Kim Seung-woo headlines remake of Midnight Diner for SBS

24 May 5, 2015December 20, 2015

Kim Seung-woo headlines remake of Midnight Diner for SBS

by girlfriday

It seems like all the stations are jumping to experiment with their weekend timeslots these days. SBS is trotting out a new late-night Saturday drama, a remake of the popular Japanese television show Midnight Diner, or Shinya Shokudo, and Kim Seung-woo (IRIS 2, Third Ward) has signed on to headline. The human drama is about a chef, known as Master, who runs a quirky little late-night restaurant that opens at midnight.

The original source material is a manga series by Yaro Abe, which was adapted into a movie and a television drama that aired its third season in 2014. It starred Kobayashi Kaoru as Master, and told the stories of various patrons who came to eat at his restaurant in the wee hours of the night, where there was only one thing on the menu and he cooked to order.

Kim Seung-woo will play Master in the remake. Nobody knows Master’s real name, age, or history, but his body is branded with scars, and he seems to have become a chef in order to forget something from his past. He’ll have no fixed items on his menu, but will take orders from any customer and cook up whatever they ask for.

I haven’t seen the original, but if this restaurant existed in real life, I’d be there every night. It’s like having your mom’s kitchen on call with none of the nagging? I’m happy to see Kim Seung-woo back in dramaland — it’s been a while since IRIS 2 and his variety days on Win-Win and 1 Night 2 Days. Wait, I’m remembering now that he was a terrible cook on 1N2D… Oh well, I guess it’s a good thing he’s a good actor.

PD Hwang In-roi of Goong, Return of Iljimae, and Playful Kiss will be at the helm. SBS is still undecided about the format and timeslot, so it’ll either be a 60-minute drama with 12 episodes, or a 30-minute drama with 20 episodes. Is it just me or does the math not work out on that? Anyway, it’s looking at a June or July premiere on Saturday nights.

Via IS Plus

Required fields are marked *

1 Miky

May 5, 2015 at 2:25 PM

I'm in because i love Kim Seung Woo and i totally miss him from dramaland!wow if the restaurant would be real that would be wow,imagine him not knowing how to cook a meal...it won't be a hero if they don't have the dark past attached to it..hpe it will be a good show and get at least decent ratings

Required fields are marked *

2 dafuqwhat

May 5, 2015 at 2:26 PM

Kim Seung-woo!!! How I miss this ajusshi. Feels like forever since I last saw him on my screen.
Never see the original, but it sound interesting.

Required fields are marked *

3 pogo

May 5, 2015 at 2:32 PM

I loved Shinya Shokudo!

I wonder if Let's Eat is the thing that set off what looks like a trend for food-focused dramas? First that Shin Mina upcoming drama for SBS, now this.

Required fields are marked *

4 escape

May 5, 2015 at 2:37 PM

Sounds interesting and i love Kim Seung Woo.

Required fields are marked *

5 melica

May 5, 2015 at 2:44 PM

I loved Shinya Shokudo and I love Kim Seung Woo. It would be great if they were able to capture the languid, relaxing feeling of the original. Just listening to the credits of that show made me happy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXRrs_aSPBc

Required fields are marked *

kororo

May 6, 2015 at 12:38 AM

+1 Shinya Shokudo is definitely a touching human-slice of life drama. I hope with all my heart that they can translate that in the Korean version.

Required fields are marked *

6 Chandler

May 5, 2015 at 2:46 PM

Oh! Shinya Shokudo has been on my j-drama list for a while now. I'll be looking forward to this remake :)

Required fields are marked *

7 delicatecloud

May 5, 2015 at 2:47 PM

I have seen and love the movie - a very touching human drama. I hope that it will be kept in the same vein ....I like Kim Seung-Woo and would love to see him as a chef.

Required fields are marked *

8 Battle Angel

May 5, 2015 at 4:11 PM

I loved Shinya Shokudo!! I always wished there were more seasons & episodes of it! Hope the Korean one is as good.

