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5 South Korean thriller series to watch on Disney+ Hotstar so far in 2024

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Would money be enough for you to take a life? What if the guardian assigned to care for you as a child isn’t who you thought he was? How far would you go to maintain an undercover persona?

Whether it’s tumultuous family secrets, strangers out for blood, or someone you simply can’t trust, we’ve curated a list of must-watch South Korean thriller series on Disney+ Hotstar. Are you ready for the ride?

1.No Way Out: The Roulette (2024)

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If you could put a price on a life, how much would it be?

According to one mysterious citizen, Kim Gukho’s life is worth $14 million.

After spending 13 years in prison for a number of unspeakable crimes earning him the title of South Korea’s most hated man, Gukho thinks he can go back to his everyday life without a hitch – until he realises there’s a bounty on his head.

Like moths to a flame, the $14 million bounty immediately attracts desperate citizens.

With no choice but to trust his police protection team, Gukho is forced to put his life in the hands of the very system that put him behind bars.

So, how much money would it take for you to collect a bounty? Find out in No Way Out: The Roulette when it premieres on July 31.

2.The Tyrant (2024)

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The games have begun, and it’s going to be a wild ride.

When a group of scientists within the South Korean government go rogue and create a virus that can awaken superhuman abilities, it comes as no surprise that there would be outside forces dying to get ahold of it – one force in particular being the United States government.

A secret handover between two of the most powerful nations in the world goes awry when the virus dubbed Tyrant is stolen from underneath their noses.

Infuriated at his life’s work being taken, the lead scientist hires a group of mercenaries to get the Tyrant back.

A band of morally corrupt men, a bounty on their heads, and a super-serum on the run… what could possibly go wrong? Find out when this Korean thriller series premieres exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar on August 14th.

3.Red Swan (2024)

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Good aim, ace! Oh Wansoo, a top golfer born into an impoverished family, dreamt of one thing all her life: success. After building her career from the ground up, it was inevitable that she caught the eye of one of the most powerful men in South Korea; Kim Yongkook, heir of Hwain Group. Their marriage was picture-perfect… until Yongkook’s infidelity.

Desperate to maintain their public image, Wansoo strives to put their marriage back together, fulfilling her duties as a diligent and caring wife—after all, she’s fought hard for her success. However, everything comes to a head on the biggest night of Wansoo’s life.

Caught in a rain of gunfire, Wansoo escapes harm thanks to Seo Doyoon, a mysterious bodyguard who appears out of nowhere, setting off a trajectory of events that threatens her lifelong facade of perfection.

Wansoo finds herself drawn closer to Doyoon, unable to resist falling for her protector.

And just as before, their romance seems perfect. Well, at least until Doyoon’s real motives for joining Wansoo’s protection detail are revealed.

4.A Shop for Killers (2024)

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Jeong Jian’s uncle, Jeong Jinman, was a mystery to her for most of her life.

All she knew about him was that he was a simple man – albeit oddly educated in the field of martial arts – who sold garden hoses, lived a solitary life, and would always show up in her times of need.

To Jian, that was enough, until she received news of Jinman’s sudden passing and everything she thought she knew about her beloved uncle was flipped on its head.

Jian suddenly finds herself in the crossfire of a deadly gun war with men hunting her down in return for a massive bounty.

Stuck in Jinman’s suspiciously armed house with nothing but her wits and a school friend who has his own hidden agenda, Jian must put everything her uncle taught her to the test.

With three award nominations (Best Supporting Actor, Seo Hyunwoo; Best Supporting Actress, Geum Hannah; Best New Actress, Kim Hyejun) at the 3rd Blue Dragon Series awards, this Korean thriller series is a gripping series that you wouldn’t want to miss.

5.The Worst of Evil (2023)

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How do you know when you’ve made a deal with the devil?

For Park Junmo, it was the moment he agreed to go undercover and infiltrate an underground crime syndicate in exchange for a two-rank promotion.

Notorious for chasing his marks till the bitter end, the ever-determined Junmo soon finds himself face-to-face with Gangnam gang boss Jung Gicheul, the root of all underworld crimes.

This Korean thriller series follows Junmo’s descent into his undercover identity, where the lines between his real self and false identity eventually start to blur.

Junmo soon realises that when working for Gicheul, there are no options, and there are no exits.

As Junmo is tasked with more and more heinous crimes, he begins to realise that there may not be a way out as he sinks further and further into his persona.

If you were in Junmo’s shoes, would you know where the real you ends and the mask begins?

Excited yet? Prepare yourself for some exciting thrills by watching all these Korean thriller series, streaming exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar.

Do not forget to check out these 10 Korean thriller series you should watch from OCN.

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KajoPicks: 8 South Korean dramas to watch for some countryside romance

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Forget about Hallmark, here are eight South Korean dramas to watch for some countryside romance:

1.When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

This drama is a ‘noona’ countryside romance mixed with some murder mystery.

When the Camellia Blooms (2019) follows the story of a single mother Oh Dong-baek (Gong Hyo-jin) who runs a bar called “Camellia” in the fictional town of Ongsan.

She has a 8-year-old son Kang Pil-gu (Kim Kang-hoon). Dong-baek unfortunately always becomes the subject of the town’s gossip just because she is beautiful, runs a bar and a single mother.

The gossip worsens when a younger police officer Hwang Yong-sik (Kang Ha-neul) openly pursues her.

On top of that, the sudden appearance of Dong-baek’s ex-boyfriend and Pil-gu’s biological father Kang Jong-ryul (Kim Ji-seok) adds more whispers among the neighbours.

In the drama, Ongsan has all the essence of rural social life with aunties gossiping about everything under the sun.

Regardless, these are the same aunties who usually the first people offer helps during hard times.

For Dong-baek, the hard time comes when a serial killer sets her as the next target.

The series was filmed mostly in Guryongpo Beach, an area that was used as a fishing village during Japanese colonial times and to this day remains a fishing town.

2.When the Weather is Fine (2020)

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The male character in this drama is living my retirement dream.

Im Eun-seob (Seo Kang-joon) is the owner of a bookshop named “Goodnight Bookstore”.

Every day he wakes up, drink coffee, read a book and write on his blog.

His seemingly mundane life is interrupted when his former classmate and neighbour moves back to town.

Cellist Mok Hae-won (Park Min-young) quits her job in Seoul and goes back to Bookhyun Village.

It was where she briefly lived when she was in high school.

The drama is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Lee Do-woo.

If you are into a slow-paced type of storyline that set against white winter background, this is the drama for you.

3.Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021)

This series is a remake of 2004 romantic comedy Mr Handy, Mr Hong.

It follows the story of Yoon Hye-jin (Shin Min-a) who moves to the seaside village of Gongjin from Seoul after her career as a dentist suffers a setback.

She then decides to establish her own dental clinic in Gongjin.

There, she comes across a peculiar man with an unclear background Hong Du-sik (Kim Seon-ho). The villagers nicknamed him Chief Hong as he always there to help the town folks.

Hye-jin and Du-sik’s countryside romance is a classic tale of enemies to lovers as both of them always bicker in the beginning of the series.

The drama was one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean cable television history and one of Netflix’s most-watched non-English television shows.

4.Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020)

While the female lead in the previous drama is a cellist, the protagonist in Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020) is a pianist who retreats to the countryside for a fresh start.

Goo Ra-ra (Go Ara)’s life suddenly turns from riches to rags when her family business goes bankrupt.

While trying to rebuild her life in the rural area, she comes across Joon Sun-woo (Lee Jae-wook).

Despite their unexpected meeting, Sun-woo is generous and helpful toward Ra-ra. He even pays for her living cost and builds a small place for a piano lesson so that Ra-ra can get back on her feet.

Is he genuinely want to help Ra-ra or is there an unspoken reason behind his generosity?

5.Eccentric! Chef Moon (2020)

This series follows the story of two people who moved to the countryside for two different reasons.

Moon Seung-mo (Eric Mun) is a famous chef and the only heir to an 80-year old traditional Korean pork soup restaurant.

When tragedy strikes and he loses his parents due to a fire, he decides to move to the quiet Seoha Village.

