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Lee Min-ho, Lee Dong-wook and Park Seo-joon, 2020 Dramas Overflow With Top Stars

There are over a 100 dramas a year and this has its downs for productions and ups for viewers. The keyword for this year is ' fantasy ' and ' well-made '. Top stars who are known for 'viewership guarantee' are standing in line with dramas for the year.

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The fantasy vibe is stronger in dramas this year than tranquil. The most anticipated is, of course, "The King: Eternal Monarch" written by the best, Kim Eun-sook, starring Lee Min-ho and Kim Go-eun. "The King: Eternal Monarch" is a fantasy romance drama in which a deity has unleashed a demon unto the world of humans, and that demon has opened the door to a parallel world. The drama stands out in the way that each character has a unique set of skills.

"The Game: Towards Zero" begins on the 22nd and it's a story of a prophet named Tae-pyeong (Ok Taecyeon), who sees the moment right before death, and a homicide detective named Joon-yeong (Lee Yeon-hee) finding the truth behind a series of murders. "The Cursed", written by director Yeon Sang-ho from "Train to Busan" is a mystery thriller about Im Jin-hee, a righteous reporter trying to uncover the secrets of Korea's largest IT company, Forest, meeting So-jin, a strong-spirited girl with special abilities, and fighting injustice. Lee Dong-wook is also presented as the first male gumiho in the tvN drama "Tale of the Nine Tailed".

Fantasy is also used as a device for dramatic emotion. TvN's "Hi Bye, Mama!" and SBS's "Alice" are some good examples. For the first time in 5 years, actress Kim Tae-hee comes back with the motherly character of Cha Yoo-ri in "Hi Bye, Mama!", about the 49-day 'reincarnation project' of a ghost mother to become a human being, the husband who started a new life after overcoming the great pain of losing his wife, and their child. Kim Hee-sun stars in "Alice", a story about a man and a woman who part forever through death, going beyond dimensions and meeting once again, like magic. Gong Hee-jung, a drama critic, said, "It is an unusual trend that fantasy is so favored in dramas.The expansion of the world's perspective is noticeable", she said. "It is also seen as a strategy aimed at the desire of viewers to dream about another world or become a superhuman, because they are tired of living in a crowded world".

The reason why dramas are so looked forward to this year is because some are releasing second seasons of popular dramas. It seems to be the result of the global OTT trend, which presents seasonal dramas overseas, and the increasingly improving filming environment. "Dr. Romantic 2" is a successful example, as it's currently at 19.9% in viewership since it's first episode on the 6th.

"Secret Forest 2" has begun filming with the target of releasing later this year. "Secret Forest 2" is an internal secret-tracking drama about a lonely prosecutor who doesn't feel emotions, and a warm and just detective that delve into the prosecutor's sponsor murder case starring Bae Doona and Cho Seung-woo, who were the foundation of the first season. "Kingdom - Season 2", which comes out in March on Netflix, is a zombie thriller starring Ju Ji-hoon, Ryu Seung-ryong and Bae Doona. It was a drama that drew great attention last year for its uniqueness of being a Korean zombie drama.

Other dramas also guarantee entertainment, even if they're not multi-season dramas. "Itaewon Class" on jTBC and "Hospital Playlist" on tvN are a couple. "Itaewon Class" is based on an original webtoon about a son whose father, a CEO of a restaurant business, passes away and who goes through many obstacles before he starts his own restaurant in Itaewon. The original webtoon itself was very popular and the drama casts Park Seo-joon and Kim Da-mi who highly synchronize with the main characters. Cho Jung-seok and Yoo Yeon-seok's "Hospital Playlist" is helmed by PD Sin Won-ho and written by Lee Woo-jeong-I, who are responsible for the success of the "Answer Me" series. Writer Noh Hee-kyeong's "Our Blues" stars Lee Byung-hun, Han Ji-min and Shin Min-a and "Hyena" on SBS stars Kim Hye-soo.

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