Kang Dong Won, Kim Go Eun, and Kim Shin Rok Confirmed for Saguek Romance K-drama Soul From the Screenwriter of Queen of Tears
So 2026 will kick off in January with a big budget big name production team filming a highly anticipated new romance sageuk K-drama titled Soul. The leads are confirmed to be Kang Dong Won and Kim Go Eun, with scene-stealing supporting actress Kim Shin Rok joining them. This is just the tip of the iceberg and I expect a lot more famous faces and well known actors and actresses to round out the full cast in the coming weeks as this drama is from screenwriter Park Ji Eun who is a major hitmaker. She did Queen of Tears, Crash Landing on You, The Producers, and You From Another Star. This time she’s partnering with director Lee Eun Bok who has done more dramas with Kim Eun Sook such as Goblin, Descendants of the Sun, and Mr. Sunshine. This drama looks to combine both prestige thanks to the award winning leads as well as broad appeal from a screenwriter who knows how to hook audiences.
I guess Kang dong won is back to dramas after a very long hiatus. So shocking to me because I was certain he would be glued to movie roles only but I guess he was convinced otherwise.
Movies are performing poorly these days. Except for a few exceptions most can’t even reach the break even point. Almost all movie actors have moved to tv largely ask due to the rise of streaming and global audience preference for kdrama.
Indeed. If Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro turn to TV…
@Nena, yup! That would be big news!
Hopefully this drama doesn’t go to Disney+
They specialise in burying kdramas, even their prestige exclusives
Back then, acting in movies gave actors higher prestige and better pay. But after COVID, many people stopped going to cinemas, and now dramas actually bring in more income and fame because of streaming platforms. Dramas also get big budgets these days, so the production quality is just as high as movies. So obviously, he had to make the switch.
I love this pairing! Both are very good actors and very likeable. I’ve been a fan of Kim Go Eun since watching Cheese on the Trap and Kang Dong Won when I watched his older movie Too Beautiful to lie. He was really funny there and although more of his newer works are more spy/action stuff but I like him more in dorky roles. Really excited about this.
Kim Soo Hyun used to be this writer’s muse so it’s refreshing to read about her casting a different actor as the male lead. Queen of tears was really a big hit and it was so addicting (even if the last episodes were a bit meh) so a follow up project is something to look forward when it is hard to find a kdrama nowadays worth sticking out till the end.
Park Ji Eun really ran out of steam by the end of Queen of Tears, so I’m worried about this one. I don’t think KIm Go-eun has done a sageuk before, so it’ll be interesting to see her in one.
As much as I like her prior works, I don’t think QoT was well written. There were more tropey gimmicks than substance and creativity. It was a huge hit all thanks to KSH’s popularity before his downfall.
Kim Go-eun’s first sageuk was the Goryeo era film “Memories of the Sword” with Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Byung-hun.
I can’t think of a genre she hasn’t tried.
I like both the leading couple and the writer/PD combo. But I won’t count on these big names to get excited about the production. There were quite a few disappointing K dramas that I highly anticipated the past few months.
I like this pairing already…Looking forward to it!
I wish for a Mr Sunshine kind of story! It was so great.
Queen of Tears was a such a let-down for me, plot-wise. So I will watch this new PJE drama with low expectations. I will mainly watch it for the amazing leads.