Presidential hopeful offers 100 million won to buy phone number exposed in 'Squid Game' A poster for “Squid Game” / Courtesy of NetflixBy Yoon Ja-youngA presidential hopeful has offered 100 million won ($85,000) to buy the phone number of a man who says he has been bombarded with unwanted calls and messages after it was shown in the hit Netflix series “Squid Game.”Huh Kyung-young, the National Revolutionary Party's honorary chief who announced his bid for presidency last month, said on Facebook Sept. 26, “I heard that the owner of the phone number showed on a business card in Squid Game is suffering serious damage from prank calls. I would like to buy the number for 100 million won.”In the Korean original series which has topped the charts of the global streaming service in a number of countries, a mysterious man played by actor Gong Yoo gives business cards containing an eight-digit phone number to the main character Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, and others in despair. He tells them to call the number if they want to join the game, where participants bet their lives to win a huge amount of prize money. It seems some viewers cSep 27, 2021By Yoon Ja-young
'It's Okay to Not Be Okay,' 'I-LAND' nominated for 2021 International Emmy Awards Poster for tvN's series “It's Okay to Not Be Okay” Courtesy of tvNBy Park Ji-wonTvN's series, “It's Okay to Not Be Okay,” and Mnet's audition show, “I-LAND,” have been nominated for this year's International Emmy Awards, which are given to non-U.S. shows and actors.The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (IATAS) announced Thursday the list of nominees including the two Korean shows.Poster for K-pop audition show “I-LAND” Courtesy of CJ ENM“It's Okay to Not Be Okay,” a romantic series which was aired from June to August of 2020 revolving around Gang-tae, a caretaker in a psychiatric ward who refuses to love, and Moon-young, a famous children's book writer who is known to have an antisocial personality disorder, was nominated in the TV Movie & Mini-Series category. “I-LAND,” a K-pop audition show which aired from June to September of 2020, was listed in the Non-Scripted Entertainment category. No Korean program has won the award in those categories to date. In 2010, MBC's documentary, “MSep 26, 2021By Park Ji-won
Netflix reveals original Korean series lineup including 'Hellbound,' 'Juvenile Justice' Actress Han So-hee in a scene from the series, "My Name” / Courtesy of NetflixBy Kwak Yeon-sooNetflix shared its grand plans for the future at the “Tudum: Korea Spotlight” event, releasing a slew of trailers and clips for upcoming original Korean shows, including the much-anticipated “Hellbound” and “Juvenile Justice.”The streaming service's first-ever Tudum event for global fans introduced 10 pieces of exclusive Korean content. Actors Song Kang, who starred in Netflix's “Love Alarm” and “Sweet Home,” and Jung Hae-in from the military series “D.P.” also appeared during the show to share their special experiences in collaborating with Netflix.Hinting that he will star in a new Netflix project, Song said, “I like to play diverse roles but I'm interested in portraying nerdy characters.”“Paik's Spirit,” a Korean food show starring popular chef and eatery franchise owner, Paik Jong-won, will drop Oct. 1. The noir series “My Name,” about Yoon Ji-woo (Han So-hee) who joins a druSep 26, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Squid Game' tops global Netflix chart Netflix's original series "Squid Game" / Courtesy of NetflixBy Park Ji-wonNetflix's Korean original series "Squid Game" has topped the global top 10 charts at the streaming giant, Friday, local time. This is the first time that a Korean drama series reached the top spot on Netflix's top 10.According to streaming analytics platform FlixPatrol, the thriller series seized the position on Friday on the daily top 10 list, while topping the list on Saturday as well. The British teen comedy series "Sex Education," which was at the top, fell to second. “Lucifer,” a U.S. mystery series in its sixth and last season, ranked third on the chart.Squid Game took first place in 66 out of 83 countries.The achievement came after the series, which began streaming Sept. 17, ranked second on the same chart from Monday to Thursday, local time, last week which was the first for a Korean drama series. It also became the first Korean drama series in the U.S.'s daily top 10 list since Tuesday.Netflix's global top 10 chart from FlixPatrol / Screenshot from FlixPatrol's websiteCreated and directed bSep 26, 2021By Park Ji-won
TV series 'Jirisan' to premiere on Oct. 23 A poster for tvN's upcoming series “Jirisan” / Courtesy of tvNBy Lee Gyu-leeThe TvN series “Jirisan,” one of the most highly anticipated TV events of the year, is finally set to kick off its run Oct. 23. The network announced the premiere date of the thriller action series, unveiling a second trailer, Thursday.The series, which is part of tvN's 15th-anniversary project, has garnered high hopes among K-drama fans since the news of its production with big star leads ― Jun Ji-hyun and Ju Ji-hoon ― and a talented production team. It is written by Kim Eun-hee, the writer and creator of the Netflix sensation “Kingdom” and tvN's “Signal,” and directed by Lee Eung-bok, who has helmed mega-hit series such as tvN's “Mr. Sunshine” and Netflix's “Sweet Home.”Set in the Jirisan National Park, located in South Gyeongsang Province, the series follows the story of two rangers ― Seo Yi-gang (Jun) and Kang Hyun-jo (Ju) ― who take care of the park and rescue people. Yi-gang is an experienced ranger who knows the mountain like the bSep 25, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee
