MBC's 'The Veil' writer gives glimpse of action-packed blockbuster
A poster for MBC's upcoming spy thriller series “The Veil” / Courtesy of MBC
By Lee Gyu-lee
Park Seok-ho, the writer and creator of MBC's spy thriller series “The Veil,” has given a glimpse of the upcoming drama, stirring viewers' anticipation.
“As many spy flicks are, the key of our series is hard-boiled thrills and action,” the writer said in a written interview Wednesday. “Especially the main character Han Ji-hyuk, played by Namgoong Min, will surprise (the viewers) as the actor puts on special makeup effects for every episode and bulked up to have the shape of a professional bodybuilder.”
The blockbuster series, which won MBC's drama script contest in 2018, revolves around National Intelligence Service agent Ji-hyuk, who is considered the top field agent and is admired by his colleagues for his skills.
One day, he mysteriously goes missing while carrying out a mission. A year after he vanished into thin air, he comes back to the agency to uncover the truth of that day and hunt down whoever was responsible for his disappearance. Actress Park Ha-sun will also play the lead role Seo Soo-yeon, Ji-hyuk's former colleague and the head of a team at the agency.
It is directed by Kim Sung-yong, whose previous works include period series “Flowers of the Prison” and romance series “My Healing Love.”
The writer, who is making his debut with the series, revealed that he wanted to tell a story that looks into the intelligence agency.
“There are many series that use an intelligence agency as a backdrop but I didn't think there are any that actually explore the agency from within,” he said. “And since I was always interested in governmental organizations, I thought it would be nice to have a series that does so.”
The series is titled “Black Sun” in Korean. The writer noted that the title has a double meaning, which hints at the storyline.
“Black Sun means it's omnipresent, overlooking everything, but it also means living behind the shadow, in the dark, like the intelligence agency,” he said. “So the symbolic meanings of the title indicate the psychological struggle of the main character who has put his life at stake to carry out missions for the agency.”
The action-packed blockbuster is a 15 billion won ($13.7 million) project to celebrate MBC's 60th anniversary.
The network, earlier in the week, revealed that the series will premiere on Sept. 17 at 10 p.m., unveiling the official poster. It will air on Fridays and Saturdays every week.
The series will also be released through waave, the local video streaming platform run by Korea's three broadcasters ― KBS, MBC, and SBS ― and SK Telecom.