Entertainment - The Korea Times

Netflix series 'Black Knight' to depict pursuit of utopia in dystopian society

From left, actors Song Seung-heon, Kim Woo-bin, Esom, and Kang You-seok pose during the press conference for Netflix's original series “Black Knight,” held in Yeongdeungpo District, Wednesday. Courtesy of NetflixBy Lee Gyu-leeNetflix's much-anticipated blockbuster original series, “Black Knight,” is finally set to roll out, Friday, telling the story of a vigilante man seeking changes to a dystopian world.Director Cho Ui-seok / Courtesy of NetflixBased on the webcomic named “Delivery Knight,” the sci-fi, action series is set in dystopian Korea, disrupted by heavy air pollution, where people suffer from lack of oxygen. A former refugee, 5-8 (Kim Woo-bin), is a legendary courier who delivers oxygen and other necessity to the residents on the day. But at night, he leads a group of vigilante deliverymen, called Black Knight, who help other refugees. Amid the devastating circumstances with brutal social hierarchy, the group goes against the ultimate ruler of the dystopia, Cheonmyeong Group, and its ruthless heir, Ryu Seok (Song Seung-heon) to save humani

May 10, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee

Netflix series 'Black Knight' to depict pursuit of utopia in dystopian society

Lee Ki-woo to star in MBC's new period series

Actor Lee Ki-woo / Courtesy of Neverdie EntertainmentBy Lee Gyu-leeActor Lee Ki-woo will be taking on his first period series with MBC's upcoming comedy, “Flower That Blooms at Night” (direct translation), co-starring alongside actors Lee Ha-nee and Lee Jong-won.The actor's agency, Neverdie Entertainment, confirmed, Tuesday, that Lee will be playing the role of Park Yoon-hak, a noble, in the new series. Led by star director Jang Tae-yoo, who previously helmed the 2011 rom-com series “Deep Rooted Tree” (2011) and 2015's “My Love from the Star,” the comedy series will revolve around Jo Yeo-hwa (Lee Ha-nee), a widow who married into the country's most prestigious noble family. After her husband passes away, she seems to be living a quiet, secluded life at home. However, in reality, she is living a double life, jumping over her house's wall to help people in need. One day, she crosses paths with a handsome, senior officer, Park Soo-ho (Lee Jong-won), who gives her a new perspective and this leads her to follow her own dreams.Lee Ki-woo will play the ch

May 10, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee

Lee Ki-woo to star in MBC's new period series

'Doctor Cha' surges up Netflix's ranking, enters top 10 in 17 countries

JTBC comedy series “Doctor Cha” revolves around a housewife-turned-doctor Cha Jung-sook. Courtesy of JTBCBy Lee Gyu-leeJTBC comedy series “Doctor Cha” is enjoying a drastic rise in popularity, landing in Netflix's official weekly top 10 charts for non-English series. The series, which kicked off with a 4.9 viewership rating on April 15, has been seeing a steady surge every week, hitting its highest rating with its latest episode on Sunday at 16.2 percent. The episode scored the highest rating out of all cable channels during the same time slot.The female-centric drama, which also streams on Netflix, made it into the top 10 daily streaming chart in 17 different countries, including Singapore, Japan, Thailand and Saudi Arabia, according to the streaming service analytic platform, FlixPatrol. Yesterday it topped the chart in four countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia. “The journey of a housewife of 20 years, Cha Jung-sook, through medical residency, is offering a cathartic experience and made itself relatable to those with patriarchy culture in Asian

