Helpers and colleagues cast for MBC suspense drama W
by javabeans
Lee Tae-hwan, Kang Ki-young
A whole crop of supporting roles have been announced for MBC’s “romantic suspense melodrama” W, which stars Lee Jong-seok (Doctor Stranger) and Han Hyo-joo (Dong Yi) and comes from the writer of Nine and Queen Inhyun’s Man. I’ve been eager for more information about this drama because what little was released sounds so fascinating, so I’m happy to have these additional descriptions.
The drama has quite the fresh premise: It takes place in Seoul in 2016, but crosses two dimensions that exist in the same space—that is to day, combining reality with an alternate reality. Han Hyo-joo plays a doctor whose comic-book-writer father goes missing, and when she goes in search of him, she finds a bloody man (Lee Jong-seok) in his studio. It sounds mind-bendy and intriguing and really very nifty.
The latest casting includes two actors who’ve played sidekicks multiple before; Lee Tae-hwan and Kang Ki-young were recently both in Come Back, Ajusshi as two of Kim Su-ro’s endearing gangster underlings. I have to admit I was so busy squealing, “Seung-jae-yaaaaa!” that I only belatedly realized that the two were actually buddies in another earlier drama, High School King of Savvy, as Seo In-gook’s two dopey hockey-playing friends. I love them!
Jung Yoo-jin, Lee Shi-un
Lee Tae-hwan will play a former martial artist and current bodyguard to our hero; he’s a faithful right-hand man who’s “sometimes like a friend, sometimes like a hyung,” and always there to help. Kang Ki-young’s friendship is in the other dimension, as Han Hyo-joo’s colleague and second-year resident in cardiothoracic surgery. Lee Shi-un (Remember—Son’s War) will play a pupil of the heroine’s father.
Casting for model-turned actress Jung Yoo-jin (Moorim School, Heard It Through the Grapevine) was previously announced, though now we know that she’ll be Lee Jong-seok’s secretary and close friend. As if it weren’t enough to be a former Olympic gold medalist in shooting, she’s also a computer science genius. Well, as long as those skills help keep Lee Jong-seok safe, I’m all for it. She was previously referred to as Han Hyo-joo’s rival, and based on the description I’m going to assume that means romantic rival. Unless she’s also a cardiothoracic surgeon in her spare time, that is.
This writer, Song Jae-jung, is particularly gifted in bringing together two parallel tracts and plotlines into the same space, having done so with great aplomb in Nine and Queen Inhyun’s Man. Both those dramas also made use of time periods that intersected in the present, and I’m curious to see how W will pull off two different dimensions. I could really use a fresh premise in dramaland right about now!
W premieres on July 20, following Lucky Romance as a Wednesday-Thursday drama on MBC.
Via iMBC
RELATED POSTS
- Jung Yoo-jin joins fantasy drama W as Han Hyo-joo’s rival
- Han Hyo-joo, Lee Jong-seok confirm new MBC melodrama W
- Lee Jong-seok, Han Hyo-joo offered leads in new drama from Nine writer
- Come Back, Ajusshi: Episode 1
- Moorim School: Episode 1
- Yoo Seung-ho and Park Min-young’s emotional reunion in Remember
- Oh My Ghostess: Episode 1
- I Need Romance writer, director reteam for cable youth romance
- History gets an SNS makeover in webtoon-adapted cable drama
Tags: Jung Yoo-jin, Kang Ki-young, Lee Shi-un, Lee Tae-hwan, W–Two Worlds
Interview with Kim Yoo-jung
Hello Dramabeans series
![[2022 Year in Review] The Bean Count](https://www.dramabeans.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/beancount_2022.png)
Required fields are marked *
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
1 lostmysanity
May 12, 2016 at 3:12 AM
Ohmy. If they always come in pairs that's awesome HAHAHA
They were so great in their last 2 dramas together
Required fields are marked *
lostmysanity
May 12, 2016 at 3:13 AM
Are they really not going to be besties this time though? That's such a shame :(
Required fields are marked *
2 Moonbean
May 12, 2016 at 3:14 AM
Lee Tae-hwan and Kang Ki-young seem to be together a lot. I first saw both in High School King where they both played Seo In Guk's besties - and Kang Ki-young was hilariously playing a high school student.
Required fields are marked *
3 Moonbean
May 12, 2016 at 3:19 AM
Haha at 95 er Lee Tae Hwan playing hyung to Lee Jong Seuk.
Required fields are marked *
4 mistress
May 12, 2016 at 3:21 AM
lol..that was my first thought too.