Kim Young-kwang to star in Netflix thriller 'Somebody' Actors Kim Young-kwang, left, and Kang Hae-lim will star in Netflix's new series, "Somebody." Courtesy of Wide-S Company, FantagioBy Kwak Yeon-sooModel-turned-actor Kim Young-kwang and rookie actress Kang Hae-lim will star in Netflix's new thriller series, “Somebody.” Directed by Jung Ji-woo, well-known for his previous films, “Eungyo” (2012) and “Tune in For Love” (2019), the series follows the story of a gruesome murder surrounding a social media app called “Somebody.”Kim, who was last seen in the action film, “Mission Possible” (2020), will play the role of Yoon Oh, a seemingly apathetic architect whose identity is revealed slowly. Rookie actress Kang will appear as Seom, an app developer who feels more comfortable interacting with computers and machines than with humans. “I'm more excited than anxious to be participating in such a big project. I'm happy to be playing such an attractive character as Seom, and I'm currently already shooting for 'Somebody.' I've been working very hard on the project, so please look foSep 23, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Squid Game' ranks second in global Netflix chart Netflix's Korean original series “Squid Game” ranked second of the streaming site's worldwide top 10 lists, Tuesday, according to FlixPatrol. Courtesy of NetflixBy Lee Gyu-leeNetflix's Korean original series “Squid Game” was second on Netflix's global top 10 charts, Tuesday, a record for a Korean drama.According to streaming analytics platform FlixPatrol, the thriller series took the spot on the daily top 10 list, which accumulates the overall streaming performance of shows on Netflix worldwide. The British teen comedy series “Sex Education” took first place. “Squid Game,” which began streaming Sept. 17, also became the first Korean drama in the U.S's daily top 10 list. The previous record on the global chart and the U.S chart was the apocalyptic action series “Sweet Home,” which took third spot on both charts late last year. Created and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, whose previous work includes the period drama film “The Fortress” and the comedy “Miss Granny,” the series revolves around high stakes roSep 22, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee
'The Devil Judge' writer Moon Yoo-seok shares creating dystopian society TvN series “The Devil Judge,” starring Ji Sung and Jin Young, ended last month. Courtesy of tvNBy Lee Gyu-leeJudge-turned-writer Moon Yoo-seok, who created and scripted tvN's recent series “The Devil Judge,” recently shared the thoughts his creative mind came up with that were behind his writing of the dystopian, dark hero series. Writer Moon Yoo-seok / Courtesy of tvN“With everything that has been going on in the world, I started to wonder what our future would be like if such patterns continued. So it led to the idea of bringing up a thought experiment, in a way, by setting the concept of this series in a near-future dystopian world,” Moon said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.The series, which ended last month with an 8 percent viewership rating, is set in a fictional dystopian Korea, two years after the country has been swept by a mysterious plague.The government implements a new justice system in which court trials are proceeded with as a live show for the public and rulings are made based on votes by citizens.Kang Yo-han (Ji Sung) iSep 14, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee
Lim Yoon-a and Kim Seon-ho to co-star in new rom-com Actors Lim Yoon-a, left, and Kim Seon-ho will co-lead in the new romantic comedy film "Two O'Clock Date” (direct translation). Courtesy of Filmmaker R&K By Lee Gyu-leeActress and singer Lim Yoon-a and actor Kim Seon-ho will be playing lead characters together in the upcoming film, “Two O'Clock Date,” (direct translation).The film's production company, Filmmaker R&K, whose action drama film, “Escape from Mogadishu,” was a box-office hit, announced Monday that the two actors have confirmed their roles and will begin shooting the film in March next year.The romantic comedy film will be about two apartment neighbors ― a woman with a huge secret and a man who lives on a floor above her. The story will follow their romance that blossoms as they encounter each other every day.The film will be directed by filmmaker Lee Sang-geun who wrote and helmed the hit comedy action flick “Exit,” which became the sixth highest-grossing movie in 2019. This will be the second movie for LSep 13, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee
From rom-com to action blockbuster: various dramas to air this month Posters for tvN series “Yumi's Cells,” left, and MBC series “The Veil” / Courtesy of tvN and MBCBy Lee Gyu-lee Various genres of TV programs are expected to hit the small screen in the coming days, with the romantic comedy “Yumi's Cells,” and the big-budget action TV drama “The Veil” set to be launched. The much-anticipated adaptation of the hit webcomic, “Yumi's Cells,” will finally premiere Friday on tvN and CJ ENM's streaming service TVING.The rom-com series, which has created a buzz since news emerged of its production, revolves around a woman in her 30s, named Kim Yu-mi (Kim). Along with the different functioning "cells” in her body, portrayed as human-like figures, she explores happiness in her personal and professional life, and the romantic relationships with her first boyfriend, Ku Woong (Ahn Bo-hyun), followed by another, Yoo Ba-bi (Park Jin-young).Another romantic comedy series, “Dali and the Cocky Prince,” starring Kim Min-jae and Park Gyu?young, is set to air Sept. 22. Directed by Lee Jung-seopSep 13, 2021By Lee Gyu-lee
