Little Women star Nam Ji-hyun to play factory girl in Hi Cookie, Lee Dong-wook teams with Connect’s Kim Hye-jun, Jeon Jong-seo eyes romcom – K-drama casting latest

Money Heist: Korea star Jeon Jong-seo eyes a romantic comedy, while Lee Dong-wook and Connect’s Kim Hye-jun will reportedly star in The Murderer’s Shopping Mall
Hi Cookie is next for Nam Ji-hyun, who played a determined reporter in Little Women, while second seasons have been confirmed for Big Bet and Shadow Detective

K-drama news

Pierce Conran

Published: 7:15pm, 10 Dec, 2022

Why you can trust SCMP

Global streaming giants continue to reshape the K-drama market, snatching up hot stars for several upcoming projects.

Meanwhile, second seasons are becoming increasingly common, and this week a slew of them were announced.

Here’s our latest round-up of Korean drama casting news.

1. Wedding Impossible

Jeon Jong-seo ( The Call) is back on screens now in Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area Part 2 and may be partnering with Netflix again soon.

The actress is mulling an offer to star in the romantic comedy Wedding Impossible. The co-starring role has been offered to Moon Sang-min, who has just wrapped up the hugely successful period drama Under the Queen’s Umbrella.

11 new Korean drama series to look out for in December 2022

The story is about a corporate heir who proposes a sham marriage to unknown actress Oh Ah-dung (Jeong) because he wants to keep his sexuality under wraps.

Things all go swimmingly until she meets her husband-to-be’s younger brother Goo Jung-yeol (Moon), who is overly protective of his sibling.

Shooting for Wedding Impossible, which is based on a web novel by Song Jeong-won, is expected to commence as soon as casting is finalised.

2. Second seasons of The Fiery Priest, Big Bet, and Shadow Detective

Hit SBS drama The Fiery Priest, starring Kim Nam-gil as a Catholic priest with anger management issues, will reportedly return to screens in 2023, four years after it first aired.

The highly anticipated Disney+ crime drama Big Bet, which drops this month, is apparently getting an early renewal, with a follow-up season already confirmed.

The show stars Oldboy actor Choi Min-shik, appearing in a drama for the first time in decades, alongside Son Suk-ku of My Liberation Notes and Glitch’s Lee Dong-hwi.

Also on Disney+, Shadow Detective was already known to be a two-season show, and now Kim Shin-rok, the breakout actress of Beyond Evil and Hellbound, is set to join the new season as Yeon Joo-hyun, a senior detective from a new unit. Lee Sung-min will also return in the title role.

3. The Murderer’s Shopping Mall

Lee Dong-wook and Kim Hye-jun will reportedly team up as uncle and niece in the forthcoming drama The Murderer’s Shopping Mall, which is being prepped for a global streaming service.

Kim Hye-jun in a still from Connect, now streaming on Disney+. Photo: Disney+

Based on a novel of the same name by Kang Ji-young, the story will follow a girl who loses her parents and ends up being raised by her uncle, who runs an online shopping mall. One day the uncle dies suddenly and the niece must inform his customers of his untimely death.

Guardian: The Lonely and Great God actor Lee was last seen in the drama Bad and Crazy. Kim is known for her roles in Kingdom and Inspector Koo and is currently on screens alongside Jung Hae-in in the Takashi Miike-directed Connect on Disney+. Also joining the cast is Seo Hyun-woo, who is currently appearing in Behind Every Star.

The Murderer’s Shopping Mall will comprise eight episodes and is being prepped for release at some point next year.

4. Hi Cookie

After appearing in the acclaimed drama Little Women, Nam Ji-hyun will return to screens in the streaming series Hi Cookie alongside rising star Choi Hyun-wook.

Nam Ji-hyun in a still from Little Women.

Hi Cookie concerns an elite school that becomes overwhelmed by dangerous handmade cookies that make people’s dreams come true. Nam will play Choi Soo-young, a young woman who begins working in a factory as soon as she comes of age in order to provide for her younger sister.

Known for dramas such as 100 Days My Prince, Nam drew strong notices for her role as the determined reporter Oh In-kyung in Little Women this year. Choi, whose role has yet to be revealed, has drawn attention this year for his scene-stealing turns in Twenty-Five Twenty-One and Weak Hero Class 1.

Also joining the cast as Soo-young’s younger sister is Jung Da-bin of Glitch and Extracurricular.

5. Doctor Slump

An Heirs reunion may be on the cards – actors Park Shin-hye and Park Hyung-sik are considering reuniting in the JTBC medical drama Doctor Slump, which follows a pair of doctors who are experiencing a slump and whose lives are in desperate need of resuscitation.

Kim Tae-ri, Kim Soo-hyun in talks for new shows: K-drama casting latest

Should she sign on, Park Shin-hye would play Nam Ha-neul, while Park Hyung-sik is being eyed for the role of Yeo Jung-woo. Ha-neul and Hyung-sik live as neighbours on the rooftop of the same building.

Doctor Slump would mark a return to medical dramas for Park Shin-hye, who previously appeared in Doctors. She most recently starred in Netflix film The Call and the sci-fi action-drama Sisyphus: The Myth.

Park Hyung-sik, a member of the K-pop boy band ZE:A, has appeared in several popular shows, including last year’s hit zombie series Happiness.

The show is expected to air in October next year.

Post