Contentree JoongAng

The story of Contentree JoongAng begins not in 1987 when it was founded, but with the establishment of the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper in 1965 by Lee Byung-chul, the founder of Samsung Group. This media root would define its future. Fast forward to 1999, JoongAng Ilbo formally separated from Samsung, setting the stage for its own corporate identity. A key part of this new direction was the expansion into different media formats. The company entered the cinema business by acquiring the Megabox theater chain, which had launched its first location in 2000. This move diversified its portfolio beyond print media. The next significant step was re-entering the world of broadcasting. Having previously run a TV station called TBC which was merged with the state-run KBS in 1980, the company launched the cable channel JTBC on December 1, 2011. This was a pivotal moment, marking its return to television and laying the groundwork for its content production ambitions. To consolidate its various media arms, including the flagship newspaper, the JTBC broadcast station, and the Megabox cinema chain, the JoongAng Group was formed. In 2021, its production subsidiary, then known as JTBC Studio, attracted significant investment, including 100 billion won from China's Tencent, with plans for an initial public offering (IPO). However, due to market conditions, the IPO was postponed, and as of June 2025, the company, now called Contentree JoongAng, is exploring a sale of its production arm, SLL JoongAng.