'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' tops Netflix chart for non-English series for 4th consecutive week A poster for drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” / Courtesy of KTThe hit legal drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" has topped Netflix's latest weekly viewership chart of non-English TV shows for the fourth consecutive week even after it finished airing in South Korea, the global video streaming service said Wednesday.The TV sensation, which aired every Wednesday and Thursday on the cable channel ENA from June 29 to Aug. 18, marked 77.43 million hours of viewing for the week of Aug. 15-21 to lead Netflix's official top 10 list for non-English TV programs available on the service, according to the company.It is the 16-part Korean show's sixth No. 1 finish. The drama failed to make it onto the top 10 list in the first week of its release but rose to the top in the second week boosted by favorable reviews. It has since stayed atop the list except for its fourth week (July 18-24), when it placed second after the Spanish show "Alba.""Woo" revolves around a lawyer named Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin), who is brilliant with an outstanding memory but lacks social skills and empathy duAug 24, 2022
INTERVIEW Park Eun-bin talks about pressure of role in 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' Actress Park Eun-bin plays the character of Woo Young-woo in the hit series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” Courtesy of ENAChild model-turned-actor gains global attention for heartwarming portrayal of autistic lawyer in hit dramaBy Lee Gyu-leeActress Park Eun-bin, who set foot in the entertainment industry at the age of four as a child model, has had her fair share of projects throughout her 26-year acting career, working in diverse genres such as the feel-good 2016 series “Hello, My Twenties!” and the 2021 period romance “The King's Affection.”Actress Park Eun-bin / Courtesy of Namoo ActorsBut it wasn't until this year that the actress finally found a sensational role ― as a genius lawyer who is on the autism spectrum in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” rising to massive global prominence.ENA's heartwarming legal series "Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” about an autistic lawyer called Woo Young-woo (Park) tackling challenges in and beyond the courtroom, has been an enormous hit, ending with its highest viewership rating of 17.5 percent onAug 24, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
INTERVIEW How Kang Tae-oh brought life to his character in 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' Actor Kang Tae-oh / Courtesy of Man of CreationActor enjoys global popularity thanks to success of series By Dong Sun-hwa“Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” a Korean legal drama series about an autistic genius lawyer named Woo Young-woo, wrapped up on Aug. 18 with its highest viewership rating, 17.5 percent, according to Nielsen Korea. The 16-episode drama has propelled actress Park Eun-bin, who played Woo, and many other actors, including Kang Tae-oh, to massive stardom. In the series, Kang took the role of a legal assistant named Lee Jun-ho, a warm-hearted man who falls in love with Woo against all odds. For Kang, however, portraying a “less impactful” character like Lee was quite demanding in the beginning.“Lee is such a nice guy in the drama, but I thought he could be seen a bit flat,” Kang said during a media interview at a cafe in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, Aug. 18. “I did not have many lines compared to other actors, but I still had to express Lee's emotions ... Nevertheless, I believed Lee had his own role and charm. So I just tried Aug 22, 2022By Dong Sun-hwa
Choi Woo-shik, Son Suk-ku to star in new Netflix thriller series Actors Choi Woo-shik, left, and Son Suk-ku will star in Netflix's new series, “Murder DIEary.” Courtesy of Management SOOP, SBD ENTBy Lee Gyu-leeActors Choi Woo-shik and Son Suk-ku will be playing the lead roles in Netflix's new thriller crime series, “Murder DIEary.” The streaming platform's new original is based on the webtoon of the same name, which won an award at the Korea Content Awards given by the Korean Creative Content Agency in 2011. It follows an ordinary man who murders evildoers.Choi will play the main character, Lee Tang, who is an ordinary college student. One day, he unwittingly kills a person who happens to be a serial killer. After finding out that he has the ability to sense those who have committed heinous deeds, he himself becomes a serial killer.Son will play a detective who investigates the murders Lee commits. The series will be led by director Lee Chang-hee, who is known for directing the 2018 thriller film, “The Vanished,” along with OCN's thriller series, “Hell Is Other People,” (2019) and scripted by the newAug 21, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
Music show 'Hidden Singer' returns for season 7 From left, TV personalities Song Eun-I and Jun Hyun-moo, and chief producer Cho Seung-wook pose during a press conference for JTBC's music show, “Hidden Singer 7," Friday. Courtesy of JTBC By Lee Gyu-leeJTBC's long-running music show, “Hidden Singer,” is back with a new season, celebrating its 10th anniversary since its premiere on the network in 2012. The music show, hosted by TV personality Jun Hyun-moo, runs on the concept of singers competing with impersonators. For each episode, a famous singer is invited as a guest along with several imitators, who can mimic the voice of the known singer. They go through four rounds of performances behind blinds while an audience of 100 people guess and vote to eliminate the imitator in each round.The seventh season started on Friday, inviting back season 1's first guest, Park Jung-hyun, to open up the new season after about a two-year hiatus since the most recent one in late 2020. Competing with the imposters, Park survived tAug 21, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
