News bites: November 11, 2016

by girlfriday

Yook Sung-jae

• Here’s our first peek at Yook Sung-jae (Village: Secret of Achiara) in tvN’s upcoming fantasy drama The Lonely, Shining Goblin, where he plays a chaebol heir whose family has served the goblin as vassals for thirteen generations. Gong Yoo stars as the mysterious goblin who aims to end his immortal life, and Yook Sung-jae is known to others as his nephew, when in reality he’s probably closer to a butler. Well, it’s a fresh twist on the chaebol heir, I’ll give them that. The character is described as funny and full of hot air, but with a gentle and caring side as well. As long as he’s Gong Yoo’s puppy, I don’t think I care much about anything else. The rest of the stills are at the bottom—it’s a Yook Sung-jae sandwich post! [ My Daily ]


Jung Woo-sung, Park Ha-sun

• Jung Woo-sung (Asura) is currently considering an offer to headline the new film from director Yang Woo-seok of The Attorney, an adaptation of the political thriller webtoon Steel Rain. The action thriller is about a tense standoff between North and South Korean agents that takes place during summit talks, when a high-ranking defense official is suddenly killed, leaving both sides in an unexpected armed conflict. The project may be a reunion for many, as Kwak Do-won (Asura, The Attorney) is also in talks to co-star. [ Star Today ]
• Park Ha-sun (Drinking Solo) has chosen her next project, the movie Youth Cop starring Park Seo-joon and Kang Haneul as rookie police officers. Park Ha-sun will play a sunbae police officer who trains the boys, and she’s described as cold on the outside, but very human underneath. It’ll be nice to see her graduate from her own rookie cop days in the drama Three Days. Youth Cop starts shooting this year for a 2017 release. [ My Daily ]


Yoon Kye-sang, Ma Dong-seok, Jeon Hyo-sung

• It’s been eight years since Yoon Kye-sang (The Good Wife) and Ma Dong-seok (Police Unit 38) shared the screen in Beastie Boys, and they’re about to reunite in the new crime action thriller named, aptly, Crime City. There’s not a lot of plot info available for the movie other than the hard-hitting crime genre, which is familiar territory for both actors. The project will be the feature film debut of director Kang Yoon-sung (Please Teach Me English), and plans to start shooting next year. [ Sports Chosun ]
• The new tvN rom-com Introverted Boss has added Secret idol Jeon Hyo-sung (Wanted) to its cast in a supporting role as Yeon Woo-jin’s assistant. Her character is the youngest new employee at the PR company, but she’s always the most tired because she suffers from chronic fatigue and has no energy. As a transplant from a small town, the character works hard just to send most of her income back home while she lives in a half-basement apartment, but one day her character will suddenly become extravagant, for reasons unknown. The rom-com about an introverted boss and his extroverted employee will air in January. [ IS Plus ]


Jung Kyung-ho, Baek Jin-hee, Yang Dong-geun

• Castaway drama Missing 9 has finally confirmed its leads and secured a Wednesday-Thursday slot on MBC’s lineup next January. Among the castaways who crash-land on a remote island are Jung Kyung-ho (One More Happy Ending) as a musician-turned-reporter, Baek Jin-hee (My Daughter Geum Sa-wol) as his stylist, and Yang Dong-geun (Three Musketeers) as a righteous prosecutor who seeks to uncover the secrets concerning the plane crash. Missing 9 follows Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju in January. [ Sports Chosun, DongA ]
• No one’s been confirmed yet for MBC fusion sageuk Rebel Hong Gil-dong (names in the casting pool include Ji Sung, Namgoong Min, and Yoon Kyun-sang), but we’ve got a probable supporting cast member in funny character actor Kwon Hyuk-soo (SNL Korea, Lucky Romance), who is up for the role of a hometown friend of Hong Gil-dong’s brother. He starts out as hyung’s friend, but later becomes one of Hong Gil-dong’s people, and is described as a talkative character with a lot of affection. I smell bromance in the air! Rebel Hong Gil-dong airs in January after Night Light. [ MBN ]


Kwon Hyuk-soo, Oh Chang-seok, Nam Da-reum

• Oh Chang-seok (My Heart Twinkle Twinkle) has joined the cast of Defendant, SBS’s new legal thriller about a star prosecutor who ends up on death row with no memory of how he got there. Ji Sung and Han Ye-seul are still being courted to star, but no one has been confirmed thus far. Oh Chang-seok will play the hero’s best friend of fifteen years, a cold prosecutor who never shows his hand. Defendant follows Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim in January. [ SBS FunE ]
• Child actor Nam Da-reum (Memory) has been cast to play the younger counterpart to Goryeo crown prince Im Shi-wan in the new fusion sageuk The King Loves. Nam is fast becoming one of the go-to child actors for dramaland’s leads, since his early debut in Boys Over Flowers to his more recent roles as Little Lee Jong-seok in Pinocchio and Little Yoo Ah-in in Six Flying Dragons. Don’t grow up too fast, ya hear me! The King Loves is planning for a 2017 broadcast. [ Xports News ]

 
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