Song Joong-ki, Kim Ji-won
Now that’s what you call a blockbuster cast. The casting is in final talks (so, not quite signed-on-the-dotted-line yet), but it’s looking like tvN’s upcoming grand-scale fantasy sageuk drama Asadal Chronicle will be an A-list affair: Song Joong-ki (Descended From the Sun), Kim Ji-won (Fight My Way), Jang Dong-gun (Suits), and Kim Ok-bin (The Villainess) are reportedly nearing finalization for the main cast. Let’s hope it’s announced soon.
The actors have met with the writer and PD, who are more names to get excited about. Directing is Kim Won-seok of Misaeng, Signal, and My Ajusshi, while writing is in the hands of Kim Young-hyun of Tree With Deep Roots fame, as well as Six Flying Dragons and Queen Seon-deok, all massive sageuk hits.
The drama Asadal Chronicle is set in ancient times and is described as a fantasy period series centering around a power struggle and telling a story of love and growth. Asadal was the capital city of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom said to have been founded by the first king, Dangun. It’s a period that blurs the line between mythology and history; Dangun was said to be the son of the heavenly prince Hwanung and a bear-woman. (If this sounds familiar, it’s also the basis for the 2007 drama Legend, where Bae Yong-joon played the son of Dangun.)
Jang Dong-gun, Kim Ok-bin
Though Dangun’s origin story is mythology rather than history, it’s believed to have drawn from real historical events, and it sounds like this drama may be exploring similar storylines as it tracks two main characters, a hero and anti-hero, over the course of the founding of the first nation.
Song Joong-ki is up to play the main character of Eun Seom, who was born in a Blue Stone Village inhabited by a nomadic tribe under a prophecy wrought by the energy of a blue comet. He later becomes conqueror of Asadal, taking it from city-state to empire. Kim Ji-won’s character is born with the energy of the blue comet and becomes the first crown princess of the empire of Asadal — as well as the first woman politician there. She’ll also be Song Joong-ki’s first love.
Jang Dong-gun is up to play a war hero and master of strategy, and I’m assuming he’ll be the anti-hero who faces off against the younger challenger. Given Jang’s perennial good-guy image, I’m eager to see how the two men clash. Kim Ok-bin’s character, meanwhile, is the first empress of Asadal, standing at the peak of power for a woman of the times.
I’m sure everyone was eager to see what drama Song Joong-ki would pick to follow up the massive international success of Descended From the Sun, and this project certainly feels epic and grand enough to be a worthy next step (fingers crossed). Asadal Chronicle will be pre-produced and is planning for a premiere in the first half of next year.