‘Parasite’ Star Song Kang-ho Confirmed For First Korean Series ‘Uncle Sam Shik’

A not-so-united front. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not join the royal family to meet with world leaders ahead of Queen Elizabeth II‘s funeral on Sunday, September 18, after seemingly being uninvited.

EXCLUSIVE: The prevalence of Korean projects heading to the U.S. continues.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor An anime series based on popular open-world role-playing game “Genshin Impact” is officially in the works. HoYoverse, the Shanghai-based game developer behind “Genshin Impact,” announced a partnership with Japanese animation studio Ufotable to develop an anime based on the RPG. It also released a three-minute “concept trailer” in announcing the project (watch below). “Let’s step into this vast magical world of adventure together!” the games company tweeted Friday. “The long-term collaboration project between Genshin Impact and ufotable has begun.” The companies did not reveal an anticipated release date for the anime series, nor does the trailer provide firm clues as to what the show’s plot may center on.

Korean director Park Chan-wook is back with a new thriller “Decision To Leave”, and ET Canada has your exclusive first look at the trailer.

EXO’s Xiumin has been cast in a new K-drama titled Sajangdol Mart (literal translation), marking his first role in seven years.On September 14, South Korean news outlet JTBC News reported that the K-pop idol will be starring as the lead in a new K-drama titled Sajangdol Mart. The claims were later confirmed by SM Entertainment in their response via XSports News later that day, as translated by Soompi.Other details regarding the new series, including a premiere date, full cast list and visuals, have yet to be confirmed by the production company behind Sajangdol Mart. According to JTBC News’ original report, Sajangdol Mart will allegedly depict the journeys of several individuals, who were all former K-pop idols, as they endeavour to open and run a supermarket together. The series will reportedly be helmed by director and producer Lee Yoo-yeon, previously known for her work on the web drama Best Mistake. Xiumin’s highly anticipated role in Sajangdol Mart will mark the singer’s first acting project in roughly seven years, since making his acting debut in the 2015 romantic-comedy web series Falling For Challenge. He was involved in that series as its lead, starring alongside Kim So-eun, and subsequently starred in the film Seondal: The Man Who Sells The River that same year, alongside Korean actors Yoo Seung-ho, Cho Jae-hyun, Ko Chang-seok and more.

Bad Prosecutor (literal translation), starring D.O of EXO.The new 30-second teaser trailer was shared on September 14 by the South Korean cable network, and introduces the titular prosecutor Jin Jung (D.O) swaggered into a room with a motorcycle helmet on, while holding a baseball bat. “Do you know what I’ve realised while living this life?” he points out, “To catch bad guys like you, you have to be more vicious.”He begins destroying the contents of the room: throwing his helmet towards the camera and spray-paints it and using his bat to destroy the potted plants sitting on the desk.

Disney+ has announced the all-star actors’ line-up to star in its upcoming Korean original series Shadow Detective. The K-drama was announced on September 13 by the streaming giant. Shadow Detective follows detective Taek-rok, who is retiring after an illustrious career in the police force.

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae has made history by becoming the first Korean actor to win an Emmy award for Best Actor in a Drama. During Monday (12 September) night’s ceremony, the 49-year-old actor won the Emmy award for his lead role in the Korean-language series. “Thank you to the Television Academy, thank you to Netflix and thank you to the director for making realistic problems we all face come to life so creatively on the screen with a great script,” he said during his acceptance speech at the star-studded ceremony.

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae made Emmy history tonight as the first first foreign-language actor to win Lead Actor in a Drama Series — he was also the first such actor to ever be nominated.

star became the first South Korean actor, as well as the first actor of Asian descent, to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. It was his first Emmy nomination and win.With his historic, record-setting win Monday night, the veteran actor joined a prestigious shortlist of actors of Asian descent to have taken home an Emmy for acting, following past winners Riz Ahmed, Archie Panjabi, Darren Criss and Shohreh Aghdashloo.«Thank you so much thank you so much.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Prodigy are expanding their casts. Oscar nominee Carol Kane is set for a recurring role in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Billy Campbell has joined the voice cast of animated series Prodigy. The news was announced Thursday as part of the global live-streamed Star Trek Day event.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Les Films Pelleas, the Paris-based banner behind Mia Hansen-Love’s “One Fine Morning” (pictured), is set to produce Guillaume Senez (“Our Struggles”)’s next project, as well as the feature debut of Anne-Sophie Bailly whose short “The Midwife” is currently playing at Telluride. The Paris-based banner’s roster of completed roster includes Karim Moussaoui’s “L’Effacement,” and Annie Ernaux’s documentary “Les annes Super-8.” “Mona” revolves around around a woman in her 60’s who raised alone her disabled son and is at a point in her life where she aspires to start caring for herself. But when her son is unexpectedly having a baby, Mona finds herself with another heavy responsibility to bear.