Required fields are marked *
5 Mystique
May 12, 2016 at 3:29 AM
If Han Hyo Joo has taken this up as her comeback project, it must be SOMETHING. I think we are in for an intresting ride!
Required fields are marked *
6 canxi
May 12, 2016 at 3:38 AM
Yessss, rise Lee Tae Hwan! And Kang Ki Young, too! Are they irl best friends yet?
This drama sounds really intriguing. I'm neither here nor there with Lee Jong Suk but love Han Hyo Joo. So I'm looking forward to this.
Required fields are marked *
7 chi
May 12, 2016 at 3:40 AM
Lmao, hopefully Lee Tae-hwan and Kang Ki-young will have their own dimension-crossing bromance.
Required fields are marked *
Chandler
May 12, 2016 at 9:14 AM
Pffft, I could totally just watch it for that.
Required fields are marked *
8 ladykrueger
May 12, 2016 at 3:44 AM
Seung-jae! Also Dal-po! Can't wait for this drama. *squee*
Required fields are marked *
9 Zah
May 12, 2016 at 3:55 AM
Ah now I see why Seo In Guk did a cameo in OMG, it was (or partly was) because of Kang Ki-Young seeing how all of In Guk's cameo scenes were with Sous Chef.
Required fields are marked *
10 gadis
May 12, 2016 at 4:11 AM
Omygaaah...
I'm soooooo excited I barely stopped myself from dancing around the kitchen and made my mom gaping at her 'crazy' daughter. I love all the actors, I love the story, and I definitely love this writer. July, come fast!!
Required fields are marked *
11 Grapes
May 12, 2016 at 4:23 AM
This drama is so highly anticipated, they have a good cast good writer with a fresh storyline
Looking forward to this drama
Required fields are marked *
12 Delurker
May 12, 2016 at 4:26 AM
Glad to see that for once we have a female geeeeenius :) . I hope she does not lose two-thirds of her IQ points after the first four episodes...
Required fields are marked *
Rj
May 12, 2016 at 7:31 AM
Lol...I so agree with you. Why doesn't dramaland have female character with unique IQ. We need a revolution in dramaland.
Required fields are marked *
13 john
May 12, 2016 at 4:30 AM
The writer's previous work make me curious enough to wath this. Jung Yoo-jin has a sultry look.
Required fields are marked *
14 jichangwooklover
May 12, 2016 at 5:22 AM
I love Eugene and Lee Tae Hwan. Hope they will be in a cute love line together.
P.S. Hope dramabeans does a post on the 3rd teaser of Lucky Romance.
Required fields are marked *
15 kanz
May 12, 2016 at 5:38 AM
The plot is interesting enough for me and I like the cast... so far so good for W.
MBC so far still have an upper hand than KBS&SBS for Wed-Thu slot and if Lucky Romance has good ratings (since it's HJE+romcom) I guess W will have good ratings too.
Required fields are marked *
16 may
May 12, 2016 at 5:38 AM
Love love love lee jong suk's acting!!
BTW I'm totally sure that our hero (LJS) will be the former Olympic gold medalist, is his secretary a shooter too?? And not sure who is the genius computer science either! Anyway this drama has a solid cast' writer amd I hope the director will be as good!
Required fields are marked *
17 whozdat
May 12, 2016 at 5:45 AM
Lee siun! he is so funny though seems the drama have a good story
Required fields are marked *
18 enkeys
May 12, 2016 at 6:25 AM
These boys Tae Hwan and Ki Young though. They're like "buy 1 free 1" thing LOL Loved them in High School King of Savvy!
Required fields are marked *
19 Lux
May 12, 2016 at 6:26 AM
Lol, I was also squealing "Seungjaeee-yah!" then had to stop for a moment when I saw Kang Ki Young's photo next to Lee Taehwan, which of course led me to continue my squealing because I love these two together. Seriously. If these two were good together in HSKoS, they were even better in CBA (these 2 + Hong Nan were the best!)
But yes, I'd definitely watch this for Lee Jong Suk (IHYV was the first drama I watched while it was still airing), Han Hyo Joo, for the writer, and for the supporting actors! What's not to love?
Hope it doesn't disappoint *prays to drama gods*
Required fields are marked *
20 alpha
May 12, 2016 at 6:48 AM
This drama is shaping up really well I must say. Spot on plot, actors, side actors, followed by a nice drama so viewers ratings, I predict will at least cross 20%.
I bet on it.
Required fields are marked *
may
May 12, 2016 at 7:01 AM
Not sure about rating because its rivals will be aired sooner than this one and one of them is pre_produced with tones of hype currently in korea and after its promotions and premiering in china ( u know its's been always said that Sidus is the best at media playing....) anyway I hope it will be best in quality & critical acclaims not hype or rating.
