'Squid Game' adds more stars to season 2 cast By Kwak Yeon-sooCast lineup for "Squid Game" season 2 / Courtesy of NetflixMany new and returning cast members will bring “Squid Game” season 2 to life, Netflix announced during its Tudum global event held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saturday.Joining the second season are actors Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Sung-hoon and Yang Dong-geun. Details about their characters have not revealed yet.Returning for season two are Lee Jung-jae, who plays the lead role of Gi-hun, Lee Byung-hun as Front Man, Wi Ha-jun as police detective Jun-ho and Gong Yoo as the mysterious salesman.The first season of “Squid Game” has been an unprecedented global success as Netflix's most-watched series, with 1.65 billion hours of viewing in 28 days. It also swept the 2022 Emmy Awards with 14 nominations and six wins as Lee became the first Asian actor to take home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in the Drama category.Led by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator, director and writer of “Squid Game,” the second season is set to begin filming in the latter half of this year, with its releaJun 18, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo
Lee Joon-ho, Lim Yoon-a reinterpret cliche-ridden rom-com genre in 'King The Land' Actors Lim Yoon-a, left, and Lee Joon-ho pose during the press conference for JTBC's new romantic comedy series “King The Land," held at a hotel in Guro District, Thursday. Courtesy of JTBCBy Lee Gyu-leeActors Lee Joon-ho and Lim Yoon-a are finally set to debut in JTBC's new romantic comedy series “King The Land," Friday. Led by director Im Hyun-wook, whose previous work includes the melodrama series "Reflection of You" (2021), the new series is a Cinderella story between a rich heir of a conglomerate group called Gu Won (Lee Joon-ho), and a hotelier, Cheon Sa-Rang (Lim Yoon-a).Cheon worked her way up, becoming a hotelier at the King Hotel, originally starting as an intern. After seven years of hard work, she finally gets the opportunity to work at the hotel's VVIP lounge. Gu, a new arrival to the group's hotel chain, becomes Cheon's new boss, the unlikely duo then go on to develop a romance. “There's a saying 'What you already know is the best.' I know that 'King The Land' might be a little cliche and classic. But we tried to reinterpret the scenes that might seem Jun 17, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee
INTERVIEW Lee Sang-yi, Woo Do-hwan build special bond through 'Bloodhounds' Actors Lee Sang-yi, left, and Woo Do-hwan play boxers in Netflix's new original series “Bloodhounds.” Courtesy of NetflixBy Lee Gyu-leeActors Lee Sang-yi and Woo Do-hwan appear as boxers on Netflix's new Korean original series, “Bloodhounds,” to deliver an adrenaline-filled action bromance.The two actors shared that the process of creating their characters to film this series led them to form a sense of companionship.The 8-part action series, based on the webcomics of the same name, revolves around two young boxers, Kim Geon-woo (Woo) and Hong Woo-jin (Lee). After fighting each other for a final match, the two become friends, sharing the same dream. After his mother incurs a huge debt from a ruthless loan shark named Kim Myeong-gil (Park Sung-woong), the two boxers join hands with a benevolent moneylender to take down Kim, who preys on the financially vulnerable.A scene from the series “Bloodhounds" / Courtesy of Netflix“There are mutual actors so I've heard that (Woo) is a hard-working actor like he puts in a lot of effort and is earnest when he tJun 16, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee
Kim Woo-bin and Suzy to reunite in Kim Eun-sook's new series Actors Kim Woo-bin, left, and Bae Suzy will co-star in writer Kim Eun-sook's upcoming rom-com series. Courtesy of Hwa&Dam PicturesBy Lee Gyu-leeActors Kim Woo-bin and Bae Suzy will be leading a new romantic comedy series, created by star scriptwriter Kim Eun-sook, who is known for writing the hit series “Mr. Sunshine” and “The Glory.”Hwa&Dam Pictures, the local production company, confirmed that both actors have secured their roles in the series tentatively titled "Everything Shall Come True" planned for release next year.The 12-episode fantasy rom-com will follow the story of Ga-young (played by Bae), an indifferent woman, and a hot-headed genie who has been trapped in a lamp. When Ga-young releases the genie, they become entangled in a series of events and she receives three wishes in return.The series will be directed by filmmaker Lee Byeong-heon, who previously led the hit movie “Extreme Job” (2019) and the 2019 rom-com series “Be Melodramatic.”“The best fantasy rom-com requires a captivating story, stunning visuals anJun 14, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee
Director of Netflix series 'Bloodhounds' unveils grim reality amid pandemic Director Kim Joo-hwan of the Netflix series "Bloodhound" is seen in this photo provided by Netflix. YonhapThe new Netflix series "Bloodhounds" deals with an illegal money-lending business that preys on cash-strapped people amid the COVID-19 pandemic to tell stories of their pain and struggles, its director said Tuesday.The eight-part action series, written and directed by Kim Joo-hwan, follows two promising boxers (played by Woo Do-hwan and Lee Sang-yi) who set foot in the world of private money exchanges and fight against ruthless loan sharks.Premiered on Friday, "Bloodhounds" ranked second on Netflix's TV show chart Tuesday, according to the streaming analytics site FlixPatrol. Kim, who took the helm of "Midnight Runners" (2017) and "The Divine Fury" (2019), said working on his first drama series adapted from a popular webtoon was much harder than his past film projects, but it was the best option for the heavy subject."The overall structure is based on the original work that deals with loan sharks, but I added a lot of elements," Kim said during a group media interview. "I wanted Jun 13, 2023
