Star of the Acadamy Award-winning film Parasite Song Kang-ho is starring in the ambitious Disney+ Korean drama Uncle Samsik. The period drama, written and directed by Shin Yeon-shick, takes us back to 1960s Korea, at a time of great political and social unrest.
Song Kang-ho gained international recognition playing the father figure, Ki Taek, in Bong Joon Ho’s historic film Parasite, having already received national recognition for his work as an actor in South Korea. Despite his multitude of films and appearances on stage, Uncle Samsik will be Song’s first appearance in a drama series.
This will not, however, be his first time working with writer-director Shin, having acted in Shin’s volleyball drama One Win and the black comedy Cobweb, which were both released last year. The two are obviously very comfortable working together and treading new ground as not only will this be Song’s first drama series, but also Shin’s first television program.
The series takes place after the turbulence of the early 1960s, when an idealistic Kim San (Byun Yo-han), a top elite graduate of the Korean Military Academy, returns from studying abroad with a dream of making Korea into a industrial nation. He then meets Uncle Samsik, a somewhat shady fixer who tells him we are all dreaming the same dream and offers to make his dream come true. The story will be one of love, faith, and doubt, with the two main characters set to embark on a bromance of sorts.
The combination of Byun, who received favorable reviews for the 2022 Korean war film Hansan: Rising Dragon, and Song has many excited and will likely be the big draw of this upcoming drama. Other lead actors include Lee Kyu-hyung, Seo Hyun-woo, and Jin Ki-joo.
The series does not have an exact release date as yet, but the 16-part drama is expected to premiere on Disney+ sometime in the first half of 2024.
(featured image: Marc Piasecki/FilmMagic)
