Hyun Bin's crime thriller ‘Made in Korea’ gets exciting Disney+ update you just can't miss
Set against the backdrop of 1970s Korea, Disney+'s 'Made in Korea' premieres on Wednesday, December 24. Written by Park Eun-gyo and Park Joon-suk, the Korean thriller centers on a morally corrupt protagonist, Baek Ki-tae (Hyun Bin), who works for the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) while secretly running illegal businesses for power and wealth. Ahead of its much-anticipated debut, the cast of the series broke down the explosive power plays in the show.
The series sets up a tense cat-and-mouse dynamic between Baek Ki-tae and Jang Geon-young (Jung Woo-sung), a determined prosecutor intent on dismantling Ki-tae's criminal empire. Also featured are Jung Sung-il as Cheon Seok-joong, the Chief of the Presidential Security Service, and Roh Jae-won as Pyo Hak-soo, Ki-tae's KCIA colleague, as per Nerd Reactor.
Sung-il explained the core tension of 'Made in Korea', sharing, "Baek Ki-tae is a KCIA agent, but he's got another pocket just for himself…That's his ugly desire." He added that every character, including his own and Jae-won's Hak-soo, has "their own agendas" and "their own motives." "So I think the fun of the show is when the different desires of the different characters clash. There are certain incidents that happen. There are chemistries that are built within. So it's got the explosive energy that leads to synergy," he said.
Hyun Bin also explained how his collaboration with director Woo Min-ho on 'Made in Korea' differed from their earlier work on 'Harbin'. As per ScreenRant, he said, "Made in Korea, meanwhile, deals with major events that took place in the 1970s, but it's a fictional storyline with fictional characters. That meant that, in terms of acting, I had a lot more room to attempt different things and have a little bit more fun."
He added, "I would say that we were able to do that because of the level of trust that we built through Harbin. I knew his directing style well, and I had a lot of trust in him, which I think led us both to feel very much at ease with one another and just be able to have a lot of fun." As per Variety, after its two-episode premiere, the series will drop two more episodes on Wednesday, December 31, with the remaining episodes releasing weekly. The show has already been renewed for a second season.
