Lee Dong-wook, Jo Boa
A new fantasy drama is in the works for tvN called Tale of Gumiho (working title), and casting has been confirmed for Lee Dong-wook (Hell Is Other People) and Jo Boa (My Strange Hero). The duo will play leading roles.
The folklore of Gumiho has been adapted into many dramas before. Although there are male versions of the character, like in Gu Family Book, the mythological figure is usually depicted as female in Korean stories such as My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (coincidentally, both dramas starred Lee Seung-gi).
In tvN’s new telling of the story, Lee Dong-wook plays a male gumiho by the name of Lee Yeon. He was once the guardian god of the Baekdu-daegan mountain range, which spans across the Korean peninsula from Baekdu Mountain in the north and down to Jiri Mountain in the south. But now, in the present he is relegated to be a public service worker of sorts for the mortal world and netherworld. His main job is to dispose of meddlesome spirits who perpetuate ghost stories to conceal their identities and wreak havoc in the mortal realm. However, even after a spirit is long wiped out, the ghost stories continue to circulate and they soon attract the attention of Jo Boa.
Jo plays the character of Nam Ji-ah, the main PD of a reality show called Uncovering Urban Legends. She is always willing to go the extra mile and has even jumped head first into a religious cult in order to get to its core. Due to the nature of her show, she encounters many different corners of human society and is fearless about interrogating even the shadiest of individuals. For the show’s next project, she decides to focus on ghost stories. However, what starts as chasing ghosts takes an unexpected turn when her search lead her to a gumiho instead.
On the creative side for the drama, writer Han Woo-ri (Children of a Lesser God) and PD Kang Shin-hyo (Children of a Lesser God, Heirs) will be teaming up again to produce tvN’s new fantasy. Filming and production are currently set to begin next year in 2020.