Casting Updates for Korean Dramas

Upcoming KBS2 drama Big Man has cast its two main male leads: Kang Ji Hwan (The Incarnation of Money) will play the hero, who has spent his childhood as a poor orphan, but gets involved in a plan to save chaebol heir Daniel Choi (School 2013) who needs a heart transplant. Kang Ji Hwan gets tricked into thinking that he's a chaebol's illegitimate son, but when he discovers that lie, he swears to take revenge on the chaebol family that tried to use him. Daniel Choi's role is described as someone who does everything necessary to protect his company.

It wouldn’t be a K-Drama if they weren’t involved in a love triangle: The two men will compete for the affection of a poor woman, the daughter of the chaebol group's chauffeur, who becomes involved in their fight against each other. The offer for the role is currently out for Lee Da Hee (Secret Love), who is considering the role. Additionally, Jung So Min (Can We Get Married?) was cast as Daniel Choi’s little sister who grew up always getting what she wants.

The drama will be written by Choi Jin Won (For the Sake of Son) and directed by Ji Young Soo (My Fair Lady). It will be broadcasted from April 14 after Beyond The Clouds ends.

 

More casting updates for drama Hotel King: After Lee Dong Wook (Heaven's Order) and Lee Da Hae (IRIS 2) signed on as the lead roles, the production team added more actors as staff of the seven star hotel CL (also called Ciel on other sites):

• Im Seul Ong (Heaven's Order) as a positive and hard-working hotelier, who helps out Lee Da Hae when needed
• Wang Ji Hye (The Suspicious Housekeeper) as the manager of the hotel restaurant (and also Lee Dong Wook’s ex-girlfriend)
• VIXX’s N as one of the hotel employees, the mood-maker of the group
• Gong Hyun Joo as one of the hotel employees, an intelligent girl-next-door character
• Alex as (you guessed it!) another hotel employee with an international background
• AOA’s Seol Hyun as the vice president’s lovable daughter
• Go Yoon as concierge team leader who used to study abroad
• Ji Il Joo as an employee of the front desk
• Kim Hae Sook as a veteran training manager
• Lee Duk Hwa as the hotel's vice president

Hotel King will premiere on March 29 after weekend drama Golden Rainbow finishes.



Jin Se Yeon, who is currently starring in Inspiring Generation, will join Lee Jong Suk (I Hear Your Voice) in Doctor Stranger as the female lead. Lee Jong Suk will play a doctor, who was raised in North Korea and works at one of the top hospitals after defecting to South Korea. Jin Se Yeon will apparently play two roles: One is an anesthesiologist and Eastern medicine specialist at the hero’s hospital and her doppelganger who might be a spy, because she purposefully tries to approach the hero. During earlier reports Lee Jong Suk’s first love from North Korea (another one with the same face as the doctor he works with in the hospital) was mentioned, so she might turn out to be the spy on a mission (or we get three different Jin Se Yeons).

Park Hae Jin (You Who Came from the Stars) was cast as the second lead and genius doctor along with Kang So Ra (Ugly Alert) whose role is a cardiothoracic surgeon and the hospital chief’s daughter.

PD Jin Hyuk (Master's Sun) will direct and Park Jin Woo (Conspiracy in the Court) will write the drama. It will follow God's Gift - 14 Days, so the first episode will be broadcast in May.




tvN has now finalized casting the lead roles for its new drama Witch’s Romance. There’s not a lot of specific info about the plot yet, but it’ll be a remake of Taiwanese drama My Queen and is described as workplace romance in which the two leads will heal each other’s wounds of past, failed relationships. It’ll be a noona romance and Uhm Jung Hwa (The Man Who Can't Get Married) has taken on the role of the female lead while Park Seo Joon (One Warm Word) will play her younger love interest.

Witch’s Romance will air in I Need Romance 3’s time slot and premiers in April.


With Three Days premiering next week, casting of its’ follow up drama You’re All Surrounded has now been confirmed by SBS. The police drama tells the story of four rookie cops of the Gangnam Police Department, who don’t have passion for their job, and their journey to becoming true detectives.

Part of the rookie team are Lee Seung Gi (Gu Family Book), who is described as a foul-mouthed but intelligent cop with an IQ of 150 and a painful past (Is there even a drama hero with a happy past?), as well as Go Ah Ra (Reply 1994) who plays a bold and persistent police officer that only passed the exam on the fifth try. The two other rookie cops have yet to be cast.

Cha Seung Won (The Greatest Love) has signed on as the strong team leader of the violent crimes unit whose hot-tempered personality will help the rookies grow.

The writer in charge is Lee Jung Sun (Family) and PD is Yoo In Sik (The Incarnation of Money). The premiere date will probably be in early May.




What do you think about the cast of these? Are you adding any of these dramas to your PTW list?

Personally, I'll probably watch You're All Surrounded and maybe Witch's Romance, but I'll wait until Doctor Stranger finishes airing to read some reviews, because it reminds me a little too much of Dr. Jin with the doppelganger setting.