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What's hot in Koreai

The latest entertainment news from Korea, including updates on the sex scandal, food trends, beauty hacks and more from the land of K-pop.

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  • Chief Detective 1958 is a 10-part period investigation drama that is a prequel to the Chief Inspector procedural series that aired in Korea from 1971 to 1989
  • Not being familiar with the original is in no way an impediment to enjoying this lively series, which sees Lee play the beloved Detective Park Yeong-han
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In our round-up of the latest Korean drama casting news, Big Mouth star Lee Jong-suk is considering the lead role in Disney+’s One Second, Ji Chang-wook may join Ma Dong-seok in Twelve, and lots more.

Starring Suyo of K-pop group Exo, Hong Ye-ji and Kim Min-kyu, Missing Crown Prince on Viu mashes palace intrigue and romantic comedy together in a royal period drama full of attractive young leads.

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New Korean drama Under the Gun, starring SF9’s Zuho and Jo Soo-min, makes heavy use of poker symbolism, but is so far proving to be little more than a generic high-school romance.

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Starring Kim Nam-joo, Cha Eun-woo, Kim Kang-woo and Im Se-mi, Wonderful World on Disney+ had its issues – including a meandering midsection and silly twists – but showed the power of a strong ending.

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Ju Ji-hoon and Han Hyo-joo star in Blood Free on Disney+, a sci-fi series by writer Lee Soo-yeon that looks set to drop its interesting premise involving lab-cultured meat and global food production.

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Kim Hye-yoon has appeared in 50 productions since her debut in 2013. We look back at her career, from her breakthrough parts to roles in hit K-dramas and films including SKY Castle, Midnight and Ditto.

Kim Sung-su’s political blockbuster faithfully recounts the 1979 coup d’état that plunged South Korea into its darkest period to date, in a film full of grandstanding machismo and intimidation.

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Kim Hye-yoon and Byeon Woo-seok star as a woman confined to a wheelchair, and a K-pop idol who inspires her. Years later, they meet again and, after he commits suicide, she travels back in time.

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Thrilling HBO Vietnam war drama, directed by The Handmaiden’s Park Chan-wook, stars Robert Downey Jnr as various characters and Hao Xuande as a Viet Cong spy working for the chief of the secret police.

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Hugely popular Netflix K-drama stars Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won as country boy Baek Hyun-woo and his wife Hong Hae-in, an heiress who is diagnosed with a brain tumour.

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Oldboy’s Choi Min-sik stars as a paranormal investigator who, with shaman Hwa-rim (played by Kim Go-eun) and others, performs a ritual cleansing on the grave of a property tycoon’s ancestor.

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The Glory actress Song Hye-kyo is in talks about a role in a series about the birth of broadcasting in Korea; Flex X Cop star Ahn Bo-hyun is mulling an offer to star in another period drama series.

This clunky Disney+ K-drama dud follows two friends (played by Lee Jae-wook and Lee Jun-young) who plot to take over a Korean corporation, and the woman (Hong Su-zu) who comes between them.

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Netflix K-drama Parasyte: The Grey – directed by Train to Busan’s Yeon Sang-ho – stars Jeon So-nee as Jung Soo-in, who is infected by one of the ‘parasytes’ invading the Earth.

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Jeon Jong-seo and Moon Sang-min star in Amazon Prime’s Wedding Impossible, a K-drama that begins with a focus on LGBTQ themes, only to abandon them and meander towards a hollow ending.

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The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection, created by the writer and director behind Korean drama series The Penthouse and featuring many of the same stars, is highly watchable despite its absurdity.

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Jang Da-ah, the older sister of Jang Won-young of IVE, has a debut lead role in K-drama Pyramid Game, which sees a class take part in a monthly voting game that allows those ranked higher to bully those below them.

April K-drama highlights include Parasyte: The Grey, an alien-invasion drama from Train to Busan’s director, Byeon Woo-seok in high-school fantasy romance Lovely Runner, and Goodbye Earth with Yoo Ah-in.

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Beauty and Mr. Romantic stars Im Soo-hyang and Ji Hyun-woo – but begins during the childhoods of the characters they portray and reveals some big family secrets early on.

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The pieces are falling into place for Kim Nam-woo and Cha Eun-woo by midseason in the Disney+ K-drama Wonderful World, which deals with how people approach grief and how it can affect them.

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Korean filmmakers often turn to Japanese movies, manga and fiction for inspiration. From Oldboy to Josée and Little Forest, we pick our top 10 Korean film adaptations of Japanese originals.

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Taking a cue from K-pop’s success, Japan’s music industry, which once looked only to domestic audiences, is seeking fans abroad – and groups like XG and duos like Yoasobi are starting to make waves.

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This Disney+ series follows two police officers, Jin I-soo (played by Ahn Bo-hyun) and Lee Gang-hyun (Park Ji-hyun), who infiltrate a cult, and investigate a death at Jin’s corporate family compound.

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The Train to Busan director’s Korean drama series for Netflix Parasyte: The Grey offers a sober, yet at times wickedly funny, take on Hitoshi Iwaaki’s classic Japanese manga about an alien invasion.

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Kim Jae-wook, Lee Jun-young and Hong Su-zu struggle through Disney+ K-drama The Impossible Heir, a weakly scripted series that, two-thirds of the way through the show, is still a confusing mess.

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Jeon captivated the audience when she threw the first pitch at a Dodgers exhibition match ahead of the MLB season kick-off – even team members Freddie Freeman and Tyler Glasnow couldn’t look away

Kim Soo-hyun, currently on air in K-drama Queen of Tears, has been offered the lead role in a black comedy on Disney+, while several sequels have been announced – including one for 2016 hit Signal.

Nothing Uncovered, a K-drama based on the web novel Grabbed by the Collar, stars Kim Ha-neul and Yeon Woo-jin. It’s a classic thriller featuring corruption, illicit romance and murder.

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So far Amazon Prime K-drama Wedding Impossible has handled the struggles of A-jeong (Jeon Jong-seo) and Ji-han (Moon Sang-min) deftly – but everything else feels less than satisfying.

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