Meanwhile, Yoo Yoo-jin (Go Won-hee) is a popular fashion designer. After losing her memory from an accident, she makes her move to Seoha Village.

Her memory loss also causes a complete change of personality; from her usual glamorous self to acting like an oddball.

So what happen when these two opposite characters meet in a small, quaint village?

6.Summer Strike (2022)

After her boyfriend dumps her, her mother dies an accident. As she goes through one of her worst periods in her life, Lee Yeo-reum (Seol Hyun) decides to quit her job and moves to a small village.

There, everything is new and strange to her.

She also gets to know one of the residents An Dae-beom (Im Si-wan) who works as a librarian.

Overall, it is a slow paced drama without any much conflicts as it focuses more on human emotions and relationships.

The drama is based on a webtoon of the same title by writer Joo Young-hyun.

7.Like Flower in Sand (2023)

This drama is set against the backdrop of the fictional ssireum city of Geosan. Ssireum or Korean wrestling is a traditional national sport of Korea.

The storyline circles around Kim Baek-doo (Jang Dong-yoon) who is a ssireum player considering to retire from the sport.

When his childhood friend/first love Oh Yoo-kyung (Lee Ju-myoung) becomes the management team leader for his ssireum team, everything takes a different in his life.

Like Flowers in Sand is written by Won Yon-jung and directed by Kim Jin-woo. The cast also includes Yun Jong-seok as Min Hyun-wook, Kim Bo-ra as Joo Mi-ran, Lee Jae-joon as Kwak Jin-soo, and Lee Joo-seung as Jo Seok-he.

8.Welcome to Samdal-ri (2023)

Set on Jeju Island, the plot centers on two childhood friends, Cho Yong-pil (Ji Chang-wook) and Cho Sam-dal (Shin Hye-sun).

Following the tragic loss of his mother due to a mistaken weather forecast, Yong-pil resolves to become a weather forecaster to safeguard his hometown’s elderly residents.

However, his steadfast commitment and intolerance for inaccurate information brand him as a stubborn troublemaker.

Meanwhile, Sam-dal moves to Seoul to pursue her aspiration of becoming a successful fashion photographer under the alias Cho Eun-hye.

However, when her career takes a turn to the downfall, she returns to her hometown where she reunites with Yong-pil.

Despite past conflicts that drove them apart, their bond remains as strong as ever, reaffirming their enduring affection for each other.

The drama is directed by Cha Young-hoon who is known for his work Uncontrollably Fond (2016) and When the Camellia Blooms (2019).

You obviously can see the pattern here in these K-dramas (as well as Hallmark’s Christmas movies) with countryside romance.

When bad thing happen in life, retreat to the rural area. There, you will find a hard time adjusting but it is okay. In the end of the day, you will find your prince charming and you will live happily ever after. The end.

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Disney+ Hotstar unveils its thrilling lineup of Korean content for 2024

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After a successful 2023 marked by Korean originals Big Bet and Moving receiving numerous international awards, with Moving emerging as Disney+ Hotstar’s most-watched local original of the year, the streaming platform is set to continue its momentum.

Speaking on Feb 19 during the announcement of the lineup, Carol Choi, Executive Vice President, Original Content Strategy, The Walt Disney Company APAC, said: “The new Korean originals announced today really builds on the positive momentum and success of our APAC content slate last year. We will continue to scale our creative ambition with a curated collection of APAC originals, centered on quality storytelling and top talent, in collaboration with the region’s  most exciting storytellers.”

Here are seven shows you can look forward to from Disney+ Hotstar in 2024:

Blood Free:

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Starring Ju Jihoon (Kingdom) and Han Hyojoo (Moving), Blood Free follows a former bodyguard haunted by the failures of his past. After diving down a rabbit hole of tangled leads, he finds himself recruited to protect the CEO of a controversial lab-grown meat company who is also a survivor of the fateful attack that changed his life.

Unmasked:

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Set in modern-day Seoul, Unmasked follows a crack team of investigative journalists who are fighting for their careers after broadcasting a controversial story. With time running out, the team is given an impossible task if they want to save their jobs – solve a twenty-year-old cold case involving a famous actor who disappeared without a trace. Unmasked stars Kim Hyesoo (Under The Queen’s Umbrella).

The Tyrant:

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The Tyrant follows a U.S. government agent as he tries to recover a deadly new virus stolen from the South Korean government. With everything at stake, this action-packed series sees global intelligence agencies battle against nefarious parties to prevent the virus spreading across the world.

Gangnam B-Side:

A thrilling crime drama, Gangnam B-Side follows a pariah detective pulled back into the game after his daughter’s friend goes missing. The latest in a long line of women to go missing in the Gangnam area of Seoul, the detective will delve back into a world of vice, drugs and corruption to uncover something that threatens to topple some of the city’s wealthiest elite.

The Zone: Survival Mission – Season 3:

The popular Disney+ Korean variety has been renewed for its third season with Kwon Yuri and Yoo Jaesuk returning alongside new hosts – former UFC fighter Kim Donghyun and popular YouTuber Dex. Together, the foursome will get up to more hijinks than ever before as they try to survive an increasingly complex range of challenges.

Uncle Samsik:

Starring Parasite star Song Kangho, and Byun Yohan (Mr. Sunshine), Uncle Samsik is a societal drama set in 1960s Korea that follows an idealistic politician, and a mysterious political fixer called Uncle Samsik who operates in the shadows. Together the pair form an uneasy partnership with the goal of transforming a struggling post-war Korea into a prosperous country where everyone can afford three meals a day.

Light Shop:

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An adaptation of the hit webtoon of the same name, Light Shop follows a group of strangers, each struggling to come to terms with a traumatic event in their past. Going about their daily lives, each individual is mysteriously drawn to a light shop that sits at the end of a seedy alleyway. Guarded by a vigilant shopkeeper, the light shop could hold the key to the strangers’ pasts, presents and futures.

Starring Ju Jihoon (Kingdom), Lee Jungeun (Parasite), Park Boyung (Oh My Ghost), and Bae Seongwoo (Veteran), today’s sizzle gave the first look at this eagerly anticipated new series from Kangfull, the visionary behind 2023’s breakout hit series Moving.

With even more local titles set to be announced in the weeks and months to come, be sure to stay tuned to Disney+ Hotstar for more captivating Korean content.

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5 reasons why K-drama Moving (2023) is worth all the buzz

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When the first episode of Korean drama Moving (2023) was aired on Disney+ in South Korea, it became the biggest premiere ever on the platform based on hours watched in its first week of availability.

Then when it was released globally, it became the most watched series in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan as well as other Southeast Asian countries.

So what is the big deal? It is just about a bunch of teenagers and their parents who have superpowers, American dramas and films have a lot of those…but after watching the first episode, we understand why Variety called the series “the next breakout hit from Asia after Squid Game”.

Here are five reasons why K-drama Moving (2023) is worth all the buzz and why you should watch it:

Moving Korean Drama

1.The star-studded cast and their brilliant performances

Let us talk about the star-studded cast. First, we have Ryu Seung-ryong. Who is he you might ask? Well, he is the first Korean to star in four movies that have drawn over 10 million viewers each.

Some of his works are the famous tear-jerker Miracle in Cell No.7 (which became at the time the third highest grossing Korean film of all time), The Admiral: Roaring Currents (which is currently the highest-grossing film of all time in South Korea) and Extreme Job (which is currently the second highest-grossing film of all time in that country).

Then, we have Zo In-sung, a heartthrob known for his roles in Something Happened in Bali (2004), That Winter, the Wind Blows (2013) and A Frozen Flower (2008).

This drama marks his first official return to the small screen after his 2014 drama It’s Okay, That’s Love (2014).

Also staring in the drama is Zo’s real-life friend Cha Tae-hyun. Most viewers would remember him from My Sassy Girl (2001), Scandal Makers (2008) and Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds (2017).

Other big names on the list of cast include Han Hyo-joo, Ryoo Seung-bum and Kim Sung-kyun.

Some might said 36-year-old Han is too young to play the role of a mother to a teenager but her performance in the drama will shut the critics up.

When adult actors playing the roles of high school students, it is usually too awkward to watch. Just because they look young, it doesn’t mean they can act young.

