'Squid Game' actor, 'Street Woman Fighter' dancer to promote performing arts Actor O Yeong-su, left, and dancer Monika, center, pose with Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Park Bo-gyoon in Seoul, Monday, after being appointed honorary ambassadors to promote Korea's performing arts. Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and TourismBy Kim RahnActor O Yeong-su and dancer Monika have been named honorary ambassadors to promote the nation's performing arts. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Monday, gave the honorary positions to O to promote performing arts-centered tourism, and to Monika to promote the 2022 Welcome Daehangno festival, which will be held later this year, in an attempt to better promote Korea's performance shows and relevant festivals as well as the Daehangno neighborhood, a mecca of plays and theater performances in the capital.O started his acting career by joining the theater company Kwangjang in 1967 and has appeared in more than 200 plays at theaters mostly in the Daehangno area. Although he had been familiar to Korean audiences for numerous supporting roles on TV, the 78-year-old rose to international fame last year for his rolJul 26, 2022By Kim Rahn
Hackberry tree in 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' draws visitors to small village A hackberry tree sits atop Dongbu Village in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, which is witnessing a large number of visitors after it was recently featured in the series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) decided to review whether to designate it as a natural monument. Courtesy of CHA By Kim RahnA small farming village in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, is seeing a sharp increase in the number of visitors after a large hackberry tree there appeared recently in the hit series, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.”The 500-year-old tree was featured in episodes 7 and 8 last week, where a fictional village called Sodeok-dong faces damage due to a road construction plan that bisects the hamlet and requires the tree to be cut down.Located atop a small hill at the center of the village, the so-called “guardian tree” symbolizes the value of the village in the ENA drama. A government review initiated to designate the tree as a natural mJul 25, 2022By Kim Rahn
Seo Hyun-jin says 'Why Her' taught her more about herself Actress Seo Hyun-jin played the role of Oh Soo-jae in SBS' recent series, “Why Her.” Courtesy of StudioS By Lee Gyu-leeActress Seo Hyun-jin said that her recent role as determined lawyer Oh Soo-jae in SBS' legal romance series, “Why Her,” led her to reflect on herself. “I learned more about working on the set and about me as a person through this series,” Seo said in an interview through her agency, Management Soop, Sunday, a day after the series ended. “This particular work had a long production time and required me to put energy into various aspects of it. It feels like the time went by so fast so I'm rather sad (that it's over).”Led by Park Soo-jin, who directed the romance series, “The Hymn of Death,” (2018) the 16-part series revolves around the youngest partner at Korea's top law firm, Oh Soo-jae, who is talented and is on her way to becoming the firm's best attorney, driven by a relentless desire to win. However, one day, she takes on a case that causes an unJul 24, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
Park Bo-young, Yeon Woo-jin to star in new Netflix original series From left, actors Jang Dong-yoon, Park Bo-young, Lee Jung-eun, and Yeon Woo-jin pose during the table reading for Netflix's upcoming original series, “Daily Dose of Sunshine.” Courtesy of Netflix By Lee Gyu-leeActors Park Bo-young and Yeon Woo-jin will be leading Netflix's upcoming original series, “Daily Dose of Sunshine,” led by director Lee Jae-Gyu, who previously led the platform's zombie apocalyptic series, “All of Us Are Dead.” The streaming platform announced Thursday that the two have confirmed their roles in its new series, along with Jang Dong-yoon and Lee Jung-eun. The drama series, which follows the story of people in a psychiatric ward, is based on the webtoon of the same name by Lee Ha-ra. The webtoon creator wrote the story based on her real experience as a psychiatric nurse. Park takes the role of a nurse, Jung Da-eun, who used to work in a different department and has been newly transferred to the psychiatric ward. As she becomes familiar with her nJul 22, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
Netflix's 'Remarriage & Desires' director, Kim Hee-sun on portraying matchmaking agency Actress Kim Hee-sun plays the lead in Netflix's new original series, “Remarriage & Desires.” Courtesy of Netflix New series follows woman seeking revenge on mistressBy Lee Gyu-leeUsing the services of a matchmaking firm to find the right partner for marriage is not as common in other countries as it still is in Korea, so the unusual concept of matchmaking for the super-rich might intrigue some viewers overseas, said Kim Jung-min, the creator and director of Netflix's new original series, “Remarriage & Desires.” Kim Jung-min, the director of the series, “Remarriage & Desires” / Courtesy of Netflix “I felt this topic would make a new and unique story for overseas viewers if it were made into a Netflix series,” he said in an interview with The Korea Times, Wednesday.The eight-part series, which was released on July 15, revolves around a widowed woman, SJul 21, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
