The K2
The K2 is a 2016 South Korean television series starring Ji Chang-wook, Song Yoon-ah, Im Yoon-ah and Jo Sung-ha. It premiered on tvN every Friday and Saturday at 20:00 from September 23 to November 12, 2016 for 16 episodes.
Plot
Kim Je-ha is a former mercenary soldier for the PMC Blackstone. While in Iraq, Je-ha gets framed for the murder of his lover Raniya, a civilian, and becomes a fugitive. Je-ha escapes and returns to South Korea, where he is offered work as a bodyguard by Choi Yoo-jin, the owner of JSS Security Company and wife of presidential candidate Jang Se-joon. Je-ha accepts the job in exchange for resources that he needs to exact revenge on another presidential candidate Park Kwan-soo, who previously ordered Raniya's killing.Je-ha is assigned to guard Go An-na, Jang Se-joon's secret daughter, as An-na's life is always threatened because of her stepmother Yoo-jin. An-na, who has been a recluse and lonely all her life, starts relying on Je-ha, who shows concern for her and protects her everytime. They slowly fall in love, causing Je-ha to be torn between having to work with his boss Yoo-jin to exact revenge on Park Kwan-soo and protecting An-na against the wishes of Yoo-jin.
Another key figure is Choi Sung-won, Choi Yoo-jin's half brother and the son of her father's mistress and eventual second wife, who is his half-sister's fierce rival. Plotting with Park Kwan-soo, Sung-won eventually causes the deaths of Jang Se-joon and Choi Yoo-jin but later pays for this with his life at the hands of Choi Yoo-jin's devoted assistant Kim Dong-mi. Park hangs himself for his atrocious acts and Je-ha finally proves his innocence and achieves his goal of revenge. Je-ha and An-na leave for a foreign country and embrace each other. An-na asks Je-ha about his real name and Je-ha reveals his name.
Cast
Main
- Ji Chang-wook as Kim Je-ha / K2
- * Choi Seung-hoon as young Kim Je-ha
- Song Yoon-ah as Choi Yoo-jin
- Im Yoon-ah as Go An-na or Anna
- * Lee Yoo-joo as young Go An-na
- Jo Sung-ha as Jang Se-joon
- Kim Kap-soo as Park Kwan-soo
Supporting
- Lee Jung-jin as Choi Sung-won
- Shin Dong-mi as Kim Dong-mi
- Lee Ye-eun as Jang Mi-ran
- Lee Jae-woo as Kang Sung-gyu
- Lee Chul-min as Park Kwan-soo's aide
- Song Kyung-chul as Song Young-chun
- So Hee-jung as Head of JSS medical team.
- Jeon Bae-soo as Joo Chul-ho, JH's former commander in Iraq, now JSS mercenary in charge of SJ and YJ's security where he is often known as Chief Joo.
Extended
- Park Soon-chun as Choi Sung-won's mother
- Ko In-beom as Guk Chae-wan
- Lee Soon-won as JSS body guard team leader
- Jo Jae-ryong as Secretary Sung
- Kim Ik-tae as Old man helping Je-ha
- Kwon Soo-hyun as Bodyguard
- Jung Ji-young as Noh Ji-yeon
- Yeom Hye-ran as Housekeeper
- Park Gun
- Yoo In-hyuk as Dong-mi's bodyguard and former baseball player.
- Yoon Joo-bin
- Oh Sang-hoon as Battalion captain
- Kim Kyung-ryong as Lee Kyung-jin
- Ji Yoon-jae as Kwan-soo's bodyguard and detective with scar.
- Jung Se-hyung as Detective
- Park Kyun-rak as Prosecutor
- Kim Hyun as Helper
- Carson Allen as Raniya
Special appearances
- Joo Sae-byuk as Woman having affair with Jang Se-joon
- Anupam Tripathi as wounded man
- Son Tae-young as Uhm Hye-rin, An-na's mother and a former famous star.
- Jo Hee-bong as Police officer
- Sung Dong-il as Police officer
- Yoo Seung-mok as Congressman Kim
- Lee Han-wi as President's secretary
- Jo Dong-hyuk as JSS Special Ops captain
- Choi Jung-min
- Park Jung-sang
Production
Being depicted with a bodyguard action theme, the drama utilized various fighting techniques including systema, taekwondo, aikido, and jujutsu for its action scenes. It became the first Korean television drama to introduce the Bullet Time effect.
The first script reading was held in August 2016 at the CJ E&M Center in Seoul, South Korea. Filming began in September.
Some scenes of the drama, primarily in episodes 1 and 2, were filmed in Catalonia, followed by various places in Barcelona, Gaudí's Modernista Colònia Güell Crypt among other locations in Spain. The closing scene of episode 16 was filmed at Barcelona's Turó de la Rovira hill. The rest of the series was apparently filmed in Korea.
The male lead Ji Chang-wook, due to his casting, became the highest-paid actor for a tvN drama. He had special training and performed the action stunts in the drama by himself, without a body double. At the press conference, director Kwak expressed "On top of Ji's splendid action, the drama will tell the story of insatiable desire and political fights between people holding secrets of their own."