Rowoon and Jo Bo-ah to lead new fantasy romance series 'Destined With You' Actors Jo Bo-ah, left, and Rowoon will star in the JTBC's upcoming series “Destined With You.” Courtesy of Keyeast Entertainment and FNC EntertainmentBy Lee Gyu-leeSinger and actor Rowoon will lead JTBC's upcoming series "Destined With You" alongside actress Jo Bo-ah.The fantasy romance series, scheduled for release in August, will center around Lee Hong-jo (Jo), a civil servant at the Department of Greenery, and Jang Shin-yoo (Rowoon), a lawyer, who becomes entangled in a cursed book that was sealed 300 years ago.The series is helmed by director Nam Ki-hoon, known for his previous work on the Disney+ romance series "Kiss Sixth Sense" and tvN thriller series "Voice 3." The script is penned by No Ji-seol, the scriptwriter for tvN period romance series "100 Days My Prince."Rowoon plays a star lawyer who constantly finds himself in the spotlight. He has been sick for an unknown reason and tries to find the owner of an ancient book, Mokham, to break the curse that has plagued his family for generations.“I'm very excited to play this character as it is different from allJun 13, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee
INTERVIEW Ra Mi-ran on depicting heartfelt mother-son relationship in 'The Good Bad Mother' Actress Ra Mi-ran played the role of a widow in the JTBC series “The Good Bad Mother.” Courtesy of Drama House Studio, SLL, and Film Monster By Lee Gyu-leeActress Ra Mi-ran has made herself known through a series of comical roles, like Madame Cheetah in the hit series “Reply 1988” (2015) and a lawmaker in the comedy film “Honest Candidate” (2020). But in her recent series, the actress has taken on a more serious role, playing a hardened widow, Jin Young-soon, to tell a heartwarming story of a mother and a son. Actress Ra Mi-ran / Courtesy of C-JeS Studios “It's not easy to take a role where the character has been through a lot of hardships. The series might seem a biographical narrative of Young-soon, but it has stories of different kinds of moms within it. And there are also stories about different perspectives of life,” Ra said in an interview withJun 11, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee
Netflix's new original 'Bloodhounds' to deliver cathartic action From left, actor Park Sung-woong, director Kim Joo-hwan, actors Woo Do-hwan and Lee Sang-yi pose during a press conference for Netflix's series "Bloodhounds" in Mapo District, Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Netflix By Lee Gyu-leeNetflix's new Korean original series, "Bloodhounds," is set to offer an action-packed bromance story with actors Woo Do-hwan and Lee Sang-yi. The 8-part action series, which will premiere on Friday, follows the story of two promising, young boxers, Kim Geon-woo (Woo) and Hong Woo-jin (Lee). The two meet as rivals but come to form a special bond when Kim gets involved with ruthless loan shark Kim Myeong-gil (Park Sung-woong) after his mother falls into huge debt with a loan shark.The two boxers join hands with a benevolent moneylender to take down a loan shark who preys on the financially vulnerable. The series, based on the webcomics of the same name, is directed by filmmaker Kim Joo-hwan, who is known for helming the 2017 comedy buddy movie,Jun 8, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee
'The Second Husband' co-stars to the tie knot, expecting child in real life Drama series co-stars Uhm Hyun-kyung and Cha Seo-won plan to tie the knot. Captured from MBC's “The Second Husband”By Yoo Su-kyungActress Uhm Hyun-kyung is set to marry fellow actor and drama co-star Cha Seo-won, who is four years her junior. The couple also announced that Uhm is pregnant with their first child.The Hankook Ilbo was able to verify on Monday that Uhm Hyun-kyung and Cha Seo-won had started dating after the airing of “The Second Husband” on MBC, in which they played the two leading roles. The relationship had been kept under wraps until the couple's announcement of their marriage plans.The couple is also due to become parents with their first child already on the way. Uhm is planning to take a break from acting to focus on her health, and a formal wedding ceremony is due to take place after Cha Seo-won's discharge from the Korean military, where he's been enlisted as an active-duty soldier since November 22 of last year.Uhm had frequently talked about her dreams of getting married during several TV appearances. During an episode of a variety show Jun 6, 2023
INTERVIEW 'One Day Off' star Lee Na-young, director on creating subtle, feel-good series Actress Lee Na-young plays the character of Park Ha-kyung in the Wavve's new original series, “One Day Off.” Courtesy of Wavve and The LAMPBy Lee Gyu-leeIn Wavve's new original series, “One Day Off,” a high school teacher, Park Ha-kyung (Lee Na-young), goes on a simple, one-day journey to different cities in Korea every week to escape her ordinary, repetitive life. There's nothing special about her trips. She just wanders around with no specific itinerary. Director Lee Jong-pill / Courtesy of Wavve and The LAMPYet, the eight-part series takes viewers through the low-key, feel-good journey with each of the 20-minute episodes, offering relatable, comforting moments as they follow the trips and Park's encounters with different people along the way.The series' lead actor, Lee Na-young, and director Lee Jong-pill, said “One Day Off” is an easy-to-watch series with a story that is all about emptying everything.“'Feeling relatable' itself sounds like a homework. I just hope (the viewers) could watch it like they're spacing out and enjoy it without aJun 3, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee
