Han Ji-min, Lee Min-ki eyed for new series by My Liberation Notes director; Kim So-hyun to star in webtoon adaptation Is It a Coincidence? – K-drama casting latest

Han Ji-min and Lee Min-ki are mulling offers to star in the upcoming series Hip, which will chronicle the lives of people in the countryside involved in farming
Kim So-hyun has been cast as the lead in the webtoon adaptation Is It a Coincidence?, and Cha Eun-woo is considering a role in the upcoming Irresistible Love

K-drama news

Pierce Conran

Published: 6:15pm, 13 Aug, 2022

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Despite floods around Seoul and its surrounding areas this week, the Korean drama industry marches on, with a slew of major productions gearing up for production.

These include webtoon adaptation Is It a Coincidence?, countryside slice-of-life drama Hip and supernatural romance Irresistible Love.

1. Hip

Following their turns in this year’s hit dramas Our Blues and My Liberation Notes respectively, Han Ji-min and Lee Min-ki are currently mulling over offers to co-star in the upcoming JTBC series Hip.

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The series will chronicle the lives of characters in the countryside who are involved in farming. Han earned a slew of awards for her leading role in the 2018 film Miss Baek, and was later seen opposite Nam Joo-hyuk in Josée, while Lee has earned plaudits for films such as Very Ordinary Couple and the series The Beauty Inside.

Expected to broadcast in the first half of next year, the show will be helmed by The Light in Your Eyes director Kim Suk-yoon. Han has worked before with director Kim, both on the film Detective K: Secret of the Virtuous Widow and his drama series Radiant. Lee recently collaborated with Kim on the hugely acclaimed series My Liberation Notes.

2. Is It a Coincidence?

After taking a brief hiatus following last year’s River Where the Moon Rises, actress Kim So-hyun is reportedly ready to get back in front of the camera, having been cast as the female lead in the webtoon adaptation Is It a Coincidence? (translated title).

Kim So-hyun in a still from River Where the Moon Rises. Photo: KBS

Kim will play Hong-joo, a woman who has grown cynical about love after breaking up with her first love, Jun-ho. The drama will chronicle the tale of Hoo-young, a man who reunites with Hong-joo – his own first love – 10 years after their time together in high school.

Busy director Song Hyun-wook ( The King’s Affection, The Beauty Inside) will helm the romantic comedy series, which is said to be eight episodes long. Kim’s other major credits include Netflix’s Love Alarm and The Emperor: Owner of the Mask.

3. Irresistible Love

True Beauty actor Cha Eun-woo has been offered and is considering a leading role in the upcoming drama Irresistible Love. The tale will focus on the romance between a woman with a forbidden book – sealed three centuries earlier – and the man who becomes a victim of the same book.

Cha Eun-woo in a still from True Beauty. Photo: tvN

Popular singer Cha, who is steadily ramping up his screen work, will also be in the upcoming mystery series Island and the action film Decibel.

The show is being written by Noh Ji-seol, who is known for the period romance 100 Days My Prince and the melodrama Scent of a Woman. Nam Ki-hoon, the director behind the fantasy romance Kiss Sixth Sense, the comedy Oh My Baby and the investigative thriller Voice 3, will reportedly helm the series.

4. Red Balloon

Drama actress Seo Ji-hye may be adding yet another new show to her slate. Seo is currently considering an offer to lead the drama Red Balloon, in which she would play the protagonist Cho Eun-kang.

Seo Ji-hye in a still from Kiss Sixth Sense. Photo: Disney+

The series will be penned by Moon Young-nam, who most recently wrote Revolutionary Sisters.

After appearing in Crash Landing on You, Seo has been seen in Dr Brain, Kiss Sixth Sense and Adamas in the last year, and she is gearing up to film the second season of The Arthdal Chronicles. Red Balloon is expected to hold its script reading later this month and to be broadcast in December.

5. Happy Boy

Climax Studio, the company behind D.P. and Hellbound, has been busy of late setting up a range of interconnected disaster stories, including the upcoming film Concrete Utopia with Lee Byung-hun and Park Seo-joon. That universe has just grown with the announcement of the drama Happy Boy.

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Based on a webtoon of the same name, the 10-part series will be headlined by Sung Yoo-bin (The Witch: Part 2. The Other One), Won Ji-an (If You Wish Upon Me) and Cho Hyun-chul (D.P.) and is expected to focus on a group of students who show their true selves after they find themselves trapped in a school following an earthquake.

The series entered production last month and will mark the drama directing debut of Min Yong-geun, who is known for the acclaimed indie film Re-encounter. Min also recently completed another Climax production, the film Soulmate with Kim Da-mi, based on the Chinese film of the same name.

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