This show is gonna feel like a punch in the gut, I swear. JTBC’s upcoming drama A Beautiful World has just released a trailer and poster, and even these brief glimpses of Nam Da-reum (Fox Bride Star) has my heart breaking for his character. He’ll be at the center of this story of school bullying and family tragedy, which is a combination that already has me reaching for the tissues.
The teaser itself is quite simple but hugely effective: The camera is zoomed into Nam Da-reum, who is laying on the ground with his earphones in. He looks to all the world to be peacefully dozing on a warm, sunny day, though his choice in music might be considered strange for a 16-year old – we can hear strains of a children’s song coming from his ear buds. The tune shares a title with the drama, A Beautiful World, and it’s a very popular one that almost everyone in Korea learns in elementary school. The song grows louder as the camera pans out, and there’s something chilling about hearing children singing, “Let’s make a beautiful world together,” as blood quickly starts pooling below Nam Da-reum’s head. Oof.
In A Beautiful World, Nam Da-reum’s character is the victim of school bullying and he ends up on the brink of life and death because of it. His family will face lies, cover-ups, and a selfish world intent on remaining oblivious to the pain of others in order to find the truth on behalf of their son. Nam Da-reum’s parents will be played by Park Hee-soon (Missing Noir M) and Chu Ja-hyun (Rules of the Game, Temptation of Wife), and he will have a fiercely protective younger sister in Kim Hwan-hee (Miracle That We Met). She’s featured in the title poster, and the caption on it reads, “I want to go back to the days when my brother smiled.”
And of course, we can’t have a school bullying problem without the bully and his parents. Oh Man-seok (Investigation Couple) and Jo Yeo-jung (Perfect Wife) will play the parents to the bully who lead the charge in tormenting Nam Da-reum. The director-writer duo for A Beautiful World, Park Chan-hong and Kim Ji-woo, respectively, have been creative partners for a while. They’ve worked together on dramas like Resurrection, Devil, and Memory, which sounds like a good thing when dealing with a subject matter as dark as school bullying.
A Beautiful World will premiere on JTBC’s Friday-Saturday slot on April 5, following currently airing Legal High.
