[Edaily Starin Gim Ga Yeong Reporter] SBS’s Friday-Saturday drama “Manager Kim,” which is gaining popularity after surpassing a nationwide household viewership rating of 21.6% in just four episodes, is drawing attention for its bold adoption of AI (artificial intelligence) technology.

According to Morpheus Studio on the 9th, a roughly 3-minute scene depicting the past of the protagonist, Director Kim (played by So Ji-sub), a former special agent, was produced entirely using AI, making “Director Kim” the first Korean drama in history to do so. The AI production utilized the AI platform “AICRON” 100% of the time; this platform was directly planned by domestic visual effects (VFX) experts and developed entirely with Korean technology.
The AI-generated footage in the drama “Director Kim” featured the protagonist, So Ji-sub—a defected North Korean operative—being sent on a special mission into North Korea; these scenes were broadcast across episodes 1 and 2. Set in North Korea, the footage depicted Director Kim blowing up a building and engaging in car chases on snow-covered roads and inside tunnels. The series also depicts a variety of scenes, including vehicles overturning, cars crashing through guardrails and plunging into water, and vehicles being salvaged. It also features gunfights and powerful action sequences involving Director Kim and other characters. By showing close-ups of the characters’ expressions without being constrained by the need to maintain consistency—a common concern in AI video production—the production team was able to enhance the overall quality of the scenes.
These are the kinds of scenes that would require significant production costs—including art department expenses, outdoor location fees, special effects costs, and VFX work such as CG—if filmed with live-action. It is reported that the production team of “Director Kim” took a bold gamble by producing these scenes entirely with AI in order to capture the visuals essential for the completeness of the protagonist, Director Kim’s, character.
Morpheus Studio was responsible for the AI video production for “Director Kim.” Founded by experts in VFX for Korean films and dramas, Morpheus Studio launched and has been operating “AICRON,” an AI service it developed in-house, since February of this year.
AICRON is an AI content production platform that provides an integrated pipeline based on a node system, where all tasks—from prompt input to the completion of the video—take place on a single canvas. Users can select and use any of the more than 150 commercially available AI models—ranging from prompt-generation chatbots to image, video, and sound generation models—and the platform features specialized video utilities that incorporate the know-how of experts with VFX backgrounds.
“Manager Kim’s” AI video was also produced entirely using Acron. Ryu Jae-hwan, Deputy CEO of Morpheus Studio—who won the Daejong Film Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards as VFX supervisor for films such as *1947 Boston*, *Swing Kids*, *The Common Cold*, and *Midnight Sun*—personally oversaw the AI video production, handling the entire process—from the planning stage through image generation, video production, and editing—using Acron’s workflow.
Regarding the achievements demonstrated by “Manager Kim,” Deputy CEO Ryu Jae-hwan stated, “The most important aspect of this project is that we didn’t just use AI to replace a few seconds of VFX work—we used AI to create entire sequences that were essential to enhancing the story’s completeness.” He added, “‘Manager Kim’ was able to produce high-quality AI video work because the production team had a clear goal from the start regarding how they would use AI video. “This is a case that truly demonstrates how AI can serve as a new creative tool and an excellent partner for creators with strong concepts and stories,” he added.
Morpheus Studio, which operates the Acron service, also stated, “It is particularly significant that the AI footage for ‘Director Kim’ was completed exclusively using Acron’s workflow—which was planned by Korean video experts and produced using domestic technology.” They added, “As we aim to build a creative platform capable of producing results suitable for commercial use, we will continue to enhance Acron by incorporating the experience gained from producing the AI footage for ‘Director Kim.’”
“Manager Kim” is a revenge action drama about the world’s most ordinary dad who becomes the world’s most dangerous man to fight and reclaim his only daughter. It stars actors So Ji-sub, Choi Dae-hoon, and Yoon Kyung-ho. The series has gained popularity both domestically and internationally, recording a nationwide household viewership rating of 21.6% (Nielsen Korea) by its fourth episode and reaching No. 1 globally in Netflix’s non-English TV show category.
“Director Kim” airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 p.m. on SBS.