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Pierce Conran

Rather than romantic productions, this week’s major K-drama casting announcements are all for high-concept affairs. Among them are thrillers and action projects, some taking place in recent history, others in alternate worlds.
Read on for the latest casting news.
1. I Am a Sinner
Itaewon Class star Park Seo-joon is reported to be in talks to take on the leading role in I Am a Sinner, an adaptation of a webtoon of the same name by Lee Moo-ki.
Set in the 1980s, a turbulent decade in modern Korean history, I Am a Sinner will focus on Park Eon-jin, the protagonist role offered to Park, who enters the criminal underworld and soon rises up the ranks during a ruthless gang war.

Known by the nickname Paeng-yi, the word for a traditional Korean spinning top toy, Eon-jin is the sole survivor of a notorious incident at a pawn shop. With the gold he manages to pocket, he begins to stake his claim in the underworld.
Park most recently appeared in both seasons of Gyeongseong Creature for Netflix. Before that, he embarked on his Hollywood debut as part of the cast of the superhero film The Marvels.
No other details are currently available for I Am a Sinner.
2. The Great Oksuk

Jeon Do-yeon and Park Hae-soo are currently in talks to lead the forthcoming drama The Great Oksuk, which will be based on a webtoon of the same name by Maemi, who also penned the webtoon behind Mask Girl.
The series follows a group of women who strive to preserve the view of the Han River from their apartments, efforts that lead to them disposing of a body in the river.
Jeon was last seen in the big-screen thriller Revolver last year. Her most recent K-drama was the 2023 smash hit Crash Course in Romance. Jeon is considering taking on a role that was originally offered to Yum Jung-ah (SKY Castle), who turned it down.
Park is known to global audiences thanks to his pivotal role in the first season of Squid Game. He most recently starred in Karma, another Netflix thriller.

If Jeon and Park both sign on, it would mark their second screen collaboration, after the upcoming Netflix series The Price of Confession.
3. Ordinary People
Director Yoon Jong-bin may be teaming up once more with two leading actors from his past shows for the historical drama Ordinary People.
Though it is as yet unclear who they will play, Nine Puzzles’ Son Suk-ku and Narco-Saints’ Ha Jung-woo are both in discussions to lead the drama.
Ordinary People will take place during the administration of Roh Tae-woo, South Korea’s first democratically elected president, which would place the action between 1988 and 1993 – although it has not been revealed whether this will be a political tale.

Son, who is also known for playing the villain in The Roundup and for his roles in My Liberation Notes and D.P., teamed up for the first time with Yoon on this year’s Nine Puzzles.
Yoon and Ha attended university together and have been collaborating on projects ever since the indie film The Unforgiven in 2005. Their other notable collaborations include Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time and Kundo: Age of the Rampant.
Filming on Ordinary People, which will be produced by Yoon’s Moonlight Film and Sanai Pictures, is expected to kick off in 2026.
4. Solo Levelling
Lee Hae-joon and Kim Byung-seo, the directing pair who brought us the hit disaster film Ashfall, are embarking on their first K-drama project.

Solo Leveling, based on the sensationally popular web novel of the same name, is set to star Byeon Woo-seok of the breakout high school romantic comedy Lovely Runner, and will be presented by Netflix.
The web novel takes place in a world where a portal to another dimension opened up 10 years earlier and through which monsters have continually poured. Monster hunters now protect the world, among them Seong Jin-woo, the role to be played by Byeon.
Jin-woo is a lowly E-ranked hunter, but one day he wakes up with a special ability, which turns him into a beacon of hope for humanity.

Byeon’s other roles include the villain in Strong Girl Nam-soon, Record of Youth and the Netflix film 20th Century Girl.
Prior to Ashfall, Kim Byung-seo co-directed Cold Eyes, an adaptation of the Hong Kong film Eye in the Sky, while Lee Hae-joon helmed the cult classic comedy Castaway on the Moon, among others.


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Park Seo-joon, who recently starred in the K-drama series Gyeongseong Creature, is reportedly in talks to take on the leading role in I Am a Sinner, an adaptation of the webtoon of the same name. Photo: Netflix

Park Seo-joon in a still from Itaewon Class. Photo: Netflix

Jeon Do-yeon in a still from Crash Course in Romance.

Park Hae-soo in a still from Squid Game season 1. Photo: Netflix

Son Suk-ku in a still from the K-drama series Nine Puzzles. Photo: Disney+

Ha Jung-woo (left) and Lee Byung-hun in a still from Ashfall.

Byeon Woo-seok in a still from Lovely Runner.

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Moon Ga-young in a still from Law and the City, streaming on TvN and Disney+ from July 5. Photo: Disney+

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Cho Yi-hyun in a still from Head Over Heels, a new Korean drama on Prime Video that also features Choo Young-woo, Cha Kang-hoon and Choo Ja-hyun.

Choo Young-woo (left) and Cho Yi-hyun in a still from Head Over Heels.

Choo Young-woo in a still from Head Over Heels.

Choo Ja-hyun in a still from Head Over Heels.

Cho Yi-hyun (left) and Choo Young-woo in a still from Head Over Heels.

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Moon Ga-young in a still from Law and the City. Photo: Disney+

South Korean actress Moon Ga-young is currently starring in the legal drama Law and the City, following her appearance in My Dearest Nemesis earlier this year. Photo: Instagram/m_kayoung

Moon Ga-young in a still from Law and the City. Photo: Disney+.

Moon Ga-young in a still from My Dearest Nemesis.

Moon Ga-young in a still from Find Me in Your Memory (2020).

Moon Ga-young in a still from True Beauty (2020).

Moon Ga-young in a still from Link: Eat, Love, Kill (2022).

Moon Ga-young in a still from The Interest of Love (2022).

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Lee Jung-jae as Sung Gi-hun in a still from Squid Game season 3. Photo: Noh Ju-han/Netflix

IU (front) and Park Bo-gum in a still from Netflix K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines. Photo: Yoo Eun-mi/Netflix

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Park Seo-joon is eyeing the lead role in I Am a Sinner, Jeon Do-yeon is considering The Great Oksuk – check out all the latest updates


Park Seo-joon is eyeing the lead role in I Am a Sinner, Jeon Do-yeon is considering The Great Oksuk – check out all the latest updates.


K-drama casting news about Park Seo-joon, Jeon Do-yeon, Son Suk-ku and more

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Park Seo-joon is eyeing the lead role in I Am a Sinner, Jeon Do-yeon is considering The Great Oksuk – check out all the latest updates

1. I Am a Sinner

Park Seo-joon is eyeing the lead role in I Am a Sinner, Jeon Do-yeon is considering The Great Oksuk – check out all the latest updates