However, hats off to Go Youn-jung (age 27) and Lee Jung-ha as well as Kim Do-hoon who are both 25 years-old.

Their performances as teenagers are very convincing.

A special shout out to Lee Jung-ha who completely transformed for his role. He is almost unrecognisable as he reportedly gained 30kg as Kim Bong-suk.

2.It is an adaptation of Kang Full’s work

The series is based on the eponymous webtoon by Kang Full.

He is considered as a ‘first generation’ webtoon artist who has been releasing his works since 2002.

Besides Moving, his other webtoons that have been adapted into screens are Hello, Schoolgirl (2008), Pained (2011), The Neighbour (2012) and Timing (2014).

If you are a fan of Kang’s webtoon, this drama is definitely worth watching.

Plus, the script for the screen adaptation is written by Kang himself.

3.Well-paced storytelling

Despite having no formal training in art and writing, Kang has always been known as a great storyteller.

And you cannot help but acknowledge his natural talent of storytelling as you watch Moving.

The series progresses with each episode tells the background stories of different characters.

Combining with many flashback scenes, viewers can slowly put together of what is going on and where is the story going.

Of course, there are plenty of “Aha!”, “Ooo” and “WTH” moments too.

All in all, the plot progresses with a nice pace with enough suspense that viewers cannot wait for the next episode.

4.Phenomenal action scenes

Action scenes are always fun to watch for those who enjoy them but it is more fun if the action include some supernatural powers.

We warn you; some of the scenes might be too gruesome to watch.

Plus, the way the killing scenes are carried out almost remind you of John Wick or Denzel Washington from The Equalizer.

Overall, the action scenes in Moving are quite original and some would make you hold on to your chair tighter.

5.It is romance, family, conspiracy and coming-of-age stories all wrapped in one

All in all, Moving is more than just an action drama filled with supernatural people like American drama Heroes (2006).

It is a story of romance of two couples who go through many hardships just to be together.

In the same time, it is a story about family where parents would sacrifice everything just for the children.

Speaking of the children, they are like any other teenagers trying to figure out themselves and their future who happened to have superpowers.

Behind it all, there is a conspiracy brewing which will push these characters to their limits.

Directed by Park In-je, Moving is available on Disney+.

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KajoReviews: 3 reasons why Revenant is the horror K-drama to watch in 2023

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Do you know why people love any kind of horror entertainment?

This phenomenon triggers the fight-or-flight response, simultaneously boosting adrenaline, endorphins, and dopamine.

After that, the brain can process surroundings and realise that the whole thing is not a real threat.

This knowledge of personal safety is one of the reasons why horror fans always come back for more.

Speaking of horror entertainment, there is always a good number of horror dramas and movies coming out from South Korea.

It is not the end of the year yet, but here at KajoMag we have found the ultimate horror K-drama to watch in 2023.

Revenant (2023) follows the story of Gu San-yeong (Kim Tae-ri). During the day, she is busy with her part time job and studying to become a civil servant at night.

After the death of her estranged father, San-yeong receives some mysterious objects from her father.

She does not think too much about the items until she is approached by Yeom Hae-sang (Oh Jung-se).

Turns out that Hae-sang is a folklore professor who has the special ability to see ghosts and he can see that San-yeong is being possessed by one.

When Hae-sang confronts San-yeong about it, she – like many normal people do – refuses to believe him.

That is until she notices there are mysterious deaths happening around her.

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If you want to know whether this series is worth watching, here are three reasons why Revenant is the horror K-drama to watch in 2023:

  1. Impressive acting from the cast, especially Kim Tae-ri

Let us start by talking about Kim Tae-ri’s performance as Gu San-yeong who is slowly being overtaken by the demon that is possessing her.

The real Gu San-yeong is like any regular young adult struggling to make ends meet. She has no time for any kind of conflicts and dramas, focusing only on her civil service examination. All she wants is to live a simple life with her mum.

Ever since she becomes possessed, however, conflicts begin to stir in her life that even the police come knocking on her door.

Meanwhile, the possessed Gu San-yeong is well, evil. Along with her demonic laugh and creepy smile, viewers cannot help but impressed by Kim’s take on the character.

Other cast members such as Oh Jung-se and Hong Kyung are also worth mentioning.

Oh has always been a versatile actor and famous for being a scene stealer. Viewers can expect nothing less from this award-winning actor.

While Hong still has plenty of space in his resume, the 27-year-old actor manages to pull his own weight in the drama as he works among his senior colleagues.

  • 2. Engrossing storyline

Another good reason to catch up on Revenant is because of the wonderful brain behind its script-writing.

Kim Eun-hee has several masterpieces under her belt including Phantom (2012), Three Days (2014), Signal (2016) and Jirisan (2021).

Perhaps her most famous work is Kingdom (2019), a period horror series which is also Netflix’s first original Korean drama.

She has built her career delivering scripts with psychological thriller, mystery, horror and suspense genres.

With Revenant, one can say it is Eun-hee’s area of expertise as she navigates viewers through suspenseful storyline, shocking plot twists and a good amount of jump scares in between.

In the drama, the main question circles around San-yeong’s possession.

Who is the ghost that possessed her and why? How can she get rid of it before more people around her die?

  • 3.  Not so cliched jump scares

Sometimes we can judge a good horror show by its jump scares.

A good horror movie or drama has to have a good amount of jump scares; not too many that it gets annoying and not too cliched that the story becomes predictable.

And Revenant delivers just that so be ready to get scared when you least expect it.

Apart from the jump scares, the creepy scenes in this drama are also chilling.

Only 12-episodes long, K-drama fans must not miss it.

Watch the trailer here.

Revenant is available for streaming on Disney+.

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KajoPicks: 6 K-dramas written by Korean screenwriter Kim Soon-ok to watch

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If you have been watching Korean dramas long enough, you might be familiar with the names of the screenwriters who were behind your favourite dramas such as the Hong Sisters and Kim Eun-sook.

Some you might not be familiar with Kim Soon-ok but she is the brain behind the popular drama The Penthouse.

As every screenwriter has his or her own distinct style, Soon-ok’s works are known for extreme ‘ridiculousness’ that viewers cannot stop themselves from watching.

Basically when you watch her drama, you cannot help but think, “This story is so unreal but I still want to know what happens in the end.”

Hence there is no surprise that her dramas are harshly criticized while also widely-viewed and highly-rated.

Here are six K-dramas written by Korean screenwriter Kim Soon-ok to watch:

1.Temptation of Wife (2008)

In this revenge drama, Goo Eun-jae (Jang Seo-hee) was a woman who was nearly killed by her husband Jung Kyo-bin (Byeon Woo-min).

Her husband truly believes that she had died until a woman named Min So-hee who looks identical to his dead wife but with a completely different personality shows up.

Here comes the ridiculous part; the only physical difference between Eun-jae and So-hee is a mole on her left cheek.

Just because of this mole, nobody recognises Eun-jae anymore.

Putting aside the many controversial issues surrounding the plot, it became one of the most viewed dramas.

On top of that, the series has been adapted into China, Malaysia and Filipino versions.

2.Jang Bo-ri is Here! (2014)

As a child, Jang Bo-ri (Oh Yeon-seo) was adopted by a family without much money.

She then learns that she is the missing daughter from a wealthy family.

Bo-ri goes through a drastic change in her life and tries to become a successful designer of traditional Korean dresses.

The drama became highly-acclaimed and won Drama of the Year at the 2014 MBC Drama Awards.

3.My Daughter, Geum Sa-wol (2015)

The Korean public dubbed it an ‘absurdly unrealistic drama that rated well’ while The Korea Times called it a drama that been ‘drawing flak for an unrealistic plot, complicated relations among characters and scenes with certain dramatic settings that seemed far-fetched’.

The plot tells the story of three friends Sa-wol, Hye-sang and Oh-wol who grew up in the same orphanage.

Hye-sang finds out that Sa-wol is to be adopted by her wealthy biological father instead of her after a DNA test that reveals the mix up between them.

Wanting to be raised in the upper class society, Hye-sang traps the orphanage director, who is also her true father, to hide the truth.