May 9, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee

'Doctor Cha' surges up Netflix's ranking, enters top 10 in 17 countries

Disney+ series 'Race' presents realistic office drama set at PR company

From left: Hong Jong-hyun, Lee Yeon-hee, Moon So-ri, and Jung Yun-ho at the 'Race' online press conference, May 8. Courtesy of Disney+Disney+'s new series "Race" is an office drama set at a PR company that realistically portrays the work, lives and struggles of ordinary workers with relatable characters, its director said Monday. It revolves around Park Yoon-jo (Lee Yeon-hee), who lands a contract position on a major conglomerate's PR team through a blind recruiting process. Having previously worked for a small PR agency, Park finds herself embroiled in a recruitment scandal and must prove her worth to the company.Hong Jong-hyun plays Ryu Jae-min, Park's longtime friend and a top performer at the company, while Moon So-ri portrays Goo Yi-jeong, a veteran PR specialist who joins the company as the chief operating officer. Singer-actor Jung Yun-ho, commonly known by his stage name U-Know Yunho of K-pop boy group TVXG, takes on the role of Seo Dong-hoon, the young CEO of an advertisement agency.Director Lee Dong-yun, behind the TV dramas "Feast of the Gods" (2012) and "20th Century Boy

May 8, 2023

Disney+ series 'Race' presents realistic office drama set at PR company

Lee Young-ae to lead new tvN series with Lee Moo-saeng

Actors Lee Young-ae, left, and Lee Moo-saeng will co-star in the tvN's new drama series, “Maestra.” Courtesy of Group8 and Alien companyBy Lee Gyu-lee Actress Lee Young-ae has taken on the lead role in the tvN's new drama series, “Maestra,” a Korean remake of the 2019 French series, “Philharmonia,” picking up her first small screen project since the 2021 action series, “Inspector Koo.”The network announced that the actress has confirmed her role, along with actors Lee Moo-saeng, Park Ho-san, Kim Young-jae, and Hwang Bo-reum-byeol. The upcoming series will revolve around a secretive female conductor, Cha Se-um (Lee Young-ae), who is a world-renowned conductor, widely acclaimed for her skills. As she digs into the mystery within her orchestra, The Hangang Philharmonic, she faces the secrets that will shake her life. Lee will play the role of an investor Yoo Jung-jae, who is a president of a financial company. Hwang will play a rookie member of the orchestra, Lee Lu-na who is not afraid of putting in the extra effort to prove her abilities

May 7, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee

Lee Young-ae to lead new tvN series with Lee Moo-saeng

Lee Dong-wook shares excitement, pressure of new season of fantasy, 'Tale of the Nine Tailed'

Actors Lee Dong-wook, left, and Kim So-yeon pose during the online press conference of tvN's new series, “Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938,” Wednesday. Courtesy of tvNBy Lee Gyu-leeActor Lee Dong-wook expressed that he had mixed feelings about returning for the second season of tvN's fantasy series “Tale of the Nine-Tailed.” The series, which came out in 2020, revolves around a gumiho ― a nine-tailed creature from Korean folklore ― named Lee Yeon (Lee), who comes to the human world in search of his long-lost love, Nam Ji-a (Cho Bo-ah) while hunting demons.The new season, “Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938,” set to start on Saturday, will follow Yeon's journey through the 1930s after he gets unexpectedly summoned to the period. He encounters a mysterious guardian spirit Ryu Hong-joo (Kim So-yeon) who disguises herself as a restaurant owner and his younger brother, Lee Rang (Kim Beom), as well as his dark self during the time.“I felt very grateful to be on 'Tale of the Nine Tailed' and play Lee Yeon again. (But) it was also overwhelming. I felt pressure

May 5, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee

Lee Dong-wook shares excitement, pressure of new season of fantasy, 'Tale of the Nine Tailed'

Sehun takes on teen-romance role with 'All That We Loved'