Squid Game.On September 4, Lee Yoo-mi took home the Outstanding Guest Actress award at the 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for her role as Ji-yeong in 2021’s hit Netflix series Squid Game. This makes the 28-year-old the first Korean actor to win the award.“I’m so grateful.

American actress Glenn Close has been announced as the jury president for the Official Section of the 70th San Sebastian Film Festival, running from September 16-24.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Kore-eda Hirokazu will be the star turn at Emerging Japanese Films, a Los Angeles showcase organized by Japan’s Visual Industry Promotion Organization. The event, running Sept. 27 – Oct. 1, 2022, at the Harmony Gold Preview House, consists of four newly-released, dramatic and awards-worthy Japanese feature films and a retrospective night that honors Kore-eda, whose “Shoplifters” won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2018. Kore-eda will take part in a live video conversation after the screening of his “Like Father, Like Son,” a child-swap drama film that Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks previously optioned for remake.

Parasite star and this year’s Cannes Best Actor winner Song Kang-ho has been confirmed for his first-ever Korean drama role of his 32-year career.On August 30, production company Slingshot Studio announced that Song has accepted a role in its upcoming K-drama series titled Uncle Sam Shik.The upcoming role will mark the critically acclaimed actor’s first-ever K-drama role of his acting career, which first began in 1990. Song spent the first six years of his career starring in theatre productions before making his film debut in 1996 with The Day a Pig Fell into the Well.According to Asia Gyeongje, the upcoming 10-episode series will follow the “bromance” between a pair of longtime friends, Sam Shik and Kim San, who survived South Korea’s turbulent 1960s period together.Uncle Sam Shik will be directed by Shin Yeon-shik, whom Song recently worked with on upcoming films One Win and Cobweb, which are currently in post-production.Best known for his roles in the films Thirst, Memories of Murder, Snowpiercer and Parasite, the 55-year-old became the first South Korean male actor to win the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his recent drama film, Broker.The film, directed by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and also starring K-pop idol IU, received a 12-minute standing ovation after its premiere screening at the festival earlier this year.“Winning an award from such a prestigious festival as Cannes is a great and happy moment, an unforgettable turning point of my life,” said Song during a recent interview.However, the actor added: “I have won the award, but that itself cannot become the purpose.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Song Kang-ho, known for his roles in “Memories of Murder” and “Parasite,” has signed up to make his TV series debut. He will star in indie-produced drama “Uncle Sam Shik.” “Uncle Sam Shik” is a 1960s-set tale of two men, their pride, greed and bromance, local Korean media reports. Song’s co-lead actor has not been disclosed. The series is to be directed by Shin Yeon-shick, with whom Song has recently shot feature films “Coweb” and “One Win.” Both films have completed physical production but have not yet been released. The series is reported to be a ten-episode drama, produced by Slingshot Studio. A broadcast or streaming partner has not yet been announced.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief More than 600 buyers from companies in 30 countries are expected to be in Seoul, South Korea from Wednesday for the in-person return of the Broadcast WorldWide convention, better known as BCWW. Although BCWW bills itself as Asia’s largest broadcasting content market, given the strength of the Korean wave, much of the focus will be on Korean content and the business of working with Korean companies. Registered buyers and potential partners include Amazon Prime, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, PCCW the Hong Kong-based owner of Viu, and China’s iQiyi, all of which have already become purveyors of K-programming. “For the past 22 years, BCWW has served as a foundation for K-content to garner the global attention it is getting today,” said Cho Hyun-rae, president of the government-backed Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA). He added that he expects KOCCA and BCWW to “provide continuous support for K-content.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lee Jung-jae, the star of hit Netflix series “Squid Game,” is to reprise his role as a manic killer in “Ray,” a TV series spun off from 2020 Korean action-horror film “Deliver Us From Evil.” Korean media sources report that Lee will star in and co-produce the series through his own Artist Studio company and Hive Media, producer of “Deliver Us From Evil.” Variety has reached out for further details. In the original movie, Hwang Jung-min played In-Nam, a former black ops agent who travels to Thailand to investigate an abduction. There he is pursued by Lee’s character Ray, a Korean-Japanese ruffian whose brother had been killed by In-Nam. Both heavily tattooed and charming, Ray embarks on a bloody rampage of revenge.

Arden Cho rocks a bold blue suit for the premiere of her new Netflix series, Partner Track, in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (August 23).