However, when Sa-wol ends up being brought into the family as well, Hye-sang starts tormenting, blame shifting and burying the truth, to make herself the better daughter. 

Let us warn you that the series is 51-episodes long, so you can expect plenty of twists and an emotional roller coaster ride.

4.Five Fingers (2012)

The drama starts when Yoo Ji-ho and Yoo In-ha were kids. When Ji-ho suddenly loses her grandmother after being run over by a mysterious black car, he is adopted into the rich family of In-ha.

Life at his new family is not easy for Ji-ho as his adopted father begins to favour him causing the jealousy and outrage of his adopted father.

His own best friend who becomes his adopted brother also starts to feel threatened by him.

Overall, the story is about the two of them who became rivals not only in their careers but also in their love lives.

Through this drama, it is the first time we see actor Ji Chang-wook in an antagonist role and Ju Ji-hoon’s first TV role after his drug scandal in 2009.

5.The Last Empress

The Last Empress is set in an alternate universe, in which Korea is a constitutional monarchy in 2018.

Oh Sunny (Jang Na-ra) is a bright and vivacious musical actress who marries the Emperor of the Korean Empire, Lee Hyuk (Shin Sung-rok).

She becomes involved in the palace power struggle and a mysterious murder that sets off events that threaten the monarchy itself, while searching for true love and happiness.

She teams up with Na Wang-shik (Choi Jin-hyuk) who works as a bodyguard for the imperial family in order to uncover the crimes of the Imperial family.

Most people do not know that Na actually started working in the palace to take revenge on the person responsible for his mother’s death.

In the midst of the political drama, Oh starts to fall for her bodyguard Na.

Overall, the series received high ratings and Jang in particular was praised for her performance.

6.The Penthouse: War in Life (2020-2021)

Speaking of ridiculousness, nothing beats The Penthouse: War in Life. This drama led the Korean public to give Kim Soon-ok various nicknames such as ‘Anything is possible with Kim Soon-ok’ and ‘Kim Soon-ok’s mythology’.

This is because dead characters kept on coming back alive throughout three seasons of the drama.

Even the scriptwriter herself admitted in an interview that The Penthouse lacks a sense of reality.

Despite that, the drama to this day is one of the most viewed Korean series of all times.

It follows the story of wealthy families living in Hera Palace and their children at Cheong-ah Arts School.

All of the parents have grand ambitions for their children and would do anything for them.

For those who are planning to watch this drama, we highly advise you to just through your common sense out of the window.

Let just say that this is the 90s telenovela equivalent of Korean dramas.

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KajoPicks: 12 K-dramas and movies starring Kim Rae-won you should watch

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Known for his deep, baritone voice, Kim Rae-won is one of the most memorable South Korean actors out there.

It is not just his unique voice that sets him apart from most of the other actors, it is his appearance as well.

Perhaps because of his masculine facial features and slightly darker skin tone, Kim usually finds himself taking roles as both opposite sides of the law; a policeman or a criminal.

To top his voice and look, Kim also has the talent and passion for acting to make him a well-rounded performer and one of South Korea’s most sought after actors.

Honestly, it was hard to choose our favourite dramas and movies starring Kim Rae-won since he has so many impressive works under his belt.

But somebody had to make the hard decision, so here are 12 K-dramas and movies you should watch if you are a fan of Kim Rae-won:

1.My Little Bride (2004)

This film is a Korean remake of the 2002 Hong Kong movie My Wife is 18 starring Charlene Choi and Ekin Cheng.

Here, Kim plays the role of a male college student Sang-min who has an arranged marriage between a female high school student Bo-eun (Moon Geun-young).

Both of them are forced to get married due to their grandfathers’ arrangement during the Korean War.

After they got married, they decide to hide their marriage. Things get complicated when Bo-eun pretends to be single and starts to date.

And the whole situation escalates even more when Sang-min becomes an art teacher at Bo-eun’s school.

The movie became a sleeper hit and was the second top-crossing Korean film of 2004.

2.Love Story in Harvard (2004)

If My Little Bride was the film that made us to take notice of Kim Rae-won, the drama of his that really caught our attention was none other than Love Story in Harvard (2004).

In this romantic drama, Kim teams up with future female star of K-dramas Kim Tae-hee.

They both play the roles of Harvard students who find love while studying abroad.

Their career choices lead them to different parts of the world after graduation.

Years pass and the former lovers find each other again in Seoul but this time will they let each other go?

The release of the drama brought a lot of popularity to both of the main leads but specifically to Kim Tae-hee who saw an increase amount of advertisement deals after the series.

3.Sunflower (2006)

In this film, Kim takes up the role of a former gangster named Oh Tae-sik.

After being released from prison, Tae-sik heads back to his hometown to start a new life.

He starts a new job at a garage and in the same time tries his best to leave his criminal past behind.

It has not been easy especially because most of the people still live in fear of his past brutal reputation.

But his past eventually catches up on him when a local politician tries to demolish his adoptive mom’s restaurant in order to build a new mall.

Overall, the movie was a hit when it came out. Kim on the other hand was impressive with his acting in the film especially near the ending.

4.A Thousand Days’ Promises (2011)

What we love about Kim is that he always tries to challenge himself in different types of roles as long as there is any opportunity rises for him.

For this melodrama, he plays the role of a doting husband who never gives up on his wife who is struggling with early on-set Alzheimer’s.

Park Ji-hyung (Kim Rae-won) works as an architect. Despite having a fiancee, he has a secret affair with Lee Seo-yeon (Soo Ae).

Seo-yeon breaks up with him after being diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer’s.

After finding out the reason of the break up, Ji-hyung dumps his fiancée two days before the wedding to be with Seo-yeon.

Despite the fierce opposition from his parents and Seo-yeon herself, Ji-hyung insists to marry Seo-yeon.

Seo-yeon eventually agrees and the couple begins their marriage life together with hardship.

Even when Seo-yeon’s memories starting to fail her, Ji-hyung’s love for her never falters.

A Thousand Days’ Promises is a great drama to watch when you are feeling lovey dovey with your partner.

5.Punch (2014)

When Park Jung-hwan (Kim Rae-won) is told that he only has six months left to live, it makes him to reexamine his life choices.

As the chief of the anti-corruption investigation team for the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office, he had made a lot of decisions that he is not proud of.

Since he is nearing to his death, Jung-hwan decides to pursue justice regardless of its price.

His main goal is to bring down his own boss Prosecutor General Lee Tae-joon, whose friendly public face masks his corruption.

Kim was nominated for the Top Excellence Award at the APAN Star Awards as well as Best Actor in Television at the Baeksang Arts Awards for his role in this drama.

6.Gangnam Blues (2015)

Kim returns to Set in the 1970s during the height of political corruption in South Korea, this action film stars Kim Rae-won and Lee Min-ho.

Kim returns to play a role he is familiar with; being a gangster.

Childhood friends, Jong-dae (Lee Min-ho) and Yong-ki (Kim Rae-won) struggle to get by, until their shanty homes are demolished by local thugs.

Desperate for cash, they get involved in violent political clashes, and are separated during one of the skirmishes.

Three years later, Jong-dae lives as an adopted son of a former gang leader, Gil-soo (Jung Jin-young) and unknown to him, as a small-time gangster.

Meanwhile, Yong-ki has risen as a made man inside Seoul’s most powerful criminal organization.

To play this role, Kim was asked to shed 15 kilograms for his character, which he did in less than a month.

7.The Doctors (2016)

Kim switches his usual police and prison uniforms for some scrubs in this medical drama.

He plays the role of Hong Ji-hong, a doctor who needs to step back in his career and become a biology teacher.

As a teacher, he plays an ‘extra’ attention to a rebellious student named Yoo Hye-jung (Park Shin-hye).

Both are caught in some dramas and eventually separated.

But 13 years later, the teacher-student pair is now reunited as colleagues as both are now surgeons working in a private hospital.

When it was aired, the drama was a hit which lead to Kim experiencing a surge in his popularity and commercial offers.

8.Prison (2017)

In this movie, Kim takes up the challenge playing someone is from both sides of the law.

He plays the role of a former detective Song Yoo-gun who got sentenced in prison for hit-and-run, destruction of evidence and bribery.

