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
Star directors' new series to A-listers' small screen comeback expected in coming weeks Posters for the new sitcom, “Unicorn,” left, and the drama series “Little Women” / Courtesy of Coupang Play, tvNBy Lee Gyu-leeAn array of series by top directors and stars are set to be released in the coming weeks, with genres ranging from sitcom and romantic comedy to a mystery drama.Director Lee Byeong-heon, who is known for leading the hit comedy film “Extreme Job” (2019) and the romantic comedy series “Be Melodramatic” (2019), is releasing a new sitcom, “Unicorn,” as a creative director. Coupang Play's new original, written by TV personality and screenwriter Yoo Byung-Jae, follows the chaotic struggles of people at a startup, led by its CEO, Steve (Shin Ha-kyun). Along with the narcissistic, fanatical boss, the workers at the company, including money-hungry Ashley (Won Jin-a) and mysterious Jay (Lee You-Jin), must find their way to survive in the tough startup world. The series, set to hit the streaming service on Aug. 26, is directed by Kim Hye-young, who co-led Lee Byeong-heon's series “Be Melodramatic.”DiAug 15, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
Reality shows go abroad again amid eased COVID-19 travel restrictions Posters for “Dopojarak: Story of Homme the K-Wanderer,” left, and “Europe Outside the Tent” / Courtesy of MBC, tvN Cast members travel to European cities, ThailandBy Lee Gyu-leeBefore the COVID-19 outbreak began sweeping across the globe in 2020, traveling shows and reality programs filmed overseas were not hard to find on Korean TV.But when the pandemic resulted in border restrictions and flight bans in many countries, limiting overseas travelers in an effort to prevent the virus from spreading, shooting shows in other countries became almost impossible. Shows based on traveling like "Battle Trip” and “Youn's Kitchen” either put an end to their runs or changed their formats to survive. However, with many countries starting to ease such border and flight restrictions, more shows that feature cast members traveling in different countries have been rising again. Two shows about traveling to European countries, “Dopojarak: Story of Homme the K-Wanderer” and “Europe OutAug 12, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
'Good Doctor' director to debut Netflix's high-strung suspense series, 'A Model Family' From left, director Kim Jin-woo, actors Jung Woo, Yoon Jin-seo, Park Ji-yeon, and Park Hee-soon pose during a press conference for the new crime series, “A Model Family,” held in Dongdaemun District, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of NetflixBy Lee Gyu-leeDirector Kim Jin-woo, who is known for leading the 2013 medical series, “Good Doctor,” and Netflix's “Love Alarm 2” (2021), is set to roll out a new suspense-filled, crime series called “A Model Family,” which will be released on the platform this Friday. The 10-part series revolves around a cash-strapped patriarch, Dong-ha (Jung Woo), who is a part-time lecturer at a college. His life is on the verge of falling apart. He fails to get tenure and his wife Eun-ju (Yoon Jin-seo) asks for a divorce, while he lost the money for his sick son's surgery. One day, he comes across a pile of cash next to a dead body and unwittingly steals it without knowing it belongs to a drug cartel. With both police and the cartel's second-in-command, Gwang-cheol (Park Hee-soon), after him, the lecturer finds the onlAug 10, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
Netflix's 'Narco-Saints' to be released Sept. 9 A promotional poster for new Netflix's original series, “Narco-Saints,” to be released on Sept. 9 / Courtesy of Netflix By Kim RahnA new Netflix original series, “Narco-Saints,” created by top director Yoon Jong-bin, will be released on Sept. 9, the streaming service platform said, Monday. The much-anticipated series is about a man who has no choice but to take on a secret mission for the National Intelligence Service (NIS) after being framed by a Korean drug lord operating in Suriname.It has drawn attention since the production was announced last year, as it is helmed by Yoon, who has been recognized for excellence in storytelling and direction in previous films, including “Nameless Gangster: Rules of Time” (2011) and “The Spy Gone North” (2018).Its star-studded cast also raises expectations, especially because some of the actors have already proven to be good partners with director Yoon.Ha Jung-woo plays the role of Kang In-su, an entrepreneur who wished to make mAug 8, 2022By Kim Rahn
OTT platforms struggle amid declining number of users Over-the-top platforms in Korea are suffering from a declining number of users this year. Korea Times fileBy Lee Gyu-leeThe streaming service business is one of the industries that benefited from the COVID-19 pandemic as more and more people turned to over-the-top (OTT) platforms for entertainment during lockdowns, which led to a steady growth in the number of users in recent years. However, as the social distancing and the coronavirus-induced restrictions ease, streaming service platforms here are facing struggles with a bleak outlook, losing their subscribers. According to the big data platform Mobile Index, most of the major OTT services like Wavve, Tving, Coupang Play and Disney+, saw falls in their subscriber numbers in the first half of this year. The overall mobile users of the top seven services, which include the four above as well as Netflix, Seezn, and Watcha, totaled 26.86 million in April, down by about 3.4 million compared to this January. Individually, the largest local service, Wavve, suffered the highest fall of 14 percent of the number of users from 4.92 million in Aug 7, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
'The Red Sleeve' director debuts new thriller From left, actors Park Ho-san and Kim Soo-jin, director Song Yeon-hwa, and actor Ye Soo-jung pose during a press conference for MBC's new thriller series, “Hunted,” Monday. Courtesy of MBCBy Lee Gyu-leeDirector Song Yeon-hwa, who co-directed MBC's hit series, “The Red Sleeve,” earlier this year, is leading the network's new thriller series, “Hunted.” “The script for the series was very compelling. (The story) seemed predictable but it would have twists from unexpected parts. So I really wanted to work on this piece,” the director said during a press conference for the series, Monday.The four-part short series, which kicked off on Monday, revolves around a middle-aged man, Young-soo (Park Ho-san), who lives in a close-knit town in a rural area with his wife and son. One day, he goes hunting in the mountains with his friends to stop boars from damaging local people's farms. While hunting, he shoots a moving object thinking it was a boar but then hears a human voice. After coming home without knowing what he shot, he finds out that his sonAug 5, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
