The star-studded iQiyi Hallyu Season has officially arrived. In the last quarter of the year, iQiyi, leader of streaming entertainment in Asia, is set to release a series of major K-series and films. Starting from September, the K-series lineup includes Jirisan, Bad and Crazy, IDOL: The Coup, Yumi’s Cells, Let Me Be Your Night, The Man’s Voice, Melancholía, and Royal Secret Inspector Joy. Korean films include Midnight and Shark: The Beginning. Popular girl group reality show Girls Planet 999 will conclude in October with 9 members to debut. Viewers worldwide can enjoy these K-shows on iQiyi International app or iQ.com.
Jirisan, the long-awaited iQiyi original K-series stars Gianna Jun and Ju Ji-hoon, and is created by director Lee Eung-bok (Descendants of The Sun, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God) and writer Kim Eun-hee (Signal, Kingdom). Jun and Ju team up with Sung Dong-il, Oh Jung-se, and Go Min-si to safeguard Korea’s highest peak. Nature’s tests will be revealed on October 23rd.
Following an afterlife messenger, serial killer, and nine-tailed fox, Lee Dong-wook is delivering another great show. Bad and Crazy is a heroic series following a capable but bad guy (played by Lee Dong-wook) meeting a crazy but good guy (played by Wi Ha-jun). The director behind The Uncanny Counter produces this new drama with exciting and fascinating film-quality visuals, to debut in December.
In addition to Bad and Crazy, emerging actor Wi Ha-jun plays a serial killer in the new thriller Midnight, and targets a hearing-impaired girl played by Jin Ki-joo. The highjacking scene at the police station is inspired by a real incident in Korea in 2013. In Shark: The Beginning that is adapted from a webtoon series, Wi also plays a mixed-martial-arts champion to inspire Kim Min-seok, a school-bullying victim, to train himself up physically and confront internal fear.
In IDOL: The Coup, Kwak Si-yang plays the owner of an entertainment company, whose first female idol group has not gained traction after six years. Ahn Hee-yeon (or Hani in girl group EXID) is the lead member trying to save the idol group from termination.
Currently streaming and within the top favorites now is the Blue Dragon Film Award-winning Yumi’s Cells which follows what goes on in the mind and life of Kim Go-eun. When she meets a game developer played by Ahn Bo-hyun, this 30-something office worker finally starts thinking about love. Look out for appearances of Park Jin Young from GOT7 and Choi Min-ho from SHINee.
Let Me Be Your Night follows the lead singer of a popular idol band (played by Lee Jun-young) trying to overcome his sleepwalking condition with the help of a physician (played by Jung In-sun). Cast members include current idols Lee Jun-young of U-KISS, Kim Jong-hyun of NU’EST, Yoon Ji-sung of Wanna One, and Kim Dong-hyun from AB6IX.
Ok Taec-yeon stars in a period drama for the first time in Inspector Joy with emerging actress Kim Hye-yoon. An accidental royal inspector and a wife seeking divorce are put together on a mission.
In Melancholía, Lim Soo-jung and Lee Do-hyeon are in a forbidden relationship on campus and their 16-year age difference results in great societal pressure. Following the completion of his military service, Choi Tae-joon stars in The Man’s Voice. He plays a first officer who leaves his cat in the care of Song Ji-eun who is able to communicate with cats after a lightning strike. A romance full of fantasy blossoms between them.