In the prison, he catches the attention of Ik-ho (Han Suk-kyu) who is known as “The King’.

Ik-ho wields his power truly like a king from the prison up to a point that the prisoners can leave the prison at nights to commit the perfect crimes.

The film was a surprise hit and Kim received critical acclaim for his realistic execution of action scenes.

9.Black Knight: The Man Who Guards Me (2017)

If you want to see Kim rocking a historical costume, this is his drama for you.

He plays two different role in this series from two different time period.

First is Lee Myung-so, an aristocrat who falls deeply in love with his housemaid/concubine and the 21st century Moon Soo-ho, a young CEO who is still in love with his first crush.

What Soo-ho does not know is that he is the reincarnation of Lee Myung-so. Since Myung-so did not get to live happily ever after with the love of his life, Soo-ho determines that he would.

It is a romantic drama with a dose of fantasy. While the series did not gathered mainstream success like Kim’s previous works, we still enjoy the overall drama.

10.Long Live The King (2019)

Kim is familiar playing the role of a gangster but this time he is playing a mobster in love.

Mob boss Jang Se-chool (Kim Rae-won) meets lawyer Kang So-hyun at an anti-construction protest and quickly falls in love.

Unfortunately, she thinks of him as a thug. She repeatedly rejects him while telling him to live a decent life.

So-hyun eventually tries to get rid of Se-chool by saying that she can never accept him because her life goal is to become a first lady.

Meanwhile, one of Se-chool’s friends is on death row, and the only way to save him is through a presidential pardon.

When Se-chool ends up rescuing passengers after a bus accident at Mokpo Bridge, he is praised as a hero; he decides to use his newfound fame to run for public office, believing that success will lead him to win So-hyun’s heart and save his friend.

Critics has praised Kim’s performance in this movie as ‘one of his finest works’.

11.L.U.C.A: The Beginning (2021)

After dipping his toes in fantasy drama, Kim challenges himself once again in a science fiction genre.

Ji Oh (Kim Rae-won) is a man with special power and unearthly fighting skill. The only problem is, he has no memory of himself, how he got his power and why he is being pursued by a mysterious group of people.

In search of his memory and looking into those who pursued him, he comes across a mysterious group of scientists at an institution named Human Tech and a secretive biotech project code-named L.U.C.A.

Through his adventure, Ji Oh gains himself one ally Ha Neul-ae-goo-reum (Lee Dae-hee). She is a police detective who has a secret past of her own.

12.The First Responders (2022)

Kim Rae won 1
Kim Rae-won going undercover as a prisoner in The First Responder (2022)

Here is another cliche role from Kim Rae-won; acting as a police detective.

The drama circles around the cases that takes place at Taewon Police Station and Taewon Fire Station.

Both buildings happened to be located next to each other and even handle most cases together.

Kim in this criminal procedural drama is Jin Ho-gae, a police detective team inspector in Taewon who was recently transferred from Regional Investigation Unit.

He starts to make friends with firefighter Bong Do-jin (Son Ho-jun) and paramedic Song Seol (Gong Seung-yeon).

Jin Ho-gae has tremulous relationship with his father Jin Cheol-jung (Jo Seung-yeon) who is the prosecutor of the Eastern District Attorney’s Office.

His father never wanted Ho-gae to be a policeman as he wanted him to follow his footsteps to read law.

Ho-gae on the other hand, resents his father who maintains dubious relationships with those who are corrupted especially among the rich and politicians.

The series marks Kim’s first terrestrial television in six years since 2016. His return to the small screen is definitely worth it as he bagged the Top Excellence Award for an Actor in a Miniseries Genre/Fantasy Drama at the SBS Drama Awards 2022.

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KajoPicks: 10 Korean dramas and movies starring Park Bo-young you should watch

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If there is one word to summarize South Korean actress Park Bo-young’s acting career, we would say it is ‘versatile’.

She has never failed to impress her viewers in every role that she takes, be it in a melodrama, horror or even romantic comedy.

Here are 10 K-dramas and movies starring Park Bo-young you should watch:

1.Scandal Makers (2008)

This movie was so successful that it had Argentine, Chinese and Indian remakes which were released in 2010, 2016 and 2020 respectively.

Scandal Makers (2008) follows the story of Nam Hyun-soo (Cha Tae-hyun), a popular radio DJ who once a more popular teen star.

One day, his doorbell rings and there stand a young lady named Hwang Jung-nam (Park Bo-young) and a young boy named Ki-dong (Wang Suk-hyun).

Jung-nam reveals to Hyun-soo that she is his daughter and her son Ki-dong is his grandson.

Hyun-soo refuses to believe her at first but then forced to accept the truth after a DNA test confirmed what Jung-nam has claimed.

Things get complicated when the daughter and father pair are mistaken to be romantically involved.

This was director Kang Hyeong-cheol’s first ever film and it became the highest grossing Korean movie in 2008.

The film earned Park numerous awards including Best New Actress in Film and Most Popular Actress (Film) in Baeksang Arts Awards 2009 and Best New Actress awards at Blue Dragon Film Awards as well as at Chunsa Film Art Awards.

Watch the trailer here.

2.A Werewolf Boy (2012)

Most people would agree that A Werewolf Boy (2012) served as the breakout role for Korean actor Song Joong-ki in which he plays the role of a feral boy who behaves like a wild beast.

However Park, we must say, also brought so much to the table in the movie.

In the movie, she plays the role of the teenage girl who tries to befriends and attempts to civilize Song’s character.

The movie surpassed 7 million admissions to become one of the most successful Korean melodramas of all time.

Again, Park won several awards for her role including the Best Actress at the 4th Pierson Movie Festival.

Watch the trailer here.

3.Hot Young Bloods (2014)

From a fantasy-romance film A Werewolf Boy, Park offered something different in this movie which is more relatable to most people.

Hot Young Bloods is a teen romantic comedy film that depicts the loves, rivalries and friendships among four high school students.

Set in Hongseong County, Sout Chungcheong Province in 1982, Park plays the role of Young-sook.

She is the feared leader of a female gang at Hongseong Agricultural High School.

Despite her tough attitude, she is secretly harbouring crush with the school’s biggest playboy in school Joong-gil (Lee Jong-suk).

When a new female transfer student from the big city of Seoul comes to this rural town, it changes the whole dynamic of the school.

Since her character swears so much in the movie, Park later revealed in an interview that she did have fun swearing especially in a dialect.

Overall, the film is a fun, coming-of-age film that pretty nostalgic for those viewers who grew up in the 80s.

Watch the trailer here.

4.Oh My Ghost! (2015)

After seven years of absence from the small screen, Park takes up the leading role in romantic comedy drama series Oh My Ghost! (2015).

What makes this role different from Park’s previous works is that she actually play two characters in the series.

Na Bong-sun (Park Bo-young) is a loner who has an extremely timid personality and low self-esteem.

Due to this, she constantly getting reprimanded at her job as an assistant chef at Sun Restaurant.

Her life changes when she gets possessed by a lustful virgin ghost named Shin Soon-ae (Kim Seul-gi).

Believing that only by losing her virginity that she will be able to move on to the afterlife, Soon-ae is determined to seduce as many men as she can while she is possessing Bong-sun’s body.

Viewers find it entertaining to watch as Park switching between her two characters, the timid Bong-sun and the cheerful Soon-ae.

The drama was a commercial and critical hit and earning Park the Best Actress award at the 4th APAN Star Awards.

Her impressive role in this rom-com also garnered her reputation as the ‘romantic comedy queen’ by the Korean press.

Watch the trailer here.

5.Collective Invention (2015)

The Collective Invention is a 1934 painting by Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte. It depicts a fish merged with a woman’s legs stranded on the beach. It supposed to be a mockery of the traditional mermaid where he removed the beauty by depicting the opposites.

Writer and director Kwon Oh-kwang was so inspired by this painting that he created a character similar to the painting in his film Collective Invention (2015).

It follows the story of Park Gu (Lee Kwang-soo) who decides to take part in a clinical test for a pharmaceutical company for 300,000 won.

The medical experiment gone horribly wrong turning Park Gu into a half-fish, half-human mutant.

