Speculation has given way to confirmation: Jung Il-woo (Cinderella and the Four Knights, Records of a Night Watchman) will make his post-army comeback in the SBS fusion sageuk Haechi. Go Ara (Miss Hammurabi, Black) and Kwon Yul (Whisper, Bring it On Ghost) have also confirmed they will be joining the cast alongside Jung.
Jung Il-woo has accepted the role of Prince Yeoning, born of a commoner and the king. Prince Yeoning is a man with an unparalleled intellect but due to his birth origin, he’s ever the outsider. Half commoner, half noble and entirely unable to apply his skills to anything useful. Understandably, the prince is filled with resentment, both towards himself and the world at large. But a man with his intellect and ambition can only be idle for so long, and Prince Yeoning decides that he’ll make his own path in the world. Along the way, the prince will team up with a band of roughnecks and misfits.
Go Ara, Kwon Yul
Kwon Yul will play Park Moon-soo, a man who was once part of the 1% of Joseon society. By the time he meets the prince, he is a passionate apprentice whose pursuit of justice knows no bounds. He lives by the maxim: Keep a sword in one hand and protect the weak with the other. He’s so dogged in his pursuit that there’s even a saying in Joseon: “Wherever there’s a corrupt official, Park Moon-soo will appear.” He sounds fierce, but he’s got a soft side as he’s known to be caring to those around him.
Go Ara will play Yeo-ji, a fearless damo (damo were women who assisted police with investigations) who is as skilled a fighter as she is an investigator. Her skill set includes fluent Chinese, infiltration, and camouflage. Yeo-ji is described as “Joseon-era girl crush” material, which I think (I hope!) will mean she’ll be strong, smart, and sassy.
Up-and-coming actor Park Hoon (Two Cops) will join the cast as Dal-moon, a roughneck who joins Prince Yeoning’s rag-tag team. Dal-moon is a master martial artist with almost superhuman instincts. He’s bold and intuitive with an unwavering loyalty to the prince. Park’s star is rising fast and his casting in Haechi comes on the heels of earning a role in Memories of the Alhambra.
The SBS drama has brought on PD Lee Yong-seok (Village: Secret of Achiara, The Great Seer) to direct. The drama’s writer is Kim Yi-young, who’s making a bit of a comeback herself. Though she found success with dramas such as Dong Yi and Yi San, she hasn’t written since 2015’s drama Hwajung.
Haechi is set to premiere in February 2019 on SBS.
Park Hoon