Starring in JTBC’s “Rain or Shine,” Junho hopes that the drama will be of help to victims of disasters and accidents who suffer from survivor’s guilt. In the show, which airs Mondays and Tuesdays, a newly built shopping mall collapses, leaving hundreds of casualties. The fictional incident is reminiscent of the collapse of Sampoong Department Store in 1995, which killed more than 500 people.  Junho attends a press conference Tuesday at Digital Media City in northwestern Seoul. (JTBC)Junho, a mem

Veteran actress Son Ye-jin will return to the small screen for the first time in five years with the new JTBC series “Pretty Sister who Treats Me to Meals” (working title), the channel said Wednesday. The upcoming drama will revolve around the love story between Yoon Jin-ah, a 30-something supervisor of a coffee franchise played by Son, and Seo Joon-hee, the younger brother of Yoon’s best friend. The story unfolds as Yoon, who finds her life monotonous, suddenly develops romantic feelings toward

After being a charming Grim Reaper, Lee Dong-wook is ready to take on the role of a doctor. Lee, who is currently in the tvN megahit drama “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,” will star in JTBC’s new drama series “Life (Working title).”Lee Dong-wook (King Kong Entertainment)“Lee will star in JTBC’s new medical drama series,” his management agency King Kong by Starship Entertainment said Monday. Lee will play the role of an emergency room doctor.“Life” is not a typical medical drama show, as its

Period drama “Joseon Beauty Pageant” broke barriers between old and new last weekend by highlighting gugak, or traditional Korean music. The two-episode TV drama, which aired Saturday and Sunday on KBS, centered on participants of a Joseon-era beauty contest, who find love and achieve their dreams.The series was well-received by viewers, contrary to initial concerns that young viewers might find gugak too unfamiliar. Many left positive comments on social media and the broadcasting station’s webs

Fantasy romance series “Guardian: The Great and Lonely God” and medical drama “Dr. Romantic” were among the most popular TV dramas of 2017, according to statistics released by CJ E&M Monday. The two shows nabbed first and second places respectively in content company CJ E&M’s year-end index, which measures popularity based on ratings, online searches and social media posts. The third and fourth most popular drama series were “Defendant” and “The Legend of the Blue Sea,” respectively. In variety

Entertainment TV show “Kang’s Kitchen” has closed up the show’s titular restaurant, leaving only the director’s cut to air Tuesday. The six-episode show aired on tvN was a spinoff of the reality TV show “New Journey to the West,” produced by megahit producer Na Young-seok. Original cast members of “New Journey to the West” -- Kang Ho-dong, Lee Su-geun, Eun Ji-won, Mino and Ahn Jae-hyun -- starred in the show, excluding only Kyuhyun, who had recently enlisted in the Army.  Poster for “Kang’s Kitc

Rising actress Ko Sung-hee is considering the lead role in the new courtroom drama series “Suits.” “The production staff offered Ko a role in ‘Suits’ and she is favorably considering it,” said Ko’s management agency Saram Entertainment Monday. (Yonhap)If Ko agrees to star in the series, she will take the role of Kim Ji-na, an extremely perceptive and intelligent legal assistant. Kim is admired by people at work, but secretly suffers from an inferiority complex.“Suits” is a remake of the popular

Despite controversies surrounding it, MBC’s “PD Notepad” has long been synonymous with investigative TV journalism in South Korea. It has touched on thorny issues, uncovering Hwang Woo-suk’s stem cell research fraud and claiming in 2008 that US beef imports posed risks from mad cow disease. With the conservative administrations of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye muzzling criticisms against them, however, the program had all but lost its edge, with rival programs such as SBS’s “I Want to Know Abo

“Infinite Challenge” is looking to shake things up by adding comedian Jo Se-ho to the sixth and newest iteration of its panel. In the latest episode that aired Saturday, one of Korea’s oldest-running variety shows revealed that Jo will be joining the show. Jo Se-ho appears on “Infinite Challenge.” (MBC)The episode was composed of two parts. In the first were segments recorded with Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, while the second was a “hearing” for Jo, in which previous panelists questioned Jo’s

Trouble-ridden drama series “A Korean Odyssey” is to resume airing Saturday. After dealing with major accidents in December, the drama stopped airing for about a week. The third episode, originally slated to be aired Dec. 30, was put off. Poster for “A Korean Odyssey” (tvN)During the episode which aired Dec. 24, some unedited scenes were shown. It was reported later that a member of the production staff was seriously injured after falling on the set on Dec. 23. The production company JS Pictures

Restaurant franchise mogul Baek Jong-won will star in the new reality TV show “Backstreet,” aiming to breathe life into small eateries in back alleys suffering slow business. Baek, who rose to stardom through various food-related TV shows, recently starred in “Baek Jong-won’s Food Truck,” offering his assistance to young food truck owners. He will continue in his mission in yet another show, “Backstreet,” set to air Friday night on SBS. The goal of the weekly program is to help revive five resta

Surging into 2018, dramas featuring returning stars and rising rookies are coming to light up viewers’ lives. Singer and actress IU will be the leading actress of upcoming tvN drama “My Ajeossi.” Lee Sun-kyun will be IU’s “ajeossi,” meaning middle aged man in Korea. The two will play a couple with a 20-year age-gap, that learns to heal each other’s old wounds. The drama will air in the first half of 2018 and Nara of K-pop act Hello Venus will be joining the cast.  IU (Yonhap)Jang Dong-gun is loo

Actress Ku Hye-sun has found a new home at startup label Partners Park, after leaving her longtime label YG Entertainment in December. Partners Park was established by Shin Hyo-jung, formerly manager of actor Kim Soo-hyun, and houses rookie actors such as Cha Joo-young and Eom Yi-joon.  Ku Hye-sun (Partners Park)Ku gained widespread recognition as an actress with KBS hit drama series “Boys Over Flowers” in 2009. In March 2016, she tied the knot with actor Ahn Jae-hyun, who co-starred with Ku in

An internal feud has erupted within Fantagio Corp., a mid-sized entertainment agency in South Korea, in the wake of the recent dismissal of its CEO by a China-based shareholder, according to employees Tuesday.Last Thursday, Fantagio founder and CEO Na Byeong-joon was unilaterally fired by JC Group, a China-based private equity fund which acquired a 50.07 percent controlling stake in the agency in October last year. JC’s Korean branch, Gold Finance Korea, which controls Fantagio, announced that t

Trouble-ridden drama “A Korean Odyssey” may face another bump in the road, as the already-postponed episodes three and four are facing possibly yet another delay.On Tuesday local media reported that the tvN show -- for Saturdays and Sundays -- may not be aired this week. The show was put on delay for at least a week last week, after a staff member was injured while working on set.The Ministry of Employment and Labor has commenced an investigation into the incident, as will the police.  Poster fo