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Pierce Conran
Journalist, producer and consultant Pierce Conran has been based in Seoul since 2012, where he served as the Korea Executive for LA-based production company and sales agent XYZ Films and as a long-time editor of the Korean Film Council’s English website KoBiz until 2021. Born in Ireland and raised in Switzerland, he received an MA in Film from Trinity College Dublin and is currently the Korean drama critic for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, as well as a programming adviser for the Fribourg International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest in the United States.
Journalist, producer and consultant Pierce Conran has been based in Seoul since 2012, where he served as the Korea Executive for LA-based production company and sales agent XYZ Films and as a long-time editor of the Korean Film Council’s English website KoBiz until 2021. Born in Ireland and raised in Switzerland, he received an MA in Film from Trinity College Dublin and is currently the Korean drama critic for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, as well as a programming adviser for the Fribourg International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest in the United States.
Areas of Expertise:
Korean film and K-dramaLanguages Spoken:
English, French, Korean
From The Scarecrow to the second season of Netflix’s Bloodhounds, here are 10 Korean dramas to watch this month.
Can The King’s Warden overtake The Admiral: Roaring Currents and Extreme Job to become the most-viewed South Korean film of all time?
Undercover High School’s Seo Kang-joon will star in Another Romance Besides You while Ju Ji-hoon is considering Buy King on Netflix.
While glossy, well acted and filled with meme-ready outbursts, ENA’s new Korean drama Climax suffers from directorial indecision.
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Mad Concrete Dreams, starring Ha Jung-woo, explores South Korea’s all-too-familiar property woes through a darkly comic thriller.
Yoo Yeon-seok and Esom star in this new Korean drama about a lawyer who unwillingly takes on the cases of ghost clients.
From his musical beginnings to his breakout role in Reply 1997 to his turn in Boyfriend on Demand, Seo In-guk stands out for his versatility.
Starring Got7’s Park Jin-young and ex-Iz*one member Kim Min-ju, Still Shining is an appealing concept but is yet to reward viewers’ patience.
Lee will star in Iseop’s Romance, Song and Kim may reunite in White Scandal, and Jung Kyung-ho will lead Unshakeable Forties’ Romance.
Blackpink singer stars opposite Seo In-guk as woman dating AI-generated men in a show hampered by its adherence to the K-drama romcom model.
K-drama Siren’s Kiss borrows liberally from the soap opera playbook, but it lacks the humour that lifted similar shows like The Penthouse.
Park Sung-hoon and Lee Ki-taek play potential suitors for Han’s young professional in this show where compatibility seems to trump chemistry.
Blackpink’s Jisoo shines in Boyfriend on Demand, Park Min-young and Squid Game’s Wi Ha-joon star in Siren’s Kiss and Ju Ji-hoon leads Climax.
This romantic K-drama about a woman grieving for her boyfriend has a compelling cast but is beset with misleading omissions.
Yeonwoo and Kim Hyun-jin lead Love Phobia, a near-future K-drama about AI and relationships that suffers from poor chemistry.
Lee is confirmed as one of the leads of There’s a Winning Chance, while Ryoo is considering The Miracles of the Namiya General Store.
Breaking out in 2016’s Five Enough, Shin Hye-sun has gone on to make her mark in series including Mr. Queen and Welcome to Samdal-ri.
Shin Hye-sun stars as a luxury boss faking it in the elite fashion world whose sudden murder is investigated by Lee Joon-hyuk’s detective.
Tragedy brings two youths together to raise a toddler in this flimsy K-drama that leans heavily on the cuteness of its youngest cast member.
Ryeoun stars as a serial killer and medical genius on trial for multiple murders, while veteran Sung Dong-il plays his defence lawyer.
Nam Joo-hyuk is eyeing a role in Code: Faust Game, while Lee Dong-wook has been approached to star in Love Affair.
Lee Na-young, Jung Eun-chae and Lee Chung-ah play a trio of lawyers defending victims of sexual violence in the new Korean drama Honour.
Shin Hye-sun and Lee Jun-hyuk lead The Art of Sarah, Yeon Woo stars in Love Phobia and Ryeoun is deadly in Disney+’s Bloody Flower.
As Yoon Ga-eun’s The World of Love hits Hong Kong cinemas, we look at Korean indie films that conquered the box office as well as festivals.
Shin Min-a is looking at a role in Wed Thu Fri, possibly with Lee Jin-wook, while Ha Ji-won is considering an offer to appear in Affair Hunter.
Bright, lively and fun, fantasy K-drama No Tail to Tell follows a self-centred nine-tailed fox demon who clashes with a star football player.
Park plays a financial investigator infiltrating a corrupt firm in Undercover Miss Hong, a ’90s-set drama that also tackles gender equality.
Kim Seon-ho and Go Youn-jung star in this globetrotting Korean drama that mixes genres at the expense of the core plot.
After starting out as a model, Go rose to K-drama stardom in series such as Alchemy of Souls and Moving. Now she leads her first romcom.
