Disney+ bets big on 'Tempest' starring Jun Ji-hyun, Gang Dong-won

Creators of Disney+’s Korean original series "Tempest" speak during a special talk session at Yongsan IPark Mall in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Top stars Jun Ji-hyun and Gang Dong-won teamed up with Korea’s most celebrated creators for Disney+’s most anticipated drama of the year, "Tempest."

This blockbuster K-drama follows Mun-ju (Jun), a distinguished diplomat serving as Korean ambassador to the United Nations who sets out to uncover the truth behind an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate. By her side is San-ho (Gang), an enigmatic special agent without a nationality, assigned to protect her at all cost. Together, they are drawn into a sprawling conspiracy that threatens the Korean Peninsula.

Adding further weight to the cast are Hollywood star John Cho and a lineup of veteran Korean actors including Kim Hae-sook and Park Hae-joon.

Ahead of its highly awaited premiere on Sept. 10, Disney+ hosted a press event featuring the all-star creators for the original series.

Carol Choi, executive vice president at Walt Disney Company APAC, described the project as “a high-stakes romance, a cross-genre series blending espionage, romance and action.”

“'Tempest' is centered on a gripping storyline combined with a world-class international cast and top production team all coming together to deliver just exceptional storytelling,” Choi said, during the special event at Yongsan IPark Mall in Seoul, Wednesday.

Carol Choi, executive vice president at Walt Disney Company APAC / Yonhap

She also highlighted Disney+’s success with Korean content, noting that since the platform began releasing original content from the Asia-Pacific region in late 2021, Korean stories have consistently performed well across Asia and globally. In 2024 alone, 10 out of the 15 top-performing international originals on Disney+ were Korean titles.

Screenwriter Chung Seo-kyung, best known for her collaborations with director Park Chan-wook on projects such as "Decision to Leave" (2022), "The Handmaiden" (2016) and "Thirst (2009)," penned this series.

She revealed that the project began when director Kim Hee-won expressed a desire to tell a story centered on a powerful female character.

“I wanted to write a project that would allow the Korean production team to show their full potential, something that director Kim excels at bringing to life. I wanted to build a track where we could run at our highest speed,” Chung said.

“While I was writing the synopsis, I could feel the potential of this series. I realized that Korea — the world’s only divided nation — offered a unique stage for a spy thriller and I decided to push that possibility to its fullest.”

Chung also wanted to develop the series into a distinctly Korean genre piece — not rooted in outdated ideologies, but in the most contemporary of stories.

"By pressing forward without ever looking back, it grew into something surprisingly vast. At one point, I even thought our series could expand into something as grand as the Marvel universe," she added.

On casting Jun, the writer confessed she couldn’t imagine anyone else in the role and envisioned her for the role from the very beginning.

"What I admire most about Jun is her boldness and instinct. It truly felt like the Mun-ju I had envisioned was alive before my eyes. For the opening scene, I wanted audiences to immediately sense her strength as she runs — and then actor Jun told me, ‘Whether I’m happy or crying, I’ve always been on a treadmill.’ That’s exactly Mun-ju. I was stunned — how could she have known?”

A scene from the Disney+ series "Tempest" / Courtesy of Walt Disney Company Korea

She also described casting Gang as “winning the lottery.”

“He portrayed San-ho masterfully, bringing out both the character’s coldness and warmth, his maturity and his boyishness, all at once,” Chung said.

For this tentpole project, director Kim, renowned for her mastery of romantic portrayals in hits like "Vincenzo" (2021) and "Queen of Tears" (2024), joined forces with martial arts director-turned-director Heo Myeong-haeng, known for action films like "The Roundup: Punishment" (2024) and "Badland Hunters" (2024).

Kim shared that she has always been drawn to "stories about people who risk everything and struggle against the odds.”

"I met with writer Chung to find a way to deliver the story to a broader audience. We amplified the melodramatic tension between the characters, allowing it to flow naturally over the sturdy framework the writer had built. As we layered in more detail, the story kept expanding, eventually giving rise to large-scale, intricate action sequences," Kim said.

Heo emphasized the powerful synergy of their blockbuster collaboration.

“I brought in film crew I had worked with before. Once we joined forces, I was confident that their expertise would significantly elevate the level of perfection in 'Tempest,'” he said.

The production’s vast scale was also highlighted by art director Kim Byung-han.

“This project presented more locations than any other work in my career. Typically, a single production might feature around 100 spaces, but this time we used about 200. It brought forth an incredible variety of visual worlds, and for me, it was a challenging but rewarding experience,” he said.

Adding to the anticipation, VFX supervisor Hong Jeong-ho, acclaimed for his work on the "Along with the Gods" franchise and the Academy Award–winning "Parasite," also lent his talents to the series.

The series premieres with three episodes on Sept. 10, followed by two new episodes released weekly from Sept. 17.