Jeon Jong-seo, Han So-hee lead heist series Project Y; Gong Yoo may join Song Hye-kyo in period tale – K-drama casting latest

Korean star actress Jeon Jong-seo has roles lined up in Queen Woo and heist drama Project Y, and is being linked to Genie House and a second season of Bargain
Meanwhile, Extraordinary Attorney Woo’s Park Eun-bin is looking at superhero series The B Team, and Song Hye-kyo and Gong Yoo may team up for an unnamed project

K-drama news

Pierce Conran

Published: 2:45pm, 11 May 2024

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Jeon Jong-seo looks to be adding several projects to an already busy acting slate, while two of Korea’s biggest stars appear to be teaming up for what is shaping up to be the most expensive Korean drama series of all time.

Find out about these and more in our latest K-drama casting round-up.

1. Project Y

Han So-hee and Jeon Jong-seo are set to headline the upcoming heist drama Project Y, which will mark the commercial debut of acclaimed indie film director Lee Hwan.

Han and Jeon will play friends who team up to plan a heist of eight billion won worth of gold bars in Gangnam, the ritzy neighbourhood in Seoul.

Han So-hee in a still from Gyeongseong Creature. Photo: Lim Hyo Sun/Netflix

Known for the K-dramas The World of the Married and My Name, Han has emerged as one of Korea’s biggest screen stars over the past few years. She most recently appeared in Netflix’s Gyeongseong Creature alongside Park Seo-joon.

Burning breakout actress Jeon is coming off the romantic drama Wedding Impossible and is known for several major Netflix productions, including the films The Call and Ballerina and the previous heist series Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area.

Director Lee is known for his punchy youth dramas Park Hwa-young and Young Adult Matters, both of which debuted at the Busan International Film Festival and featured Squid Game actress Lee Yoo-mi in early screen roles.

Production on Project Y is expected to commence in the second half of this year.

2. Untitled Song Hye-kyo and Gong Yoo drama

Song Hye-kyo in a still from The Glory. Photo: Netflix

As previously reported, The Glory actress Song Hye-kyo will be teaming up once more with Our Blues writer Noh Hee-kyung, the pair having previously collaborated on Worlds Within and That Winter, The Wind Blows. But their latest, untitled project has just got a lot bigger.

Expected to join Song on screen will be Guardian: The Great and Lonely God and Train to Busan star Gong Yoo, who is in talks for the co-starring role.

Recent reports indicate that the series will be produced with a record budget of 80 billion won (US$58 million), which would eclipse the 65 billion won final budget of last year’s Disney+ tentpole Korean drama series Moving.

The new series will comprise 20 to 24 episodes. Production company Studio Dragon has cautioned that the final production cost has yet to be determined.

Gong Yoo in a still from Seobok. Photo: CJ Entertainment

The series will be set during the early days of the South Korean broadcasting industry and will focus on the people working within it. Given the expected price tag, the period production values will surely be something to look forward to.

3. The B Team

Park Eun-bin of Extraordinary Attorney Woo and Castaway Diva has received an offer to appear in the upcoming superhero-themed series The B Team.

The drama is based on an idea conceived by Marvel mastermind Stan Lee. Originally announced six years ago, the project has evolved and will now be presented as an original series.

Park Eun-bin in a still from Castaway Diva.

Should Park sign on, it would reunite her with her Extraordinary Attorney Woo director Yoo In-sik. The series is being co-written by Heo Da-joong, known for the comedy Extreme Job, the second highest-grossing Korean film of all time, and Kang Eun-kyung, who has previously worked with Yoo on the Dr. Romantic series.

The B Team will tell the story of a group of flawed superheroes who are unable to control their abilities. Park is eyeing the role of Eun Chae-nee, the granddaughter of a restaurant owner who suffers from a heart condition that causes her to regress into a childlike state.

4. Genie House

In what has been a busy few weeks of speculation around Jeon Jong-seo, the actress is also being courted to appear in Genie House, another youth-oriented project about people struggling to navigate the difficult economic realities of the modern era.

Jeon has been offered the role of Tak Hyo-jin, a young woman who endeavours to set up her own online fashion shopping portal. The series will also feature a leading male character who transitions from being an idol into a screen actor.

Ji Chang-wook in a still from Welcome to Samdal-ri. Photo: JTBC

In addition to the upcoming Project Y, Jeon will soon return to screens as the lead in Queen Woo, her first period drama, alongside Ji Chang-wook (The Worst of Evil) and Kim Moo-yeol (The Roundup: Punishment). She is also expected to reprise her role in a second season of the series Bargain.

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