Required fields are marked *

9 k4ice4thu

May 5, 2015 at 4:22 PM

Shinya Shokudo was a pretty awesome drama..I love that each episode can sort of stand alone. Also, at the end of each ep there was like a little mini cooking lesson which as pretty neat!

It'll be interesting to see Kim Seung Woo take on the role of Master

Required fields are marked *

10 Sajen

May 5, 2015 at 4:51 PM

I loved both seasons of the original Japanese drama. But really it's so far out of the Korean comfort zone especially for the big three this has me confused. I mean it's a slice-of-life drama through and through it's not really about anything no romance nothing about it screams Korean remake to me it's thoroughly Japanese and that has me worried.

Required fields are marked *

11 unitedred

May 5, 2015 at 8:14 PM

Sounds interesting. I look forward to any show with chefs and cooking. Now, I want to watch the original.

Required fields are marked *

12 Auntiemame

May 5, 2015 at 8:23 PM

I loved the Japanese version of "Midnight Diner". The normal human fallacies of ordinary real life characters were presented with warmth and without prejudicial judgement.

And, I loved the simple recipes at the end of each episode, which were, unfortunately, discontinue in later seasons of the drama.

I look forward to the K-version.

Required fields are marked *

13 whitewire

May 5, 2015 at 8:28 PM

I TOTALLY am completely owned by Kim Seung-woo ever since Mr. Duke and Hotelier, and THAT ownership will never expire! I love Kim Seung-woo, and this is JINJJA JINJJA interesting for me! No matter what, I will FOLLOW this drama! Saranghaeyo ahjusshi! Still super hot!

Required fields are marked *

14 Jodasg

May 5, 2015 at 10:19 PM

I was on a flight home recently & watch Shinya Shokudo movie version. Really enjoyed it & came home searching for all 3 seasons of jap drama. Hv yet to start on them but I suspect I will enjoy them. So am pleasantly surprised to see this news article & seeing Kim seung woo gonna headline the K-ver. Miss him from 2D1N.

Required fields are marked *

15 korfan

May 6, 2015 at 12:29 AM

This sounds interesting.

Haven't seen Kim Seung-woo in like forever.

Required fields are marked *

16 Jenny

May 6, 2015 at 12:39 AM

I don't have a good feeling about this, it's just so down to earth and quirky and usually that doesn't fare well in Kdrama remakes.
I love Shinya Shokudo! I love how all the guest have their own stories and we get to know them.
Plus the food!

Required fields are marked *

astromantic

May 6, 2015 at 10:06 AM

And I think there's something very different about midnight dramas (compared to other primetime dramas in Japan), too. Hopefully the overall idea will translate well!

Required fields are marked *

17 comix

May 6, 2015 at 10:45 AM

This could be really good. I loved the original series and the movie so much that I watched the raws.

Required fields are marked *

18 miricia

May 7, 2015 at 10:58 AM

Midnight diner is wonderful. It's so humanistic.. It's about problems that a human could face in life and how to overcome those hardships. I would recommend this to you all.

Required fields are marked *

19 Cee

May 12, 2015 at 7:38 AM

I know this drama! My Mom watched it and she kinda forced me to watch as well. I didn't manage to finish it, but nevertheless it is still a unique and realistic story.

I think Kim Seungwoo will do a great job! Hwaiting <3

Required fields are marked *

20 meowminx

July 16, 2015 at 10:16 AM

I loved Shinya Shokudo, all three seasons of it and the movie! Can't wait to watch this one!

Required fields are marked *

21 Beverly A

August 6, 2015 at 4:37 PM

I've been watching this and it's one of those small, complex shows that make television great. These are short slices of life that make the human condition so fascinating. Super music too.

Required fields are marked *

22 e squared

August 16, 2015 at 7:15 AM

I've been watching this beautiful show. Understated and facinating with wonderful stories and atmosphere. It leaves me hungry too!

Required fields are marked *