After escaping from the laboratory, the poor man visits a woman with whom he had a one-night stand.

But the woman Ju-jin (Park Bo-young) sells him back to the pharmaceutical company.

During the press conference of the film, Park shared that she participated in the film to highlight some of the social issues that influenced the movie plots.

Director Kwon revealed that he adapts various social issues to make the movie such as Hwang Woo-suk’s cloning scandal, the MBC TV union workers’ stroke and high youth unemployment rate. Hwang was a professor of theriogenology and biotechnology who had claimed to create human embryonic stem cells by cloning.

This black comedy film was screened in the Vanguard section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

Watch the trailer here.

6.The Silenced (2015)

When asked why did she took up the role in The Silenced (2015), Park answered, “Ju-ran’s range of emotion in the movie is very deep and wide, and she is very different at the beginning and end of the film. This was a film that made me test my limits.”

In the movie, the actress plays a student in an isolated girls’ boarding school where its students begin to show strange symptoms and disappear one by one.

Park’s character Ju-ran’s worries are dismissed by the teachers but she too begins to show some of the strange symptoms.

The film set in Gyeongseong in 1938 during the Japanese occupation.

Overall, this mystery-thriller film failed to impress the critics.

According to The Korea Herald that despite the disappointing plot, the leading ladies Park Bo-young, Uhm Ji-won and Park So-dam leave a lasting impression, commenting, “The Silenced ultimately fails in its overambitious attempt to combine box office-friendly action and thrills with picturesque emotion but it remains engaging thanks to its excellent cast.”

Watch the trailer here.

7.Strong Girl Dong-soon (2016)

Korean romance fantasy dramas 2

Do Bong-soon (Park Bo-young) was born with superhuman strength, a trait that is hereditary and passed along only to the women in her family.

In the same time, her dream is to create a video game with herself as the main character.

She generally hides her super strength from people around her especially from her crush In Guk-doo (Ji Soo).

One day, her unusual power is accidentally found out by rich heir and CEO of a gaming company Ahn Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik) who subsequently hired her as a personal bodyguard.

The series was a commercial hit and became one of the highest-rated Korean dramas on cable television history.

There are so many things we love about this drama including the chemistry on-screen between Park Bo-young and Park Hyung-sik and the suspense and the mystery behind Bong-soon’s neighbourhood.

Watch the trailer here.

8.On Your Wedding Day (2018)

For this rom-com film, Park reunites with her former castmate from Hot Young Bloods (2014) Kim Young-kwang.

It follows the story of Hwang Woo-yeon (Kim Young-kwang) who receives a wedding invitation from his first love from high school.

From there, he starts to reminisce all the things he went through to be with her and the ups and downs they had together.

Park plays the role of Hwan Seung-hee, Hwang’s first love.

With a simple plot line and amazing storytelling by the director as well as impressive performance by the cast, the film was a box office hit and unsurprisingly received positive reviews.

Watch the trailer here.

9.Abyss (2019)

This drama is one of our top picks for Korean reincarnation series.

Go Se-yeon (Park Bo-young) is a beautiful prosecution lawyer at the top of her game, and Cha Min is her friend, an unattractive but rich heir to a cosmetics empire.

They are both revived into different bodies by supernatural beings using an “Abyss” after their deaths in separate incidents.

The “Abyss” is a celestial object which has the power to revive anything that has died; the reincarnated bodies take on the appearance of that person’s soul.

Go Se-yeon takes on a ‘plainer’ appearance, whilst Cha Min becomes very attractive and young; virtually the opposite of before.

They start working together to find out the reason for their revival and who caused Go Se-yeon’s death.

Watch the trailer here.

10.Doom At Your Service (2021)

Tak Dong-kyung (Park Bo-young), an editor for a web novel company who lives a fairly ordinary life until she stumbles into an unexpected fate.

All in a single day, she finds out she is dying from glioblastoma and has only three months to live, learns that her boyfriend is a father-to-be and has a wife, gets scolded by her superior at work, and is spied on by a pervert before the pervert falls into a sinkhole.

As she drinks her problems away, she happens to see a shooting star from her rooftop apartment and drunkenly wishes for the world to be doomed.

Her unusual wish is heard by Myul Mang (Seo In-guk) a messenger between gods and humans.

He was born between dark and light: when he breathes, countries disappear; when he walks, the seasons collapse; when he smiles, a life is extinguished.

All he has to do is exist for something to fall into ruin. This is not his intention but simply his fate.

On his birthday, he gets to choose a human’s wish to fulfill.

Sick of his fate, he chooses to fulfill Dong-kyung’s wish to end the world.

Dong-kyung ends up signing a hundred-day contract with Myul Mang, risking everything she has ever known.

Watch the trailer here.

Upcoming projects starring Park Bo-young

Fans of Park Bo-young can look forward for her working with Lee Byung-hun and Park Seo-joon in an upcoming South Korean disaster-thriller film.

Directed by Um Tae-hwa, the film is based on the second part of webtoon Pleasant Bullying by Kim Sung-nik which is about an earthquake destruction and its aftermath.

Our beloved actress will also star in a Netflix Original drama Daily Dose of Sunshine taking the lead role of Jung Da-eun.

The drama is based on the actual real-life experiences of a psychiatric nurse and will revolve around the story of nurse Jung.

Director Lee Jae-gyoo who directed the incredibly successful Netflix horror series All of Us Are Dead will direct the series.

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KajoPicks: 5 webtoons that are in dying need of K-drama adaptations

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Every year, we have seen many webtoons that have been adapted into K-dramas.

And we have also watched many Korean dramas that we did not know actually were adapted from webtoons.

For those who read the webtoons first, we can’t help but make comparisons between the artwork and the real-life adaptation.

The first and most important question we always ask is: “Did they cast the right actor and actress for the webtoon characters?”

While we appreciate that K-dramas these days are constantly bringing our favourite webtoons to life, there are still some really good ones out there that are in dying need of TV adaptations:

So here five webtoons that need to be adapted into K-dramas and KajoMag’s dream cast for every series:

1.The Wolf & Red Riding Hood

The Wolf & Red Riding Hood is a comedy webtoon original created by Xuann.

It follows high school student Anna who wakes up one day to find that she is super hairy and has an unnatural appetite for meat.

Later, Anna realises that she is slowly turning into a werewolf.

Since Anna is a high school student, we really want a young actress to play this role.

One actress that pops up in our mind is Kim Hyun-soo who is known for her role Bae Ro-na from the Penthouse: War in Life.

We would love to see her taking up a comedic role.

While So Ju-yeon’s appearance as Han So-mang in Seasons of Blossom (2022) kinda reminds us of the webtoon character with the short haircut, she is a bit too old to play Anna at the age of 28.

But then again if 32-year-old Kim Tae-ri pulled off playing a high school student in Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2022), maybe So Ju-yeon could also do the same.

Webtoo Drama Adaptation 1
What do you think? Anna (left) and So Ju-yeon

Check out the webtoon here

2.Devil Number 4

Since there are many romantic love stories between human and non-human beings such as in Goblin (2016), Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020), K-drama fans would definitely love this adaptation.

Devil Number 4 follows the story of Hanna Yoon. She is a poor college student who struggles to get by.

One day, she is approached by Number 4, a devil who promises to give her a wish in exchange for a soul.

Hanna, on the other hand, is not ready to part with her soul. Number 4, being a high-ranked official in Satan’s corporate ladder, is not willing to give up.

He goes as far as offering Hanna a job at his coffee shop in order to convince her to give up her soul.

Readers who have read Devil Number 4 must have cried and laughed through the series and we expect to do the same if there is a drama adaptation.

When the webtoon first came out in 2018, it had already garnered a lot of attention. Fans also came up with their imaginary cast for a fantasy drama adaptation.

For Number 4, they wanted Joo Ji-hoon who is known for his work in Princess Hours (2006), Along with the Gods and Kingdom.

As for the role of Hanna Yoon, the actress chosen by the fans is Kim So-hyun. The former child actress has a steady acting career and has starred in many hit series such as Who Are You: School (2015), Hey Ghost, Let’s Fight (2016), Radio Romance (2018) and Tale of Nokdu (2019).

