The Manta Story
Category: Generative Media (Image / Video)
Korean VFX-heritage studio building 'theROAD', an AI video generation engine for long-form commercial film and drama production. The Manta Story was founded in 2023. The company is led by Hwangsu Jung (정황수). Based in Busan, South Korea. Team size: 1-10. Latest round: Seed. Key investors include Series Ventures.
- Founded
- 2023
- Headquarters
- Busan, South Korea
- Team size
- 1-10
Value proposition
theROAD covers scenario input, AI image generation, video sequence linking and final review. It lets a small team do VFX work that used to take dozens of people several months. The company reports up to 70% savings in production time and cost on its own productions. Output is commercially deliverable with lower copyright risk because the models are fine-tuned on the company's own IP asset library.
Products and solutions
theROAD (The Road), an AI video generation engine for long-form commercial and VFX production, VFX consulting and production services, original IP development (lineup: B MACHINE, MAGNET, DUST WORLD, DISCOVERY, SOULRIDER), 'The Jungle' AI-assisted webbook IP franchise platform (in preparation), AI short-form drama production.
Unique value
25 years of top-tier Korean VFX production know-how combined with a proprietary AI engine fine-tuned on owned IP. Aims to set a 'K-style' copyright-safe standard for long-form AI video.
Target customer
Film, drama and OTT producers, content studios, IP holders and creators who need long-form commercial video and VFX.
Industries served
Film & TV / OTT, VFX post-production, music videos, webnovel/webbook IP, AI short-form drama
Technology advantage
Self-owned training data and IP asset library for fine-tuning, which reduces copyright risk. Holds 7 AI and digital-twin patents. Senior VFX supervisors with credits on major Korean blockbusters. Busan AI Tech Studio is run with Dongseo University to build a talent pipeline.
How they differentiate
Focuses on long-form commercial film and drama rather than ads or short-form content. Grounded in veteran VFX supervisors' production pipelines. Models are fine-tuned on owned IP to tackle the copyright and quality problems of general-purpose AI video tools.
Main competitors
Studio Freewillusion, The Ape Squad, Studio Aim
Key partnerships
Dongseo University (MOU to co-develop the theROAD AI video platform, industry-academia collaboration at the Busan AI Tech Studio), Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) (AI short-form drama script contest and AI studio internship program), Weigl Educational Publishers, Canada (MOU), Goyang Industry Promotion Agency (GIPA) (Taiwan exchange programs).
Major milestones
2023-04: Founded (Goyang, Gyeonggi). 2024-01: Participated in the Ministry of Science and ICT roundtable on AI media and content companies. 2024: Released VFX work for the IU 'Love Wins All' music video. 2025-06: MOU with Weigl Educational Publishers (Canada). 2026: MOU with Dongseo University on theROAD and expansion to Busan. 2026: BIFAN partnership on an AI short-form drama script contest and AI studio internships. 2026-10: Seed investment from Series Ventures.
Growth metrics
Revenue of approximately ₩1.76B (~$1.3M) and about 5 employees, per Saramin company info (2026). Reports up to 70% time and cost reduction on its internal productions.
Market positioning
Early-stage Korean AI-native cinematic production studio. Positions itself as building a Korean standard for copyright-safe, long-form AI video.
Geographic focus
South Korea (Busan, Goyang), with outreach to Taiwan and Canada
Patents and IP
7 patents related to AI and digital twins (company claim, per Oct 2026 press); proprietary IP asset library and original IP lineup.
About Hwangsu Jung (정황수)
Ex-NEW (investment/distribution) VFX Division Director; Ex-Engine Visual Wave VFX Supervisor Dept. Head; Ex-4th Creative Party VFX Supervisor Dept. Head; Ex-Digital Idea VFX Supervisor Dept. Head. 20+ years as VFX Supervisor on Korean films and series such as Train to Busan, Peninsula, Hellbound, Jung_E, Concrete Utopia, Ode to My Father and The Thieves.
Latest news about The Manta Story
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Official website: https://themantastory.com