Feeling the wanderlust during this stay-home season? Escape into another realm with the best of Asian entertainment, only on Viu! Why go out in pairs when you can grab five of your friends to kick back and binge-watch amazing new shows in the comfort and safety of home? Have a blast as you and your friends are whisked away to another reality with the best and latest action thrillers, romantic comedies, dramas, variety shows and more.

Streaming on Viu from 4 July with new episodes every Sun & Mon, 5 hours after Korea Starring Ji-Sung, Kim Min-Jung, GOT7's Jin-Young & Park Gyu-Young

Mood Boosters To Lighten The Mood Looking to unwind with some laughs? Popular Korean Variety show The Great Escape will be returning for its fourth season on July 12. Six celebrities with a long list of fears are trapped inside a locked structure, each with a unique theme harbouring a web of secrets. In order to escape, they will have to face their fears, test their limits and solve the mystery! 

Netflix, the world’s leading streaming entertainment service, has confirmed the production of Director Yeon Sang-ho’s new sci-fi film Jung-E (Working Title) starring Kang Soo-youn, Kim Hyun-joo, and Ryu Kyung-soo as the main characters.

The setting of this film is in the 22nd century where climate changes have made Earth inhabitable, and humans are living in a man-made shelter. An internal war breaks out, and its outcome hinges on the success of brain cloning technology of the legendary robot mercenary Jung-E. Director Yeon Sang-ho, who has been redefining the future of Korean films with Train to Busan, Peninsula and Hellbound, focuses on central themes of brain cloning and human-like mercenary robots for this story.

His casting choices are also worth noting. Kang Soo-youn returns from an eight-year hiatus to play Seo-hyeon, the team leader of a lab for brain cloning and AI technology who is responsible for testing the cloning of Jung-E’s brain and combat capabilities. Kang is the first Korean actor to receive the Best Actress award at The Venice Film Festival, one of the “Big Three” film festivals, for her role in the 1986 film The Surrogate Womb. Her performances in Blue In You and Ladies of the Palace as well as other numerous works mark her as a legendary actor who paved the way for a renaissance in the Korean film industry.

Kim Hyun-joo plays the titular role of Jung-E, the most elite soldier of the allied forces fighting the shelter troops and a subject of brain-clone testing. With powerful performances in diverse dramas such as Watcher and Undercover, Kim will elicit complex emotions through her portrayal of the “legendary mercenary” fighting in dynamic combat scenes and suffering through repeated brain cloning testing.

Ryu Kyung-soo plays Sang-hun, the research centre director who is determined to succeed in cloning Jung-E’s brain in order to bring the allied forces to victory. His character in this film shows a 180-degree transformation from his previous roles in the film A Resistance as well as in the dramas Itaewon Class and Lovestruck in the City. For Kim Hyun-joo and Ryu Kyung-soo, they will continue to collaborate with director Yeon Sang-ho after working with him on his soon-to-be-released Netflix Series, Hellbound.

Jung-E (WT) has many things going for it: it is director Yeon Sang-ho’s imaginative new sci-fi film; it presents the novel theme of brain cloning a “legendary mercenary” in the 22nd century; it marks the return of the legendary actor Kang Soo-youn and transformative roles for both Kim Hyun-joo and Ryu Kyung-soo; and it delivers plenty of spectacular and realistic action.

The Netflix Film Jung-E (WT) will be released only on Netflix.

Production Information
Title: Jung-E (WT)
Story / Written / Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho
Starring: Kang Soo-youn, Kim Hyun-joo, Ryu Kyung-soo et al.
Produced by: Climax Studio
Distributed by: Netflix

The second season of Hospital Playlist S2 is everything we hoped for and more, and we’re so happy to see everyone again. In addition to the relatable and heartwarming stories, the soundtrack boosts the feels and perfectly complements each episode. Since the soundtrack often consists of covers of popular Korean songs from the ‘90s and ‘00s, it adds a sense of nostalgia and familiarity.

Just like the first season, the songs from the new season are climbing up music charts and hitting all the right notes. Let’s take a closer look at the songs’ lyrics and see how they tie into the episodes.

Bad boys. We love them. We hate them. We love to hate them. The latest K-drama bad boy after our hearts is Song Kang’s character in Nevertheless. His subtle touches and meaningful gazes make us weak in the knees even though there are so many red flags. Bad boys like him definitely make us feel a plethora of emotions, but their appeal is undeniable. There are a lot of different bad boy types and they’ve each got an alluring side to them. Check out some popular bad boys you’ll want to see more of here.