As much as we love Joo, the 17 year age gap between him and Kim would just be too much for us.

To fit our vision of the perfect Number 4, we have Yoon Si-Yoon in mind.

He is versatile in his acting and we are sure he can pull off a supernatural character like the devil.

Webtoon Drama Adaptation 1
Number 4 (left) and Yoon Si-yoon.
Webtoon Drama Adaptation 2
Hanna (left) and Kim So-hyun.

Check out the first episode of Devil Number 4 on Webtoon here.

3.My Dear Cold-Blooded King

This webtoon is one of the best action, romantic and historical publications on the app.

It follows the story of Kihara Mei who has a strong-willed personality.

She is born a simple farm girl who grew up working as a merchant while her family sold fruit for survival.

One thing leads to another and Mei finds herself working in the Blood King’s palace.

Mei has two love interests Asukai Katsu and Ryusaki Hayate. Both carry secrets and it is interesting to know how their relationships with our female lead character grow as she slowly learns about the secrets that the Blood King’s palace hides.

For the role Kihara Mei, we would love to see a Korean actress who is trained in martial arts.

On the top of our heads are of course are Ha Ji-won and Park Shin-hye. Ha for instance, has learned kendo while Park is known for her boxing skill.

Another one actress who might be perfect as Mei is Han So-hee. She has proven that she is talented in action roles through My Name (2021).

Webtoon Korean Drama Adaptation 5
Kihara Mei (left) and Ha Ji-won (right).

Meanwhile, Ryusaki Hayate is a handsome, young man with long black hair.

He has a flirtatious and cheeky personality which also works as a mask to hide his true motive sometimes.

We imagine Lee Joon-gi and Ji Chang-wook to be the perfect Ryusaki.

Apart for the reason that they are undeniably talented for the role, both actors have the look too.

We have seen Lee rocking Ryusaki-type of hairstyle in Iljimae (2008) and Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016).

Ji’s portrayal of Baek Dong-soo in the historical action drama Warrior Baek Dong-soo (2011) also reminds of Ryusaki.

Asukai Katsu on the other hand has a long straight silver-white hair and green eyes. His appearance reminds us of Choi Siwon and Jung Ill-woo.

Both actors have that historical royalty vibe and both have taken up action roles before.

Webtoon Drama Adaptation 3
Ryusaki Hayate (left) and Lee Joon-ki
Webtoon Drama Adaptation 4
Asukai Katsu (left) and Jung Il-woo (right)

Check out the webcomic here.

4.Age Matters

Created by Enjelicious for Webtoon, the series ran on the app from Aug 20, 2018 till Sept 7, 2021.

It follows the story of 29-year-old Rose Choi as she tries to pick up her life after being dumped by her ex-boyfriend.

While looking for a job, she takes over her best friend’s job to cook and deliver meals to a mysterious boss.

As it turns out, the mysterious boss is a young, handsome CEO named Daniel Yoon.

Rose is subsequently hired to be Daniel’s personal assistant despite the fact they do not get along in the first place.

The story explores the themes that we are familiar with in K-dramas such as ‘noona’ romance, office romantic relationship and family conflict.

There are many young Korean actors that would fit perfectly to the role of Daniel Yoon but here at KajoMag, we want to see Kim Min-kyu as our Daniel.

After playing the chief secretary Cha Sung-hoon in Business Proposal (2022), we would love to see a promotion to his fictional career and finally become a CEO in a drama.

As for the mature, strong-willed character of Rose, Choi Soo-young can be our female leading role.

We have seen Choi’s constant growth in her career from being a K-pop idol in Girls’ Generation to taking up more prominent roles in her acting.

For that, we would love to see what she could bring as Rose Choi.

Webtoon Drama Adaptation 6
Daniel Yoon (left) and Kim Min-kyu (right)
Webtoon Drama Adaptation 7
Rose Choi (left) and Choi Soo-young

Check out the webtoon here

5.Scorching Romance

Here is another high school webtoon that is worthy of a K-drama adaptation.

It follows the story of high-schooler Ember who is constantly hot, as in having a high body temperature.

Ember also has a hot temper that comes along with her hot bodily temperature.

What happens when she encounters a fellow schoolmate who is the opposite of her?

Instead of feeling hot all the time, Aspen is constantly shivering with cold.

Overall, the webtoon is fun to read especially watching the development of relationship between the two polar opposite people, Ember and Aspen.

For our imaginary cast, we want fresh blood for the drama adaptation of Scorching Romance.

Well, these actors are not exactly fresh but they still need more work to gain more recognition that they deserve.

So far we have seen Kim Min-ki in supporting roles such as True Beauty (2020) and Under The Queen’s Umbrella (2022).

It is about time to have his first leading role, so how about the role of Aspen?

As for the feisty role of Ember, Yoon Seo-A left deep impression in her role as Seo Ji-wan in Nevertheless (2021). Thus, we would love to see her exploring different types of roles.

Webtoon Korean Adapation 9
Aspen (left) and Kim Min-ki
Webtoon Korean Drama Adaptation 8
Ember (left) and Yoon Seo-A

Check out the webcomic here.

What do you think of our imaginary cast for these imaginary drama adaptations of webtoons?

Let us know in the comment box which webtoons you would like to see to come to life?

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KajoPicks: 10 dramas and films starring SNSD Yoona you should watch

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Girls’ Generation or better known as SNSD just celebrated their 15th anniversary this year.

The group is one of the best-selling artists in South Korea as well as one of most popular K-pop group worldwide.

Apart from being K-pop idols, all of the eight members have participated in other line of works such as TV hosts, solo singers, variety show entertainers, musical artists and of course actresses.

Out of four SNSD members (Yoona, Yuri, Sooyoung and Seohyun) who ventured into acting, you have to admit Yoona has the most impressive track record of filmography.

Yoona, whose real name is Im Yoon-ah has been hailed as a top idol-actress in South Korea.

Here are 10 dramas and films starring SNSD Yoona you should watch:

1.You are My Destiny (2008)

For her first leading role in a drama, Yoona plays the role of Jang Sae-byuk. She is a cheerful young orphan who dreams to become an interior designer.

Due to an accident three years ago, Sae-byuk losses her sight and undergoes corneal transplant surgery.

After operation, she tracks down her donor’s family and slowly becomese close with them.

The family in return, slowly is slowly accepting her as part of them.

Overall, the series was a success with viewer rating of up to 41.5%.

Behind this successful drama, Yoona revealed the hardship she went through filming during an episode of talkshow Strong Heart aired on Feb 2, 2013.

She said, “On the first day of filming, I made a mistake with my line, and the director yelled at me angrily. He came up to me and said, ‘I don’t think you are ready for this role.’ He then told to me go home even though we were not done filming that day.”

Yoona shared that she was so upset that she could not help but cry all the way home.

In the show, she stated, “There still were nine months left until the end of drama, and I didn’t know what to do. I lost all confidence. On some days, they had to stop the filming because I couldn’t stop crying.”

Yoona then added, “However, I later learned that he was harsh with me to teach me a valuable lesson. He meant me, a rookie actress, to never lose my focus. After that incident, I received a lot of praises and I was able to grow and learn a lot. ”

The scolding and tears were definitely worth it as Yoona won two ‘Best New Actress’ awards at the 2008 KBS Drama Awards and 45th Baeksang Arts Awards for this drama.

2.Love Rain (2012)

If you are into those melodrama with aesthetic filming style, this is the drama for you.

Directed by Yoon Seok-ho, it tells a love story over two generations with Jang Keun-suk and Yoona playing dual roles.

When Seo In-ha (Jang) and Kim Yoon-hee (Yoona) met as university students in the seventies, it was definitely a love at first sight.

After some times, they finally confessed their feelings toward each other.

Unfortunately, circumstances led both of them to break up and wind up in different paths of life.

Fast forward to 2012, In-ha (Jung Jin-young) is now unhappily married to Baek Hye-jung, one of Yoon-hee’s former best friends.

Secretly, he has never gotten over his first love. Hence when he runs into Yoon-hee (Lee Mi-sook) after so many years, the two reconcile.

