[All] I'm so excited to level up alone.

Actor Byun Woo-seok's next move was Netflix. Byun Woo-seok's name was put forward as the lead in the live-action version of 'I Alone Level Up', which had been the subject of much interest.

 

iMBC Entertainment News Photo

Netflix announced on the 10th that they are producing a series called 'Only I Level Up'. The main character is popular actor Byun Woo-seok. He plays the role of Sung Jin-woo, who awakens from an E-class hunter to an S-class hunter, and even a national power hunter.

'Only I Level Up' is a global IP that started as a web novel, and has expanded into webtoons, animations, and games, creating a new legend. Since it first began serialization on Kakao Page in 2018, it has never lost its position as the most popular web novel and webtoon. The cumulative global views have reached 14.3 billion.

The webtoon that drove the explosive popularity of the IP ended in 2021, but the animation that has been produced in Japan since last year has proven the undying popularity and buzz of 'Solo Level Up'. In competition with strong Japanese animations, 'Solo Level Up' swept nine major categories including 'Animation of the Year', 'Best Action', and 'Best Character' at the 2025 Crunchyroll Awards, the world's largest animation awards ceremony, becoming the first Korean animation to do so. The second season of the animation (Season 2), which was released this year, ranked first in the TV show category on Amazon Prime in Japan and was ranked within the top 10 on Netflix in 11 countries.

News of a live-action adaptation was reported early on. Kakao Entertainment, which owns the IP for “Only I Level Up,” announced in January that “Kakao Entertainment’s media division has begun planning and developing the drama and working on the script.”

As with the live-action adaptation of the original work that received much love, there were both expectations and concerns from fans of the original work. Some fans were concerned that the original work would be damaged because it did not faithfully reflect the original work's settings, worldview, and visuals. However, with the news of Netflix's production, the prevailing opinion is that such concerns will be dispelled.

Netflix stated, "The new world that 'Solo Level Up' will show will be produced by a global VFX team with the world's best technology, so look forward to a live-action version of 'Solo Level Up' that is on a whole other level." They also emphasized that Sanai Pictures, which has produced big-name action, crime, and noir genre works such as the movies 'New World', 'The Spy Gone North', 'The Hunt', 'Revolver', and the dramas 'The Worst Evil' and 'Gangnam B-side', was in charge of production.

Above all, the biggest point of interest is the casting of Byun Woo-seok. Byun Woo-seok, who rose to stardom last year with the drama 'Seonjae Up and Run', is a popular actor who has fans not only in Korea but also around the world. The reason Netflix has joined hands with him is clear.

Expectations are high that a new 'national power level actor' will be born in 'Only I Level Up', which will take over the baton of K-content status raised by 'Squid Game'. Attention is focused on what kind of synergy the meeting of global IP and global star will create to create new global K-content. 'Only I Level Up' is scheduled to be released on Netflix.

I'm so excited to level up alone.