Required fields are marked *
may
May 12, 2016 at 7:01 AM
Tons*
Required fields are marked *
boxofsoaps
May 12, 2016 at 7:24 AM
Oh, please, like YG would not media play the heck out of it. And HHJ's agency also powerful as hell. Fair game is fair. SudisHQ compared to both them nothing.
Required fields are marked *
may
May 12, 2016 at 7:54 AM
I didn't mean to compare the agancies & their artists or whatever, so sorry if my comment coused misleading my point which was in pre producing & the hype and promotionss that it brings like as any other pre produced drama, and of course I think it's their right to do it! And for media playing I should say Sidus is really somthing. Anyway I agree that it is a fair game cause all the entertainment industry all over the world are based on these promotions, hype, media play and so on. Hope the best for all 3 dramas in this time slot.
Required fields are marked *
boxofsoaps
May 12, 2016 at 11:56 AM
I'm just a bit sick, that when SidusHQ reports something, people jump into that "oh, yeah, they mediaplaying!". First of all, it's like making jokes out of KWB and his popularity. Second people should differentiate "mediaplay" out of "mediahype" and "massive media coverage".
At the end, I actually hope that no one would compare UF to W. Nor act like any of them less than other. Unrealistic, but girl can wish. Both different genres. Some can enjoy one more than other, but it's not a reason to put other down. Which people actually love to do.
For all we know UF could be hyped, but also really good. Same for W. Closer to date, you will see same amount of media coverage for that drama like for UF (and W right now hyped no less, than UF).
Peace.
Kaylie
May 12, 2016 at 9:13 AM
Hoping that's true! Because so far it seems like Uncontrollably Fond's getting the upper hand in terms of hype.
Required fields are marked *
cozybooks
May 12, 2016 at 8:43 AM
Oh, please yes!! But now that you've said it, it won't be jinxed, right? *crosses fingers* Oh, I can't wait!! All my favorites in one drama, please be good!!
Required fields are marked *
soapbox
May 12, 2016 at 3:48 PM
Honestly Song Jaejung's dramas are loved by the public and critics because they're unique and nicely written, but they don't tend to pull in particularly high/hit ratings. Of course I want this drama to succeed commercially, but I'll just be happy if the plot is good and I won't put expectations on anything else.
Required fields are marked *
Thelady
May 13, 2016 at 10:41 AM
The lead actors will pull up the ratings.
Required fields are marked *
21 ChocoChip
May 12, 2016 at 7:00 AM
I'm really looking forward to watching Lucky Romance and W back to back (and drooling over Ryu Joon Yeol and Lee Jong Suk). The plot for W definitely intrigues me and makes me super curious about what to expect the tone of the drama to be. Summer is looking pretty appealing right now.
Required fields are marked *
22 cozybooks
May 12, 2016 at 7:28 AM
Yes YES yes yes yes!! Please come quickly, July...
Required fields are marked *
23 soapbox
May 12, 2016 at 8:19 AM
"As if it weren’t enough to be a former Olympic gold medalist in shooting, she’s also a computer science genius."
Actually that sentence was describing Jongsuk's character, Kang Chul. He's the one with those occupations lol.
Required fields are marked *
Delurker
May 12, 2016 at 9:55 AM
Right; I should have suspected it. What was I thinking? I had forgotten that it would totally spoil the romance to have a female lead stand out for her brains rather than her spunk... *sigh*
Required fields are marked *
soapbox
May 12, 2016 at 9:59 AM
Han Hyojoo's character is a surgeon though?
Required fields are marked *
soapbox
May 12, 2016 at 10:01 AM
Adding to that, the story is self aware. Jongsuk's character description said 'such a story/person doesn't exist in reality, only in movies and comics'. They could say he sprouts angel wings and can magically grant wishes like a genie, and it would still work in this specific story.
Required fields are marked *
Delurker
May 12, 2016 at 10:38 AM
Well, Kdrama is full of professional women who become helpless five-year-olds the minute the male lead needs to shine, so I will not hold my breath just for that. I am more intrigued by the hint of self-awareness; if they can do the whole meta joke about unrealistic geeeeenius characters, I will be first in line to watch :) .
Required fields are marked *
soapbox
May 12, 2016 at 10:48 AM
I mean, your comment was purely based on what their professions are. So in response, I'm saying they both have particular professions that requires them to use their brains. It's fine though.
