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Everything you need to know about Song Joong-ki, the South Korean actor and Hallyu star known for his work on Descendants of the Sun, Arthdal Chronicles, Running Man, The Battleship Island and more
- We’ve seen Song Joong-ki’s salaryman murdered by his employers, then reborn as one of them to avenge his death. But near the end this story takes a jarring turn
- That’s followed by a twist that stretches belief and throws up a lot of questions. It’s a deeply unsatisfactory ending to a highly entertaining series
Ranked from good to great, we reveal our top 15 Korean drama series of the year, including Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Alchemy of Souls and Little Women.
South Korean actor Song Joong-ki, star of recent K-drama hit Reborn Rich and Descendants of the Sun, has been dating a British woman ‘for about a year’, his agency says, confirming an earlier report.
Song Joong-ki plays a company drudge murdered on the orders of its tycoon founder’s heirs, then reincarnated as the latter’s grandson and bent on revenge.
Song plays loyal corporate employee Yoon Hyun-woo, who is murdered and reborn in the 1980s as a minor member of Yoon’s employer’s family in this very enjoyable K-drama.
Song Joong-ki stars in body-swap revenge drama Reborn Rich, Minho stars in The Fabulous on Netflix and fellow K-pop star Seolhyun appears in a ‘healing drama’.
The Korean drama machine produced some of its most enjoyable and compelling shows this year, from Squid Game to Vincenzo and One Ordinary Day. We rank the 15 best K-dramas of 2021.
As the popularity of Korean shows rises worldwide, so do the pay cheques of stars like Now, We Are Breaking Up’s Song Hye-kyo and One Ordinary Day’s Kim Soo-hyun
For those in showbiz, life often imitates art … and some of K-drama queen Song’s on-screen romances became off-screen relationships too
Top South Korean actors’ salaries have risen dramatically, yet top actresses earn far less than them and the pay of actors not in leading roles has actually fallen in recent years.
Stills from the show featuring the confectionery and the coffee have been widely shared by social media users in Indonesia and the Philippines, where K-dramas are popular and kopi luwak is produced.
K-drama Vincenzo is a potpourri of gangster saga, legal thriller, romantic drama, slapstick comedy and much else besides, but in the series’ closing episodes, Song Joong-ki’s character’s cruelty slid into unexpected sadism.
The actor has seen plenty of success from his current role in Netflix’s K-drama Vincenzo to the 2016 military hit Descendants of the Sun, but he was already turning heads even as a high school student
At its midway point, Vincenzo has already broken new ground for Korean dramas, thanks to its slick mob story, a slow-burning heist plot and plenty of colourful asides.
Before Song Joong-ki starred in Vincenzo and Space Sweepers, he appeared on the cover of his school magazine, and do you remember when Kim Tae-ri’s student photos went viral?
In the K-drama’s titular role, Song Joong-ki prowls in tailored suits and elegant watches – and his suave, dapper look has fans swooning
First came ‘kimchi wars’, now Song Joong-ki eating Chinese brand Zihaiguo’s instant bibimbap is drawing the ire of Korean viewers
Song Joong-ki said he wasn’t ‘tech-savvy’ enough for social media while Lovelyz member Mijoo worried over being too emotional in her selfies – so what made them change their minds?
Netflix will invest US$500 million in K-dramas and K-movies this year – with new titles to look forward to including Hellbound, directed by Train to Busan’s Yeon Sang-ho, and zombie horror spin-off Kingdom: Ashin of the North starring Jun Ji-hyun
From Song Joong-ki’s film debut in period action-drama A Frozen Flower in 2008, where he had few lines, to a war drama where he moves away from the ruffian romantics he is known for playing, here are six of the Korean actors formative roles.
Following the epic success of Space Sweepers, Song is back on our Netflix feed already, starring opposite Jeon Yeo-bin and 2PM K-pop idol Taecyeon in his first K-drama since Arthdal Chronicles
Starring Song Joong-ki and Richard Armitage, the Korean sci-fi blockbuster wowed viewers after Covid-19 delays – but had its hiccups too
Space Sweepers seems to have everything a science fiction films needs, but in its mission to explain the genre to South Korean audiences, it lacks imagination and has very little to say.
Song Joong-ki plays an Italian mob lawyer in Vincenzo, there’s a second season of over-the-top drama The Penthouse, Park Shin-hye plays an elite warrior in Sisyphus: The Myth – and there’s plenty more for Korean drama fans.
We all know about Descendants of the Sun’s ‘Song Song couple’, but Nam Joo-hyuk, Lee Min-ho and more once dated their co-stars too – which relationships ended in marriage and which in heartbreak?