- Official b.stage opens for musical comedy film "Rags 2 Richmond," starring Jonathan Wong and Hong Kong screen legends Eric Tsang and Nancy Sit... supporting a fan experience that continues beyond Busan
- One of the world’s first microdramas ever adapted into a feature film, the short-form hit that drew over 9 million views in its first three weeks introduces its b.stage fan community at its Busan press conference, held at the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM)
- Japanese groups cosmosy and ENJIN, who took the stage at the "Korea-Japan Festival," communicate with fans in Korea and abroad in real time through b.stage POP... strengthening its position as global infrastructure helping overseas IP enter Korea
SEOUL, Oct. 12, 2026 — Global fandom business company bemyfriends has opened b.stage for the musical comedy film "Rags 2 Richmond." Japanese groups cosmosy and ENJIN, who recently performed in Korea, are also communicating steadily with fans in Korea and abroad through b.stage. bemyfriends is expanding its global fandom business by helping overseas content IP broaden their touchpoints with Korean fans and build lasting relationships.
The official "Rags 2 Richmond" community on b.stage opened ahead of the Busan International Film Festival. The film is set against the backdrop of Canada's first Asian male beauty pageant, held in British Columbia, Canada, in 2005. In the film, an aspiring singer Nathan enters a controversial Asian male beauty pageant in Richmond hoping for his big break. Taken under the wing of Justice, a fiery upstart producer chasing the next big thing, he joins a rag-tag team of fellow competitors on the pageant circuit - and suddenly, the whole city is watching.
The franchise was co-created by Jonathan Wong, Justina Shih and Simon Yin, and produced by Octagon Metatainment & Odessa Productions. It was first released as a 28-episode vertical short-form series on Instagram, where it drew more than 9 million views in its first three weeks.It was then expanded into a 97-minute feature film, and amongst the first microdramas in the world to make that leap. Following its first market screening at TIFF in September, the film was featured in Rolling Stone with an exclusive first look at its teaser.
Wong leads the cast alongside two of Hong Kong cinema's most recognizable names. Eric Tsang plays Wong's father, a strict fishmonger. Tsang has more than 300 credits as an actor, producer and director, and is known internationally for "Infernal Affairs," which Martin Scorsese remade as the Oscar-winning "The Departed." Nancy Sit has been a household name across the Chinese-speaking world for more than six decades, through Stephen Chow's "The God of Cookery" and TVB's long-running "A Kindred Spirit." She plays a powerful media mogul, in what is her first Western film production.
The production team introduced b.stage as the film's official fan community at its Oct. 11 press conference at ACFM, the industry market held alongside the Busan International Film Festival. Wong and Sit were joined by co-creator Justina Shih and Benny Luo, founder and CEO of NextShark Studios. Luo and the Octagon team also previewed a new slate of social-first microdrama series developed with NextShark. The aim is to let audiences who discovered the film in Busan keep meeting the film and its actors on b.stage after the festival closes.
Wong, a U.S.-born singer-songwriter who built his career in Hong Kong, previously performed the film's OST "Low Key" on MBC's "Show! Music Core" in December 2024, introducing the film and its music to Korean viewers. "Rags 2 Richmond" plans to offer a variety of fan experiences through its official b.stage, including behind-the-scenes content and communication with the actors. It will manage fan communication and fan data directly on a single channel to stay in steady contact with audiences, and will also hold a launch event to celebrate the opening.
The official "Rags 2 Richmond" community on b.stage opened ahead of the Busan International Film Festival. The film is set against the backdrop of Canada's first Asian male beauty pageant, held in British Columbia, Canada, in 2005. In the film, an aspiring singer Nathan enters a controversial Asian male beauty pageant in Richmond hoping for his big break. Taken under the wing of Justice, a fiery upstart producer chasing the next big thing, he joins a rag-tag team of fellow competitors on the pageant circuit - and suddenly, the whole city is watching.
The franchise was co-created by Jonathan Wong, Justina Shih and Simon Yin, and produced by Octagon Metatainment & Odessa Productions. It was first released as a 28-episode vertical short-form series on Instagram, where it drew more than 9 million views in its first three weeks.It was then expanded into a 97-minute feature film, and amongst the first microdramas in the world to make that leap. Following its first market screening at TIFF in September, the film was featured in Rolling Stone with an exclusive first look at its teaser.
Wong leads the cast alongside two of Hong Kong cinema's most recognizable names. Eric Tsang plays Wong's father, a strict fishmonger. Tsang has more than 300 credits as an actor, producer and director, and is known internationally for "Infernal Affairs," which Martin Scorsese remade as the Oscar-winning "The Departed." Nancy Sit has been a household name across the Chinese-speaking world for more than six decades, through Stephen Chow's "The God of Cookery" and TVB's long-running "A Kindred Spirit." She plays a powerful media mogul, in what is her first Western film production.
