The Village Barber


The Village Barber is an ongoing South Korean entertainment program starring Park Bo-gum working as a barber in the countryside together with Lee Sang-yi and Kwak Dong-yeon. It premiered on tvN on January 30, 2026, and airs every Friday at 20:40. It is also available for streaming on HBO Max and Viki globally.

Premise

Actor Park Bo-gum, who has a license in barbering, opens a hair salon in a remote village in South Korea together with fellow actors and real-life friends Lee Sang-yi and Kwak Dong-yeon, creating bonds and memories with the villagers.

Cast

Main

Guests

Production

Development

On September 16, 2025, YTN reported that tvN is producing an entertainment program starring Park Bo-gum. The network officially confirmed the news the same day. The show involves Park working as a licensed barber in the countryside. Park earned his National Technical Qualifications Certification as a barber during his mandatory military service in 2022. It is the first show produced by Monstera Haus.

Casting

In October 2025, actor Lee Sang-yi, who co-starred with Park in the action-comedy Good Boy, joined the cast. The following month, in November 2025, Park's Love in the Moonlight and Young Actors' Retreat co-star Kwak Dong-yeon was also confirmed as cast member.

Filming

Park, Lee, and Kwak, who maintain a close friendship in real-life, have been involved in the location-scouting, remodeling, and interior design of the hair salon for more than a year. The salon is located in a small village in Muju County, North Jeolla Province.
In addition to his barber's license, Park trained for a cosmetology license to cater to female clients, while Lee became a licensed nail technician.

Release

A production press conference was held on January 29, 2026, a day before the show's premiere. It was attended by Park, Lee, Kwak and director-producer Son Soo-jung.
The Village Barber airs on tvN every Friday at 20:40, starting January 30, 2026. It is also available for streaming on TVING and Wavve in South Korea, as well as HBO Max and Viki internationally.

Reception

Critical response

Writer Yoo Su-yeon of OSEN gave the show a positive review praising Park, Lee, and Kwak for doing "a good job" of providing viewers "with diverse entertainment". She added that the show's success is based on the cast's chemistry and "the warm hearts revealed from the project's conception and the sincere preparation". Choi Jae-hyuk, reviewing for CBC News, wrote that Park's "meticulous effort and preparedness have earned him admiration".

Viewership

The premiere episode peaked with a 4.4% audience share in the Seoul metropolitan area, taking first place in its time slot among cable and comprehensive programming channels. It also ranked first in viewership ratings for the network's target demographic among terrestrial and cable channels.