Several big K-drama names are circling new projects after having been away from screens for a few years, while a big K-pop name is poised to take on his biggest acting role yet in our latest round-up of Korean drama casting items.
1. Delusion
Delusion will be directed by Han Jae-rim, who has already worked with Ryu on the film The King and the forthcoming series The 8 Show, which will screen on Netflix later this year.
7 of the best new Korean drama series to watch in March 2024
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Set both in Shanghai in the 1800s and Gyeongseong (modern-day Seoul) in 1935, Delusion will focus on painter Yun I-ho, who is commissioned by mysterious woman Song Jeong-hwa to paint her portrait at the hotel where she is staying.
2. Undercover High School
This would make it Seo’s first drama since being discharged from his obligatory military service in South Korea in May 2023. Ever since breaking out in the 2016 series Cheese in the Trap, he has been a leading man in K-dramas, appearing in shows such as Watcher.
The role he has been offered is that of Jung Hae-sung, an agent of the National Intelligence Service who goes undercover as a student in a high school. While undercover, he begins to build relationships and empathise with his classmates as they go about their lives.
Undercover High School is expected to begin filming in the first half of this year and will be released at some point in 2025.
3. I Believe You
Jaehyun, of K-pop group NCT, is being eyed for a leading role in the series I Believe You.
He has been offered the role Nam Soo-il, a student from a disadvantaged background who experiences bullying in a school where the rich kids engage in all manner of drugs and violence. Soo-il has to stand up for himself and rise up against his privileged aggressors.
Jaehyun made his acting debut alongside Park Hye-su in the series Dear M, which was released in 2022. He will also be seen soon in the theatrical mystery-thriller You Will Die After Six Hours, which was shot last year.
Filming for I Believe You will begin in the first half of 2024. The series will be produced by Mace Entertainment, which is also responsible for upcoming Netflix series The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call with Ju Ji-hoon.
4. The Scent of Plum Flower
Based on a novel of the same name, The Scent of Plum Flower tells of a woman in the palace court who is a close aide to the royal family.
Cho has been linked to the role of Park Mi-ryeong, a herbalist who gives birth to a son without knowing who the father is, and desires to have both love and power after becoming a concubine.
Although this would be her first period drama in 12 years, Cho used to be known for the genre, having appeared in notable historical films such as The Servant and The Concubine.