The production team introduced b.stage as the film's official fan community at its Oct. 11 press conference at ACFM, the industry market held alongside the Busan International Film Festival. Wong and Sit were joined by co-creator Justina Shih and Benny Luo, founder and CEO of NextShark Studios. Luo and the Octagon team also previewed a new slate of social-first microdrama series developed with NextShark. The aim is to let audiences who discovered the film in Busan keep meeting the film and its actors on b.stage after the festival closes.
Wong, a U.S.-born singer-songwriter who built his career in Hong Kong, previously performed the film's OST "Low Key" on MBC's "Show! Music Core" in December 2024, introducing the film and its music to Korean viewers. "Rags 2 Richmond" plans to offer a variety of fan experiences through its official b.stage, including behind-the-scenes content and communication with the actors. It will manage fan communication and fan data directly on a single channel to stay in steady contact with audiences, and will also hold a launch event to celebrate the opening.
bemyfriends' collaboration with overseas IP also extends to Japanese artists. cosmosy and ENJIN, who appeared at the Korea-Japan cultural exchange event "Korea-Japan Festival 2026 in Seoul" held at COEX in Seoul on Oct. 10, operate official fan platforms built on b.stage and share their daily lives with fans in Korea and abroad through "b.stage POP," a real-time two-way communication feature.
ENJIN, a six-member dance and vocal group under Yoshimoto Kogyo, a major Japanese entertainment agency, has been meeting fans through live streams and messages on POP since opening its official b.stage platform. Most recently, the group held an event giving signed member Polaroids to fans who took part in a b.stage Favorites verification, drawing an enthusiastic response from fans in Korea and abroad. cosmosy, a four-member girl group launched by NTT DOCOMO Studio & Live Inc., a subsidiary of DOCOMO, made its debut in Korea first and performed on KBS's "Music Bank." The group opened its official global platform built on b.stage in July last year and continues to communicate with fans.
bemyfriends is expanding the fandom business experience it has built around K-POP into a variety of content areas, including film and performance. Building on b.stage's structure, which allows IP holders to build their own fandom platforms and directly own their fan data, the company has supported Korean IP in expanding overseas. It is now broadening the scope of its fandom business to help overseas IP grow their fan base in Korea and Asia, diversifying its global business.
"The fandom management methods that have developed through K-POP are spreading beyond genres and borders to a variety of content IP, including film and performance," said Wooseok Seo, CEO of bemyfriends. "We will create a fandom business environment optimized for each IP, so that the moment overseas content meets Korean audiences does not end as a one-time experience, but audiences remain fans of the work and its artists and continue that relationship."
Meanwhile, b.stage currently operates more than 400 fandom platforms worldwide and collaborates with more than 1,200 artist and brand IPs. Available in more than 220 countries, it runs fandom businesses tailored to the characteristics of each IP, spanning fan communities, memberships, content and commerce.
ENJIN, a six-member dance and vocal group under Yoshimoto Kogyo, a major Japanese entertainment agency, has been meeting fans through live streams and messages on POP since opening its official b.stage platform. Most recently, the group held an event giving signed member Polaroids to fans who took part in a b.stage Favorites verification, drawing an enthusiastic response from fans in Korea and abroad. cosmosy, a four-member girl group launched by NTT DOCOMO Studio & Live Inc., a subsidiary of DOCOMO, made its debut in Korea first and performed on KBS's "Music Bank." The group opened its official global platform built on b.stage in July last year and continues to communicate with fans.
bemyfriends is expanding the fandom business experience it has built around K-POP into a variety of content areas, including film and performance. Building on b.stage's structure, which allows IP holders to build their own fandom platforms and directly own their fan data, the company has supported Korean IP in expanding overseas. It is now broadening the scope of its fandom business to help overseas IP grow their fan base in Korea and Asia, diversifying its global business.
"The fandom management methods that have developed through K-POP are spreading beyond genres and borders to a variety of content IP, including film and performance," said Wooseok Seo, CEO of bemyfriends. "We will create a fandom business environment optimized for each IP, so that the moment overseas content meets Korean audiences does not end as a one-time experience, but audiences remain fans of the work and its artists and continue that relationship."
Meanwhile, b.stage currently operates more than 400 fandom platforms worldwide and collaborates with more than 1,200 artist and brand IPs. Available in more than 220 countries, it runs fandom businesses tailored to the characteristics of each IP, spanning fan communities, memberships, content and commerce.
Share this!
