Korean blockbuster drama Iris returns

Korea’s top spy action TV drama Iris is coming back for its second season with a lot more for fans. The follow-up to the first season of the blockbuster spy-thriller has charmed the media since production began with large-scale overseas location shootings and more spectacular action. The drama welcomed representatives of the foreign and domestic media and Hallyu fans at a press conference which took place on February 7 at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, central Seoul. 

Eight of the total 20 episodes have been made so far, according to the Iris II production crew at the conference. They have finished overseas shoots in five countries -- Hungary, the Czech Republic, Cambodia, Austria, and Japan. The media spotlighted the promotional footage featuring action and chase scenes at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, a snowy landscape in Akita Prefecture in Japan, and on a bridge in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. At Angkor Wat, the crew used a helicopter for the first time ever in a Korean TV drama in order to present a more spectacular action scene. 

Iris II is armed with intense action and breath-taking scenery from five countries backed by an elaborate script. To make the action scenes more extreme and more realistic, the crew from the famous action movie Die Hard 5 worked with Iris II as they did for the previous season. ” If you say Iris I was the legend of Korean blockbuster drama, Iris II will become a new myth,” said a KBS representative with confidence at the conference. 

The show will star newcomers Jang Hyuk as Jeong Yu-geon, the head of a task force in the National Security Service (NSS) and Lee Da-hae as Ji Su-yeon, an Olympic gold medalist in pistol shooting recruited by the NSS. The story of Iris II is set three years after the mysterious death of Kim Hyun-joon acted by Lee Byung-hun, the top NSS agent in the first season. It will show the continuing war between the secretive group of international terrorists known as IRIS and the NSS with characters led by a new leader. It will also reveal the truth behind Baek San played by Kim Yeong-cheol, the former NSS head who was revealed to be the leader of the Korean division of IRIS. 

The two main actors -- Jang Hyuk and Lee Da-hae -- will act not only as top NSS agents but also as a couple who are deeply in love. Jang previously showed promise as an action star in KBS2 drama Chuno (The Slave Hunters) where he was also paired up with Lee Da-hae as a love interest. Jang and Lee are expected to portray one of the best on-screen couples once again in the upcoming season.

Other actors to watch include Kim Yeong-cheol and Oh Youn-soo as Choe Min, the new leader of the NSS. K-pop stars -- Yoon Doo-joon of the group Beast and Lee Joon of MBLAQ – have also grabbed the attention of both the media and Hallyu fans worldwide as they will act as ace NSS agents.

“Iris II will deal with more realistic issues compared with the previous story,” said Chung Tae-won, head of Iris production company Taewon Entertainment, at the conference. Chung said viewers will find it more absorbing as the following episodes will deal with North Korean nuclear issues and other pending inter-Korean issues in which both Koreas have reached a deadlock. “We also do our utmost to match the emotions of the actors through the scripts with spectacular action scenes, said Kim Tae-hoon, one of the co-producers of the spy-thriller along with director Pyo Min-soo.

To reflect the strong interest in the drama, the actors and production staff of Iris II had meaningful experiences during overseas shooting. They received heartfelt welcomes and were invited to a reception dinner in Akita Prefecture of Japan in late January this year due to their contribution to local tourism; the original Iris which featured the beautiful snowy scenery of the area attracted many viewers to visit the region. They held a press conference and showed a promotional video clip for Iris II during their Japan visit and received an enthusiastic response from the Japanese media which had shown strong interest in the first Iris in 2009.

Iris II will be aired from February 13 on KBS2 every Wednesday and Thursday. KBS2 will also broadcast a theater version of the first series during Seollal from February 9 to 11.