This looks super wacky, which I’m hoping is a good thing at the end of the day. TV Chosun has a new drama on the way called Joseon Survival Guide, which has released a teaser featuring Kang Ji-hwan (Happy to Die), Song Won-seok (Switch), Kyung Su-jin (Meloholic), Park Se-wan (Dance Sports Girls), and Lee Jae-yoon (Mother). I love Kang Ji-hwan in comedy, and I hope this show gives him some good material to work with.
In Joseon Survival Guide, Kang Ji-hwan plays a former archer who used to be a member of the national team, but for some reason is now working as a delivery man. His character finds himself flown into the Joseon period, where he encounters Song Won-seok’s character, who is treated like he’s less than human in his era. Together, they will achieve “miracles” in the action comedy, though it’s not clear what that means precisely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdr9gRb0gx0
While Kang Ji-hwan is the one to time-travel into the past in the show, in the teaser, he’s the one dressed in Joseon garb while Song Won-seok looks sleek in a suit and sunglasses. Their posse confronts a group of armed soldiers in the lobby of a modern office building and start fighting, not knowing that they’re being watched by Lee Jae-yoon through multiple cameras. He strikes a menacing pose, though it would be more intimidating if he weren’t sipping what looks like a glass of orange juice.
Kyung Su-jin and Park Se-wan, both sporting hanbok, sit behind him. From her outfit, it looks like Kyung Su-jin will be playing a nurse in Joseon, and she asks Lee Jae-yoon in exasperation how long they have to keep watching “this show.” Lee Jae-yoon responds that it’ll be over soon, though it might not be in his favor, seeing as how Kang Ji-hwan’s made it all the way up the elevator.
Joseon Survival Guide is directed by PD Jang Yong-woo, whose credits include JTBC’s D-Day. Writing is Kim Sol-ji, who also wrote JTBC’s Syndrome and MBC’s Heading to the Ground. These credits don’t exactly inspire a whole lot of confidence, but maybe they’ll surprise us here. I sincerely hope so, because time-travel lends itself so well to comedy.
TV Chosun’s Joseon Survival Guide will premiere on June 8.