The self-awareness doubles as how Kang Chul doesn't exist in this story's reality too. It's more of a hint where his character comes from rather than a meta joke/observation.
Delurker
May 12, 2016 at 11:32 AM
Actually the comment was based on the sentence "As if it weren’t enough to be a former Olympic gold medalist in shooting, she’s also a computer science genius" (post #12). Females can be portrayed as tough and competent, but normally it is only males that are described as "geniuses" at their profession. I had my hopes up until you pointed out that the description applied to him rather than her (sigh again). Though I did asume that it was the female lead rather than the second lead, my mistake.
Still hoping there will be a meta joke somewhere, though, just because I love them :) . In any case I will drop in to see exactly what the setup is; it sounds interesting.
soapbox
May 12, 2016 at 11:57 AM
@Delurker
In general, I think it's because kdramas are mainly aimed at women and they think it's more relatable to the audience that a woman works hard at what she does instead of being a born 'genius'. The men are there to be ogled and a source for fangirling, which is why they're often good looking, rich, and good at everything... which is honestly more boring to me than normal strong and competent women, though the downside is that kdramas often don't know how to develop women well at all.
From the description, it sounds like Han Hyojoo's character is a surgeon traveling between worlds to save Jongsuk's character, on top of searching for her missing father, she doesn't seem weak. They both sound competent and interesting.
Violette
May 12, 2016 at 12:10 PM
yeah thats because he's a comic book character in the story who the main lead loves/really likes. She's a fan and her father wants to kill him off so every times she goes into the comic book world and warns him or something like that. then I think LJS character catches up and kidnaps HHJ's father. This isn't confirmed and just rumors so take it w/a grain of salt. Again I think they get to get away w/ calling JS a genius because he's fictional in the drama. Even though I get what you mean in the whole dramaland world type thing. I really like LJS's past dramas tho they all had strong leads w/ the exception of DS(but lets just pretend that never happened)
Delurker
May 12, 2016 at 12:37 PM
@soapbox
You have described it perfectly :) . But sometimes I wish that the fantasy element was displaced from the male to the female; why can't female viewers be asked to identify with a heroine who is not only hard-working and competent, but also a "genius" at what she does? More Misses Temper, please... :) .
That description sounds a little like Faith too. I will definitely give it a try. :)
24 Almond
May 12, 2016 at 8:51 AM
In the Korean article, it says that Jung Yoo-jin's character is "the same age as Kang Cheol, she's his best friend and also his secretary." Kang Cheol is the former Olympic gold medalist in shooting who's also a computer science genius.
The previous article on Jung Yoo-Jin's casting and character description was released exclusively by a reporter (Kim Jin-seok 김진석) well-known for his fabricated and unreliable reports... However, the source article was released through iMbc by the drama's production company.
Required fields are marked *
25 TrinPie
May 12, 2016 at 8:51 AM
I think this is my #1 most anticipated drama. I am so excited for this. I LOVE this writer. I LOVE Lee Jong-seok. I have only seen HHJ in Brilliant Legacy but she did a great job in that. Lee Tae-hwan is hot as hell (I couldn't stop drooling over him in Come Back, Ajusshi) which is also a bonus. And parallel universes!?
I really really hope this drama is good.
Required fields are marked *
26 indek
May 12, 2016 at 9:08 AM
I too am glad that they are still some fresh and new ideas out there!!! Can't wait to see it!
Required fields are marked *
27 Alessar
May 12, 2016 at 1:19 PM
This really sounds like a good project. All these supporting cast members have a tendency to pick good projects. If they're converging like this, I have a feeling the script must be great.
Required fields are marked *
28 wackycashew
May 12, 2016 at 3:10 PM
Definitely catching this in July! I like the cast and the premise seems interesting. =) I really enjoyed Queen In Hyun's Man, so I'm expecting good things from this writer.
Required fields are marked *
29 dramadreamer
May 12, 2016 at 6:25 PM
"... a fresh premise to dramaland..." - yes indeed! I second that!
Required fields are marked *
30 saranga
May 13, 2016 at 12:14 AM
lee tae-hwan is ridiculously good looking! he's got everything going for him—looks, exceptional height + proportions, good voice, a really good smile. yeah, i totally squealed over him too. and whenever he had scenes with the little cutie (kim kang-hoon), i DIED. they were also paired up together a year previously in pride and prejudice, and they were super adorable there too. if you could die of cuteness, i would have. if you asked me to pick between the two, i really couldn't. i want 'em both.
Required fields are marked *
31 Thelady
May 13, 2016 at 10:45 AM
I'm really anticipating this drama
Required fields are marked *