Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Choi Min-sik to lead Netflix psychological drama ‘Notes from the Last Row’
Actors Choi Min-sik, left, and Choi Hyun-wook, who will play lead roles in Netflix’s upcoming series “Notes from the Last Row” / Courtesy of Netflix
By Baek Byung-yeul
Veteran actor Choi Min-sik will star in Netflix’s forthcoming series “Notes from the Last Row,” raising expectations for the psychological drama set to debut on the global streaming platform.
Netflix said Thursday that Choi, whose recent performance in the 2024 movie “Exhuma” reaffirmed his box office power, will play Heo Mun-oh, a literature professor and failed writer with deep-seated insecurities.
The series is an adaptation of the Spanish play “El Chico de la ultima fila,” which has been praised for its psychological depth and suspenseful narrative. The story centers on Heo, whose life is turned upside down when he encounters Lee Kang (Choi Hyun-wook), a gifted student with a special talent for writing. The professor’s growing obsession with Lee’s work leads to tension between the two.
He is joined by cast members Choi Hyun-wook, Huh Joon-ho, Jin Kyung and internationally recognized star Kim Yun-jin.
Choi Hyun-wook, notable for standout roles in “Weak Hero Class 1” (2022) and “Twenty Five Twenty One” (2022), will portray Lee Kang, a reserved engineering student whose exceptional writing talent captures Heo’s attention. Their evolving relationship, marked by admiration and tension, forms the core of the story.
From left, actors Huh Joon-ho, Kim Yun-jin, Jin Kyung, Choi Min-sik and Choi Hyun-wook who will star in Netflix’s upcoming series “Notes from the Last Row” / Courtesy of Netflix
Huh takes on the role of Kim Su-hun, a successful author and Heo’s former university classmate whose achievements have long overshadowed Heo’s. Kim appears as Su-hun’s wife, while Jin plays a psychologist married to Heo, who observes her husband’s emotional turmoil with growing concern.
Director Kim Kyu-tae, known for his 2014 TV series “It's Okay, That's Love,” 2022 drama “Our Blues” and 2024 Netflix series “The Trunk,” will lead the production.
No official release date has been announced, but anticipation is building as Choi Min-sik is expected to deliver another subtle performance as an obsessed man of letters. It remains to be seen how the actor, who led the renaissance of Korea’s film industry with numerous hits such as “Chihwaseon” (2002), “Oldboy” (2003) and “The Admiral: Roaring Currents” (2014), navigates the character’s internal struggles and moral ambiguities.