'Extraordinary Attorney Woo's' take on autism spectrum becomes sensation Actress Park Eun-bin plays the title role in ENA's series, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” which has become very popular recently. Courtesy of AStory, KT Studio GeniePopular drama takes 'open-hearted approach' to people with disabilitiesBy Lee Gyu-leeAutism spectrum characters have popped up in Korean dramas or films once in a while. Yet, it seemed very rare for those characters to become the center of the show's spotlight, as they are rather placed in minor or supporting roles. However, the recent series, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” not only challenged such notions by having a lawyer on the autism spectrum as the lead character, but it also has proved that it can hit the right note and become a sensational series. Local cable network ENA's legal series, which also streams on Netflix, revolves around a character named Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin), who is a genius but autistic newbie at a top law firm. Starting her first job after graduating from a prestigious law school at the top of her class, Woo tackles challenges and prejudice in and beyond the courtroom wJul 21, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' tops Netflix viewership chart for 2nd week Scenes 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 second consecutive week, the global video streaming service said Wednesday.The TV series, which has aired every Wednesday and Thursday on the cable channel ENA beginning June 29, marked 45.6 million hours of viewing for the week of July 11-17 to lead Netflix's official top 10 list for non-English TV programs available on the service, according to the company.It debuted at No. 1 on the chart last week and became the second Korean-made TV series that is simultaneously streamed on a local TV channel and on Netflix to rank No. 1 on the official viewership chart, following the romantic comedy "Business Proposal" (2022).The 16-part drama is also the eighth Korean-language show that has topped the weekly chart for the category that includes Netflix originals, like the global sensation "Squid Game" (2021) and "All of Us Are Dead" (2022).The series made the top 10 on Jul 20, 2022
Seoul drama awards to collect viewers' votes on best Korean, Asian actors By Kim RahnThe logo of the Seoul International Drama Awards / Screenshot from the SDA websiteDrama fans around the world are being encouraged to vote for their favorite stars for the 2022 Seoul International Drama Awards (SDA), according to the organizer of the event, Tuesday. The organizing committee of the annual SDA said it will collect votes for the three categories of awards: Outstanding Asian Star, Outstanding Performance (in a Korean drama), and Best OST. The voting for the 17th SDA will open from Aug. 1 for one month on Idol Champ, an app developed by Neowiz and MBC Plus, where fans can vote for various competition programs, having some 8 million users.For the Outstanding Asian Star category, fans will select up to five actors and actresses from Asian nations except for Korea. Last year's winners were Marcus Chang from Taiwan for “Lost Romance,” Amanda Manopo from Indonesia for “The Ties of Love,” Kentaro Sakaguchi from Japan for “Signal Special Episode,” Lusi Zhao from China for “Chang Ge Xing ― the Long Ballad,” and PP-Krit AmJul 19, 2022By Kim Rahn
August to offer many new drama series premieres Posters for KBS' new series, “If You Wish Upon Me,” left, and tvN's series, “Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist” / Courtesy of KBS and tvNKBS will release drama series 'If You Wish Upon Me,' legal romance series 'The Law Cafe'By Lee Gyu-leeAugust will see the premieres of an array of different genre series, from legal to period comedy dramas. KBS is set to roll out the new legal romance series, “The Law Cafe,” starring actor and singer Lee Seung-gi, who is returning from his powerful role as a psychopath in last year's mystery crime series, “Mouse.Based on the web novel of the same name, the new series, set to premiere on Aug. 29, revolves around two friends of 17 years, Kim Jeong-ho (Lee) and Kim Yu-ri (Lee Se-young), who run a combination law firm/cafe. Jeong-ho used to be a gifted prosecutor but is now a building owner. He joins hands with ferociously passionate lawyer Yu-ri to help clients with legal services through the cafe and law firm they run. The series is directed by Lee Eun-jin, who helmed the 2010 hit drama series, “Bread, LoveJul 18, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
INTERVIEW Jung Eun-chae felt cathartic playing role in series 'Anna' A scene from Coupang Play's original series “Anna” / Courtesy of Coupang Play Jung Eun-chae felt drawn to her role in series “Anna” from startBy Lee Gyu-leeActress Jung Eun-chae, who is familiar to global audiences for starring in the SBS fantasy series “The King: Eternal Monarch” and the Apple TV+ original “Pachinko,” shared that her recent role as a self-centered character in the Coupang Play original series “Anna” felt cathartic. The six-part drama series, which released its final episodes earlier this month, follows the life of a woman named Yu-mi (Bae Suzy), who was born to poor but loving parents. She has always been the intelligent and beautiful kid among her friends, but life doesn't seem to go in her favor as she grows up.Burdened by her parents' hopes and expectations and faced with constant failure, she steals the identity of her wealthy, bratty employer, Hyun-joo (Jung), going by her English name Anna. Under the new name, she attains the affluent, sophiJul 17, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