INTERVIEW Jung Woo shapes his character for Netflix's 'A Model Family' Actor Jung Woo plays the role of Dong-ha in Netflix's new original series “A Model Family.” Courtesy of Netflix Jung plays cash-strapped professor in new thriller action seriesBy Lee Gyu-leeRising to stardom overnight with the lead role in the hit TV series “Reply 1994” in 2013, Jung Woo has proven himself to be a versatile actor, from playing a crusading lawyer in the film “New Trial” (2017) to a short-tempered detective in the comedy series “Mad for Each Other” (2021). Actor Jung Woo / Courtesy of Netflix In Netflix's latest Korean original series “A Model Family,” Jung has taken the role of an everyday man who falls into the deep seedy underbelly of crime in Korea. “(After getting the script,) I flipped a page to see what it's about and it was really interesting. The script was tightly-woven and detailed. Not just the lines but several characters Aug 18, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
Thriller series 'Flower of Evil' becomes first K-drama to be remade in India The posters for tvN's thriller romance series, “Flower of Evil,” left, and its Indian remake, “Duranga” / Courtesy of Studio Dragon By Lee Gyu-leeThe 2020 tvN thriller romance series, “Flower of Evil,” starring actors Lee Joon-gi and Moon Chae-won, has been picked up for an adaptation in India, making it the first Korean series to be remade in the country. The series' production company, Studio Dragon, announced Wednesday that it has inked a deal with one of India's biggest platforms, ZEE5, which has made the Indian adaptation of the series, titled “Duranga.” “India, as of 2022, has a total population of about 1.47 billion, which is the second-most populated country following China. And especially as the over-the-top (OTT) market in the country has rapidly grown, it has had a key competitive market among its local streaming platforms,” the studio said in the release. “Despite the years of a boom in K-content, India has been uncharted territory for hallyu, overshadowAug 17, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' tops Netflix chart for non-English series for 3rd week A scene from the Korean legal drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” / Courtesy of ENAThe Korean legal drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" has topped Netflix's latest weekly viewership chart of non-English TV shows for the third consecutive week, the global video streaming service said Wednesday.The TV series, which has aired every Wednesday and Thursday on the cable channel ENA since June 29, marked 69.4 million hours of viewing for the week of Aug. 8-14 to lead Netflix's official top 10 list for non-English TV programs available on the service, according to the company.It is the 16-part show's fifth No. 1 finish since it made the top 10 six weeks ago. It placed second in the third week, losing to the Spanish show "Alba.""Woo" revolves around a lawyer named Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin), who is brilliant with an outstanding memory but lacks social skills and empathy due to being on the autism spectrum.On the chart, the Korean fantasy "Alchemy of Souls" ranked fourth with 17.8 million hours of viewing, staying in the top 10 for seven weeks in a row."A Model Family," Netflix's nAug 17, 2022
INTERVIEW Director of 'A Model Family' on blending Korean and European-style thrillers Netflix's new thriller series, "A Model Family," hit the platform on Aug. 12. Courtesy of Netflix By Lee Gyu-leeDirector Kim Jin-woo, whose previous work includes the detective series, “Queen of Mystery,” (2017) and Netflix's "Love Alarm 2" (2021), shared that his latest series, "A Model Family," is a mixture of a Korean and a European-style thriller. Director Kim Jin-woo / Courtesy of Netflix “There's uniqueness in the Korean-style (thriller) genre; having fast-paced tension focusing on the protagonist and the villain,” the director said in an interview with The Korea Times via video call, Tuesday. “European-style (thriller) genre series tend to put more detail into the sub-characters rather than being dynamic. So I thought about blending such interesting and different styles of approaches to the genre in our series.”Netflix's new original series,Aug 17, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
'Squid Game' wins two prizes at US critics' awards Lee Jung-jae, center, Park Hae-soo, right, and Oh Yeong-soo in a scene from the Korean series "Squid Game." Courtesy of NetflixThe Korean sensation "Squid Game" has won two awards at this year's Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) TV Awards.According to the HCA on Tuesday (KST), "Squid Game" was named Best International Series and its lead Lee Jung-jae won Best Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama, at its annual awards for TV programs.For the Best International Series award, the all-Korean Netflix original competed with the Korean-language epic series "Pachinko," the Mexican comedy "Acapulco," the French thriller "Lupin," the Spanish crime action series "Money Heist" and the American-Mexican crime drama "Narcos: Mexico."In a videotaped acceptance speech, "Squid Game" creator Hwang Dong-hyuk said he is grateful for the honor and now working on the series' second season."I believe the series has since overcome the limits of a non-English series to create many historical moments and breakthroughs," he said. "I do hope to create a better second season and share it with all the fans and criAug 16, 2022
