fair IP ecosystem powered by global fandom, and we are committed to advancing Korea’s content industry into the next-generation, blockchain-based IP economy.”
A Step Toward a Decentralized Creative Economy
Korea’s entertainment exports are valued at more than $12 billion annually, and its fan communities are among the most engaged worldwide. nPLUG seeks to leverage this momentum by transforming cultural IP into programmable digital assets. This transition offers creators the ability to expand their work collaboratively, while ensuring ownership and financial rewards remain with the original rights holders.
About Story
Story is a Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for programmable intellectual property. Backed by $136 million from leading VCs, including a16z, Polychain, and Samsung Ventures, Story launched its mainnet in early 2025. The network enables creators, enterprises, and AI labs to register and tokenize content, embedding rights and licensing terms directly on-chain. Its mission is to make IP an internet-native asset class, fostering a more open and equitable creative economy.
With nPLUG, Barunson, Story, and Nproject aim to lead a global shift where cultural IP evolves from static entertainment products into dynamic, participatory ecosystems.