Netflix series 'Narco-Saints' to tell real-life story of Korean drug lord

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

Sun, October 1, 2023 | 15:43

Shows & Dramas

Netflix series 'Narco-Saints' to tell real-life story of Korean drug lord

Posted : 2022-09-08 09:05

Updated : 2022-09-12 18:45

From left, actors Yoo Yeon-seok and Park Hae-soo, Director Yoon Jong-bin, actors Hwang Jung-min, Ha Jung-woo and Jo Woo-jin pose during a press conference for the new Netflix series, "Narco-Saints," at Josun Palace in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Netflix

By Lee Gyu-lee

Netflix is set to release another blockbuster Korean original series, "Narco-Saints," scheduled to hit the platform on Friday, in time for the Chuseok holiday long weekend.

Based on a true story, the thriller crime series revolves around entrepreneur Kang In-gu (Ha Jung-woo), who travels to Suriname, a small country in South America, to start a fish trading business to make ends meet for his family back in Korea. One day he comes across a Korean priest, Jeon Yo-hwan (Hwang Jung-min), who helps him out during a dispute with the local Chinese mafia.

When he is accused of smuggling drugs, In-gu finds out Yo-hwan is actually the country's Korean drug lord who uses his fish business to export drugs. He then joins a secret government mission to take him down with agent Choi Chang-ho (Park Hae-soo).

Filmmaker Yoon Jong-bin, who is known for the 2018 drama film "The Spy Gone North" and the 2014 period action film "Kundo: Age of the Rampant," is making his series directorial debut with "Narco-Saints." He co-wrote the series with scriptwriter Kwon Sung-hui, whose previous work includes the 2020 horror film "The Closet."

The director shared that the drama, which was originally meant to be a film, was developed into a six-part series to explore the story of the real-life Korean drug lord in Suriname, who was apprehended in 2009.

"When I first heard about the story, I thought it was really interesting. But when I got the script for the film, a lot was missing, like the things that drew my interest at first. It seemed to be difficult to capture the whole story in a two-hour running time," he said during a press conference for the series, held at Josun Palace in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Wednesday.

Actor Ha is making a return to the small screen with the series since his drug use conviction, where he was fined last year for illegally using propofol for non-medical purposes.

Ha, who was part of the project since its development stage, said he felt the uniqueness of the story was worth making into a series.

"I believed that this story based on real life has huge energy. A Korean going to a small South American country and becoming a drug smuggler, itself, felt like a movie," he said. "Because of that the story was powerful, I knew that it would be made into (a series) sometime."

Hwang shared that he joined the project as he was intrigued by its intense storyline. "When I read the script for all six episodes, it had this energy that pulled me toward the next page. After reading the first episode, it made me want to flip right to the next page," he said.

He added that he felt satisfied to see the final product after working with star-studded cast members, Ha, Park, Yoo Yeon-seok, and Jo Woo-jin.

"It's my first time working with these actors … I actually felt bigger energy after watching the series than during the shooting. I was watching the final version quite a time after the filming and everyone did such a great job with their characters," he said.

gyulee@koreatimes.co.kr