From left, actors Oh Se-hun, Jang Yeo-bin, and Jo Joon-young pose during the online press conference for the Tving's new original series “All That We Loved,” Wednesday. Courtesy of TvingBy Lee Gyu-leeSinger and actor Oh Se-hun, who is better known as Sehun of the K-pop boy band EXO, has taken on his first teen-romance role with Tving's new original series, “All That We Loved,” playing the role of an athletic, truehearted high school student. “When I read the script for the first time, it was very interesting. I was studying my character, Go Yoo, and this person has so many different charms. Although it's acting, I wanted to become such a charming person through Go Yoo,” the actor said during the press conference for the series, Wednesday. The new series, set to release Friday, follows the friendship and love lives of two best friends in high school ― Go Yoo (Oh) and Go Joon-hee (Jo Joon-young). Yoo is a carefree, outgoing student who is the top basketball player in his school. Always taking care of his weak best friend, Yoo donates a part of his ki

May 5, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee

Sehun takes on teen-romance role with 'All That We Loved'

Shin Hae-sun, Ahn Bo-hyun to lead fantasy romance series 'See You in My 19th Life'

Actors Shin Hae-sun, left, and Ahn Bo-hyun / Courtesy of YNK Entertainment, FN EntertainmentBy Kwak Yeon-sooActors Shin Hae-sun and Ahn Bo-hyun will co-star in tvN's upcoming fantasy romance series, “See You in My 19th Life,” which will premiere in June.Based on the webtoon of the same name by Lee Hey, the series revolves around a woman named Ban Ji-eum (Shin) who has a supernatural ability of remembering all of her past lives. After her previous life is cut short by a tragic accident, she sets out to reconnect with the people of her past life in her current one. Ahn will play the character of Moon Seo-ha, the heir of a super-rich family who suffers from trauma after a car accident.A teaser poster for tvN series "See You in My 19th Life" / Courtesy of tvNThe series will be directed by Lee Na-jeong, who is behind hit TV series “Fight for My Way” (2017), “Love Alarm” (2019) and “Mine” (2021).“Our first goal was to keep everything from the original webtoon, but slightly add new layers to the story,” she said. “I tried to

May 4, 2023By Kwak Yeon-soo

Shin Hae-sun, Ahn Bo-hyun to lead fantasy romance series 'See You in My 19th Life'

Netflix 'Risque Business: Japan' creators respond to criticisms

Netflix's new talk show “Risque Business: Japan” explores the adult entertainment industry in Japan. Courtesy of NetflixBy Lee Gyu-leeThe producers of Netflix's new series “Risque Business: Japan” have responded to ongoing controversy against the show with some people criticizing it for glamorizing the pornography and escort service businesses.The show's co-producer, Jung Hyo-min / Courtesy of NetflixThe raunchy talk show, created by "Korea No.1" producers Jung Hyo-min and Kim In-sik, takes two hosts ― comedian Shin Dong-youp and singer Sung Si-kyung ― around Japan meeting people to discuss and delve deeper into the topic of the adult entertainment industry, which may be taboo to viewers in some parts of the world.The show casually explores different areas of the adult entertainment industry, like sex toys, adult videos, host clubs and general perspectives about dating and sex in the country. But since its premiere on April 25, the show has faced backlash because of its content, especially concerning the episodes starring adult film stars. Some criticized the

May 3, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee

Netflix 'Risque Business: Japan' creators respond to criticisms

Streaming services eye heady survival shows

Posters for Tving's “The Time Hotel,” left, and Wavve's “Bloody Game” / Courtesy of Tving and WavveBy Lee Gyu-leeMajor streaming services are rolling out shows with psychologically intense themes to win over viewers with original reality show-style content.The homegrown streaming platform, Wavve, debuted the second season of its hit survival show, “Bloody Game,” on April 28.The reality show pits 14 participants from different backgrounds, from a TV personality to a member of Mensa, a well-known high IQ society, and a top poker player, against one another. The participants are taken to a remote area in Bali, Indonesia, to play a series of games that require both intelligence and physical strength to win a 300 million won ($223,780) prize. On top of winning the games, they must play politics within the group to avoid elimination and become the sole survivor for the prize. The show's producer noted that the new season is an upgraded, all-star version of the previous season. “We kept the interesting, twisting elements like bunker … and upg

May 2, 2023By Lee Gyu-lee

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