SEOUL \u2013 Expectations \u2013 and comparisons to a spate of South Korean historical blockbusters tackling the nation\u2019s most volatile political eras \u2013 hung heavy over the recent press conference for Season 2 of Made In Korea, a project trade media dubbed \u201cone of the most expensive K-drama productions in history\u201d.<\/p>\n
Launched in late 2025 on Disney+, the show paired two of the industry\u2019s most bankable stars, Hyun Bin (Crash Landing On You, 2019 to 2020) and Jung Woo-sung (12.12: The Day, 2023), in a narrative of systemic power and greed set against the political landscape of 1970s South Korea.<\/p>\n
Mounted on a reported budget of 70 billion won (S$66 million) spanning two seasons, the drama has proved a decisive win for the streamer, at least on its own platform.<\/p>\n
After its premiere last December, the series emerged as the service\u2019s most-watched Korean original, racking up international viewership and critical acclaim even as domestic reception was more tempered.<\/p>\n
The second instalment lands on Sept 9 as Korean cinematic and television releases have explored the 1970s aggressively \u2013 a decade punctuated by the 1979 assassination of President Park Chung-hee and the subsequent military coup d\u2019etat.<\/p>\n
That historical overhang was not ignored at the Sept 2 press event, particularly given star director Woo Min-ho\u2019s filmography. He previously helmed the 2020 box-office hit The Man Standing Next, a popular political thriller chronicling the events surrounding Park\u2019s assassination.<\/p>\n
Addressing the media, Woo was pressed on how Made In Korea carves out distinct real estate within an increasingly crowded field of period projects, and how he intends for the sophomore entry to forge its own standalone narrative identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile The Man Standing Next and 12.12: The Day tell the stories of people who were most deeply involved in the incident, this series centres on fictional characters,\u201d Woo said.<\/p>\n
For Jung \u2013 who starred in 12.12: The Day as the military general standing against the coup \u2013 this narrative pivot offered creative flexibility.<\/p>\n
\u201c12.12: The Day and The Man Standing Next are works that delve into the events themselves and the human nature within them. Made In Korea was much freer and more enjoyable in terms of the genre and how I could portray the character,\u201d the 53-year-old actor said.<\/p>\n
The narrative liberty allowed the series to double as a commentary on systemic ambition and social decay, bridging the historical gap between the 1970s and contemporary society.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mistakes and errors that people continue to make, and the choices they make in pursuit of what is right, shape and define each era. Although time passes, I think the meaning behind major historical events continues to carry over into the present in different forms,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Season 1 centred on the clash between two opposing forces: Hyun Bin\u2019s Gi-tae, a ruthless tycoon who turns political instability to his advantage in his pursuit of greater power, and Jung\u2019s Geon-young, a dogged prosecutor bent on stopping him.<\/p>\n
By the Season 1 finale, the dynamic reverses: Geon-young is disgraced and jailed, while Gi-tae solidifies his power grab. Nine years on, their dynamic has shifted to a personal vendetta. Riding that narrative pivot, the second season carries the added weight of following a first instalment that established the series as a major Disney+ Korean original \u2013 and Hyun Bin acknowledged the expectations surrounding the return.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that I don\u2019t feel any pressure. Since so many people enjoyed Season 1, part of me also hopes that they will watch Season 2,\u201d the 43-year-old actor said.<\/p>\n
He highlighted the streamlined pacing of the upcoming episodes, promising a deeper narrative turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Season 1, there was a lot of exposition needed to introduce the characters and situations in each episode. In Season 2, once the events begin, the story unfolds continuously as one narrative. I think viewers will be able to immerse themselves in it and enjoy it much more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As for whether Made In Korea will continue beyond its sophomore outing, Woo remains tight-lipped. \u201cFor what happens after that, there is 12.12: The Day, so I think the audience should watch that film and see for themselves,\u201d Woo teased. THE KOREA HERALD\/ASIA NEWS NETWORK<\/p>\n
Made In Korea 2 premieres on Sept 9 on Disney+.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEOUL \u2013 Expectations \u2013 and comparisons to a spate of South Korean historical blockbusters tackling the nation\u2019s most…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":616268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[93,61,60,282],"class_list":["post-616267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}