[Courtesy of tvN]
The 40 billion won ($33.6 million) drama series will premiere on tvN, a cable TV channel, on June 1. It caught the attention of Hallyu fans from its production stage due to a line-up of main casts that also included Kim Ji-won, an actress who co-starred with Song in in the 2016 hit drama "Descendants of the Sun", as well as Jang Dong-gun and and Kim Ok-bin, an actress who starred in various hit films including "Thirst" directed by Cannes' Palme d'Or winner Bong Joon-ho in 2009.
Netflix said in a statement on Tuesday that it would release 18 episodes of Arthdal Chronicles starting from June 1. Each episode will be available in Asia and other parts of the world one hour after the drama is aired on tvN. The first 12 episodes will be released as a bundle in Japan on July 18.
The drama depicts a story about four heroes who lead each tribe to seize power in a fictional city in East Asia at around 108 B.C. South Korean drama fans regard Arthdal Chronicles as the K-drama version of "Game of Thrones", a global hit drama series created by American cable TV channel HBO.
South Korean dramas were popular in Asian countries, but western drama lovers found them less attractive than ones created in English. A ray of hope shined when Netflix released Mr. Sunshine, a tvN historical drama starring Hollywood action star Lee Byung-hun and Kim Tae-ri in 2018.
Netflix bought the rights to synchronously stream Mr. Sunshine worldwide, making it the first South Korean Netflix Original drama. After reaching 139 million Netflix users worldwide, the drama series received good feedback, especially from viewers in Britain, Southeast Asia and the United States.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