On the other hand, In-ha’s son Seo Joon (Jang) is a photographer. One day, he bumps into Yoon-hee’s daughter Jung Ha-na (Yoona) by chance.

They start to bicker at first but eventually starting to fall in love with each other. Unaware that their children are dating each other, In-ha and Yoon-hee announce that they are getting married, which will make Joon and Ha-na step-siblings.

Joon and Ha-na struggle with sacrificing their love for their parents’ long-aborted happiness.

Love Rain was the most expensive Korean drama presold to Japan in 2012.

3.Prime Minister & I (2013)

At the age of 42 years old, Kwon Yul (Lee Beom-soo) is South Korea’s youngest prime minister ever.

He is known for his reputation as an honest man of the utmost integrity.

Apart from that, he is also a widower as his wife died in a car accident seven years ago and raises his three children alone.

Behind closed doors, Yul is actually a struggling father devoid of even the most basic of parenting skills.

Meanwhile, Nam Da-jung (Yoona) is a journalist from Scandal News who resorts to writing for a trashy tabloid to support her ailing father.

When she chases Prime Minister Kwon for a lucrative exposé, she ends up scooping a whole lot more than she bargained for.

The unlikely duo ended up in a contract marriage and later on fell in love with each other.

For this role, Yoona bagged the Excellence Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries at the KBS Drama Awards 2013 and Best Young Actress at Seoul International Youth Film Festival.

4.The K2 (2016)

Yoona’s role in the The K2 (2016) is completely different from her previous works.

Here her role as Go Anna is the illegitimate daughter of presidential candidate Jang Se-joon (Jo Sung-ha).

Due to her illegitimate status, nobody knows Anna’s existence. In order to protect her father’s career, she is exiled to Spain at a convent under the constant surveillance of her stepmother Choi Yoo-jin (Song Yoon-ah).

Anna is also suffering from social phobia and experiences panic attacks from flashing lights.

She eventually becomes a pawn in her stepmom’s plan to control Se-joon’s political career.

Yoo-jin hires Kim Je-ha (Ji Chang-wook) as Anna’s bodyguard who later becomes her love interest.

Overall, The K2 is a thrilling political drama combined with impressive action scenes.

5.The King in Love (2017)

This historical drama is loosely based on Chungseon of Goryeo who was the 26th ruler of the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea.

He was Korea’s first royalty of mixed heritage whose mother was the daughter of Kublai Khan, a Mongolian emperor and the founder of Yuan dynasty in China.

The main character in The King in Love (2017) Wang Won (Im Si-wan) is loosely based on this mixed-race king.

Won has two friends whom he knows since childhood; Wang Rin (Hong Jong-hyun) and San (Yoona).

These three become the closest of friends eventually romantic feelings arise between these three.

Won falls in love with San and would do anything for her.

On the other hand, his childhood friend Wang Rin who also fell in love with San at first sight.

Even though Wang Rin loves San so much, he still hid his affection for her because of his duty to his Crown Prince and because he doesn’t want to hurt his best friend’s feelings.

The drama is based on the novel of the same name by Kim Yi-ryung.

During the press conference to promote the drama, Yoona revealed that she wanted to feel and experience new things with this character which is different from her character in The K2.

“She is brave and bright in the beginning. Later on, her emotions and choices become very deep,” she said.

6.Hush (2020)

One of the reasons Yoona picked up the script for Hush (2020) is the opportunity to act alongside Hwang Jung-min.

In an interview with Forbes, Yoona said that she has done a lot of bright and cheerful acting but never got to play a serious, heavy-toned character like this before.

She added, “The drama itself is also different from what I’ve done in the past, so it was a new challenge for me to showcase a different sides as an actress.”

Based on the 2018 novel Silence Warning by Jung Jin-young, Hush centers around a group of journalists in a newsroom.

Yoona plays the role of Lee Ji-soo, a spirited and bold intern reporter.

Hwang takes the role of Han Joon-hyuk, a senior reporter who has lost his passion for journalism.

7.Confidential Assignment (2017)

Yoona made her film debut in the movie Confidential Assignment (2017).

The story follows a North Korean Officer (Hyun Bin) and a Seoul detective (Yoo Hae-jin) team up to track down a dangerous fugitive.

In the movie, Yoona plays the role of Yoo’s sister in-law Park Min-young.

Confidential Assignment was a hit and one of the most viewed Korean movies in 2017.

Through her first movie, Yoona once again proved that she is more than just K-pop star.

Her role in this action film, the SNSD member was nominated for many awards and eventually brought home the Most Popular Actress at the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards, Best New Actress at Korean Film Shining Star Awards and more.

In 2022, Yoona reprises her role as Park Min Young in Confidential Assignment 2: International.

As of October 2022, the sequel is the third highest-grossing Korean film of the year.

Watch the trailer here.

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Im Yoon-ah in the official still photo of Confidential Assignment 2: International (2022)

8.Exit (2019)

What makes Exit (2019) special for Yoona’s career is the fact that it is her first leading role in a film.

It is a disaster action comedy film written and directed by Lee Sang-geun.

The story follows Yong-nam (Jo Jung-suk), an unemployed man who once one of the best rock climbers in his college years.

He meets his old crush Eui-joo (Yoona) at the Cloud Garden during his mother’s 70th birthday festivities.

Eui-joo who is also a former rock climber is working there.

In order to impress Eui-joo, Yong-nam lies to her claiming that he is now very successful.

Meanwhile, a terrorist group releases a toxic white gas and spreads to its immediate surrounding. This causes pandemonium throughout the city.

During the chaos, Yong-nam and Eui-joo are left on their own to seek higher ground and avoid the rising toxic gas.

They use their rock climbing skills to survive.

Overall, the film was a box office success and South Korea’s third highest-grossing domestic film for 2019.

Again, Yoona won numerous awards for Exit including Popular Star Award at 40th Blue Dragon Film Awards and Best Actress in Movie at the 4th Asia Artist Awards.

Watch the trailer here.

9.Miracle: Letters to the President (2021)

This fictionalised film is based on a true story that took place in a remote area of North Gyeongsang Province in the 1980s.

Tae-yoon (Lee Sung-min) who is an engineer has always dream to set up a train station in his village.

His village has railway tracks but there is no station.

Tae-yoon has a son named Joon-kyeong (Park Jeong-min) who is a high school math prodigy.

Together with his girlfriend Ra-hee (Yoona), his older sister Bo-gyeong (Lee Soo-kyung) and the villagers, Joon-kyeong work to establish the first privately owned small train station.

The movie was selected at the 24th Far East Film Festival where it won the Golden Mulberry Award.

Through this film, Yoona earned her a second Blue Dragon Best Actress nomination as well as her Baeksang Best Actress nomination.

Watch the trailer here.

10.Big Mouth (2022)

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Yoona in an official still photo of Big Mouth 2022.

This is one of the most talked about K-drama in 2022. Big Mouth (2022) follows the story of Park Chang-ho (Lee Jong-suk), a third-rate lawyer with a ten percent success rate.

Among his legal colleagues, he is known as ‘Big Mouth’ because he likes to talk big before doing something.

When people started to mistaken him as a ‘Big Mouse’ who is a genius conman, his life is suddenly in danger and gets caught up in a murder case.

Yoona takes up the role of Chang-ho’s wife, Ko Miho who works as a nurse.

She tries to clear up her husband’s name and finds herself get entangled in the conspiracy among the wealthy and powerful people.

Although this is Yoona’s first hard-boiled noir drama, she does not fail to deliver her best performance.

Audience can easily find themselves getting caught up with Mi-ho’s emotions throughout suspenseful plot and her relationship with Chang-ho.

Upcoming Projects

Fans can look forward to two upcoming projects from this idol-actress.

We will see Yoona as a hotelier in a television series that is scheduled to premiere on JTBC in the first half of 2023.

King the Land tells the story of Goo Won (Lee Jun-ho) who is the heir of a luxury hotel conglomerate The King Group.

Her second upcoming project is a rom-com directed by Lee Sang-geun.

Starring alongside Ahn Bo-hyun, the 2 O’Clock Date tells the story of two people who lived in the same building having a date at 2am while everyone else in the block is sleeping.

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