Park Jae-eon — Nevertheless
Nevertheless centers around two art school classmates who feel an instant attraction to one another. Yu Na-bi (Han So-hee) is a love cynic and she knows that Park Jae-eon (Song Kang) might be bad news, but she can’t help being drawn to him. Park Jae-eon has an intoxicating charm that wins over everyone in his vicinity. Whether he’s drawing butterflies on the arms of pretty ladies or giving a smoldering gaze, we can’t talk our eyes off of him. Despite being a playboy with smooth moves, Jae-eon also has a thoughtful side to him making him all the more enticing.

Vincenzo Cassano — Vincenzo
Vincenzo features titular character Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong-ki) as a mafia consigliere. He’s a smart lawyer who easily outwits his enemies, and he could care less about breaking any rules. Not only is he able to foil the plans of his adversaries, he’s also a sharpshooter and very capable of defending himself. We know Vincenzo has blood on his hands, but he’s got his own moral code and only targets people who deserve punishment. Besides his mafioso side, he always looks super handsome in his slick suits and knows how to win people (and pigeons) over. His soft yet sexy voice and cunning mind will remain in our memories for a long time.

Lee Rang — Tale of the Nine Tailed
Lee Rang (Kim Beom) is a mischievous (and sexy) character who harbors a lot of resentment towards his brother in Tale of the Nine Tailed. His rebellious and spiteful nature makes him out to be an annoying character for much of the drama. However, behind all of his petty bitterness and devious plans to destroy his brother, lies a guy who just wants to be acknowledged by his only brother. He’s too proud to admit that he actually looks up to his brother and wants to be like him. After realizing that he’s actually a softie underneath his pent up abandonment issues, you can’t help but love Lee Rang and see his cute side.

Baek Gyeong — Extraordinary You
Baek Gyeong (Lee Jae-wook) appears to be a stereotypical bad boy character, but he can’t help it since he’s a comic book character in Extraordinary You. He can be rude and haughty, but he’s also very troubled. Never able to defy his abusive father, Baek Gyeong is expected to marry Eun Dan-o (Kim Hye-yoon) to benefit his father’s business. In the comic, Baek Gyeong has to act cold and nonchalant to Dan-o. However, once he becomes aware of the fact that he’s in a comic book, he regrets his actions and opens his heart to Dan-o. Even though he sometimes has a tough exterior, the fact that he feels remorse helps us forgive him.

Gu Dong-mae — Mr. Sunshine
Gu Dong-mae (Yoo Yeon-seok) was born to the lowest caste as the son of a butcher in Mr. Sunshine. After suffering from discrimination, he flees to Japan after the death of his parents. He becomes a violent killer and returns to his homeland to help the Japanese overtake Joseon. Ruthlessly killing innocent people due to his hatred of Joseon’s social hierarchical system, Gu Dong-mae is a vicious character. However, he has a soft spot for Ae-sin (Kim Tae-ri) due to her kindness to him as a child. His tragic childhood and deep affection for Ae-sin makes him a bad boy who gets a chance to redeem himself.

Kwon Si-hyeon — Tempted
Tempted shows chaebol heir Kwon Si-hyeon (Woo Do-hwan) who likes to stir up trouble with his close friends. He ends up agreeing to a bet and taking on the challenge of seducing a college student as a part of a revenge plan. Si-hyeon is well-skilled at the game of love and is considered a great seducer. Once he sets his sights on his target, he never fails. However, things start to stray from his plans when he finds himself falling for her. Through experiencing love, Si-hyeon gradually changes from his spoiled rich kid ways. His sensual charm is what we’ll remember most about his handsome character.

Which of these bad boys do you find irresistible? See all of them in action on Netflix!

Image Courtesy of Netflix

Rising acts LOONA and KARD’s BM are ready to meet global fans face-to-face through K-Pop fandom app theQoos’ unique video-based Q&A fan event.

theQoos’ ‘virtual’ fan Q&A events invite fans to upload short question videos to the platform, where other users can ‘like’ the video to up the chances that video will be seen by the artist. The artist then will choose their favorite questions among the top entries, answering them through a series of response videos personalized for each winning fan.