Dark Heroes Take Over

Dark heroes take over the small screen. Dark heroes are heroes who use expedient and violence rather than just methods to punish groups of evil. Lee Je-hoon of SBS's "Taxi Driver 2" currently on air, Joo Won of tvN's "Stealer: The Treasure Keeper" and Song Seung-heon of "The Player 2: Master of Swindlers", which will soon begin production, will turn into dark hero characters to catch viewership.

Advertisement

● From thief to swindlers

"Taxi Driver 2", which attracted dark heroes and expanded to a seasonal system, features the performance of Rainbow Transport, which acts as an agent for private revenge for unfair victims. The key is the process of Lee Je-hoon, who plays the role of the action leader, using his colorful martial arts skills, disguises, and talks in various ways to wipe out the villains. The ratings soared to 18.3% on the 1st thanks to the timely handling of the Christian Gospel Mission (JMS) and pseudo-religion, 'Burning Sun Gate' and child abuse issues, which have recently emerged as social issues.

The main character of "Stealer: The Treasure Keeper" is the story of a cultural heritage recovery team struggling to recover cultural assets leaked through smuggling. Joo Won, who works as an official of the Special Investigation Division of the Cultural Heritage Administration by day, plays 'Skunk', a thief of cultural property at night and confronts black forces who traffic in cultural properties. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's cultural heritage team, including Lee Joo-woo, Jo Han-chul, and Kim Jae-won-III, will also help Joo Won to mobilize all kinds of expedients and conduct 'team play'.

"The Player", which ended in November 2018 with Song Seung-heon appearing as a con artist, will return to "The Player 2: Master of Swindlers" for the first time in five years. Following season 1, he teams up with hackers, fighters, and drivers to steal money from the owner's family of large companies that commit illegal activities. Oh Yeon-seo and Jang Gyuri will become new team members and start shooting in earnest from this month. It is also planning to unveil as a global OTT by advocating the genre of caper movies that are familiar to overseas viewers.

● Bitter and convincing

Dark hero materials have the advantage of being able to contain a fresh message of good and evil while dealing with various genres such as action and thriller at once. An official from a drama production company explained on the 2nd, "As the level of expression of the drama is freer than before, it attempts to bring the genre of action and crime to the forefront continued to affect the flow".

Overseas, interest in 'private revenge', which has recently emerged as a new trend in Korean dramas, is leading to dark hero materials. U.S. entertainment media Collider said about "Taxi Driver 2", "The concept of retaliation and revenge is the core of Korean dramas", adding, "The main character's deep moral conflict gives viewers persuasion, empathy, and various things to think about".