News bites: July 14, 2024

Moon Ga-young, Choi Hyun-wook

tvN’s new webtoon adaptation He’s the Black Dragon (roughly translated) confirmed casting for Moon Ka-young (The Interest of Love) and Choi Hyun-wook (Twinkling Watermelon), with our leads first meeting as rivals on an online game and reigniting the fire 16 years later when they re-meet as employee and boss. Expected to release in 2025, production for the rom-com is being led by writer Kim Soo-yeon and PD Lee Soo-hyun (Delightfully Deceitful) – who worked with Moon previously on Find Me in Your Memory. [Sports Donga]

New stills have dropped for MBN’s upcoming rom-com Bad Memory Eraser, with tennis star Lee Jong-won (Knight Flower) commanding the court spotlight. Along with older brother Kim Jae-joong (Manhole) as well as Jin Se-yeon (Born Again) and Yang Hye-ji (Wonderful World), the series will be airing in the weekend slot, beginning next month on August 2. [MBN]

Kwon Nara (The Midnight Studio) has reportedly been cast in Disney+’s Knock Off, joining Kim Soo-hyun (Queen of Tears) and Jo Boa (Destined With You) in the designer knock-offs fashion industry. Set around South Korea’s IMF crisis in the late 1990s, the black comedy reunites the Song of the Bandits duo, PD Park Hyun-seok (Forest of Secrets 2) and writer Han Jung-hoon (Bad Guys, Police Unit 38). [Star News]
Kim Hyun-jin (My Sweet Mobster) is in talks for the new fantasy My Girlfriend Is a Tough Guy (roughly translated), which also has offers out to Yoon San-ha (Crazy Love), Arin (Alchemy of Souls), and Chuu (Dating Class). Based on a popular webtoon by the same title, production is aiming to start filming this August or September, with PD Yoo Kwan-mo directing and scripts by Lee Hae-na. [JTBC, MK Sports]

In the meantime, we’ll soon be enfolded in Serendipity’s Embrace, with Kim So-hyun (My Lovely Liar), Chae Jong-hyeop (Castaway Diva, Eye Love You), Yoon Ji-on (My Lovely Liar), and Dasom (Kokdu: Season of Deity) headlining the cast. Giving us another peek at our story’s characters in the latest batch of stills, the rom-com will be airing on tvN in about one week’s time on July 22. [Sports Donga (1), (2)]
Tis the season of summer love with TV Chosun’s DNA Lover also on the horizon, continuing promos with the first script reading stills. Starring Choi Siwon (Death’s Game), Jung In-sun (Grand Shining Hotel), Lee Tae-hwan (Thirty-Nine), and Jung Yoo-jin (Celebrity), the series will be launching on August 17 with PD Sung Chi-wook (Tomorrow, Mouse) at the helm and Jung Su-mi (Born Again) writing. [Sports Chosun]