Disney+ has announced an expansion of its 2024 Korean slate following the success of its local original content last year.
Its 2023 Korean original offerings “Big Bet” and “Moving” won various international awards, with the latter becoming last year’s most viewed local original on the platform.
On February 19, Disney+ unveiled new additions to its Korean slate this year, including “Blood Free,” “Unmasked,” “The Tyrant,” “Gangnam B-Side,” and the third season of “The Zone: Survival Mission.”
These titles join the previously announced series “Uncle Samsik” and “Light Shop.” The latter is also from “Moving” creator Kangfull.
“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,” said Carol Choi, Executive Vice President, Original Content Strategy, The Walt Disney Company APAC.
Below are more details about Disney+’s 2024 Korean content:
‘Blood Free’
Starring Ju Ji-hoon (“Kingdom”) and Han Hyo-joo (“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’
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 20-year-old cold case involving a famous actor who disappeared without a trace. Unmasked stars Kim Hye-soo (“Under The Queen’s Umbrella”).
‘The Tyrant’
“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. “The Tyrant” stars Cha Seung-won, Kim Seon-ho, and Kim Kang-woo.
‘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. It stars Ji Chang-wook and Jo Woo-jin.
‘The Zone: Survival Mission’ Season 3
The popular Disney+ Korean variety has been renewed for its third season with Kwon Yuri and Yoo Jae-seok returning alongside new hosts – former UFC fighter Kim Dong-hyun 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 Kang-ho and Byun Yo-han (“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’
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 Ji-hoon, Lee Jung-eun (“Parasite”), Park Bo-young (“Oh My Ghost”), and Bae Seong-woo (“Veteran”), the announcement gave the first look at this new series from Kangfull, the visionary behind 2023’s breakout hit series “Moving.”
Disney+ promises to announce more local titles in the weeks and months to come.
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