W (TV series)
W is a 2016 South Korean television series, starring Lee Jong-suk and Han Hyo-joo. Consisting of 16 episodes, it aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00 on MBC from July 20 to September 14, 2016. W centers on the clash between "two worlds": the real world and an alternate universe inside a webtoon, from which the title of the television series was taken.
The series received praise for its unique premise and ranked first in Content Power Index in its premiere week. It achieved respectable ratings of 11.63%, topping viewership ratings in its time slot for its entire run. The series also won numerous accolades at the 35th MBC Drama Awards, notably Drama of the Year, Daesang for Lee Jong-suk and Top Excellence awards for both lead actors. Additionally, the chemistry between the leads was well-received and they also won the Best Couple Award that year.
Plot
A romance takes place between Kang Cheol, who is super rich and exists in the webtoon "W," and Oh Yeon-Joo who is a surgeon in the real world.Oh Seong-moo, the father of cardiothoracic surgeon Oh Yeon-Joo, mysteriously goes missing while writing the last chapter of his webtoon "W". Yeon-Joo goes into his office looking for him, but a hand from his monitor suddenly pulls her in, and she finds herself on the rooftop of a building, next to a bloodied man. She manages to save the person, only to realize that he is Kang Cheol, the main character of her father's webtoon. Yeon-Joo later discovers she can only enter and leave the webtoon depending on Kang Cheol's feelings.
Cast
Main
- Lee Jong-suk as Kang Cheol
- Han Hyo-joo as Oh Yeon-joo
- * Hyun Seung-min as teenage Yeon-joo
- * Park Min-ha as child Yeon-joo
Supporting
Characters from the webtoon ''W''
- Kim Eui-sung as Han Sang-hoon
- Jung Yoo-jin as Yoon So-hee
- Lee Tae-hwan as Seo Do-yoon
- Park Won-sang as Han Cheol-ho
- as Son Hyun-seok
People around Oh Yeon-joo
- Kim Eui-sung as Oh Seong-moo
- Lee Si-eon as Park Soo-bong
- Nam Gi-ae as Gil Soo-sun
- as Park Min-soo
- Kang Ki-young as Kang Suk-beom
- as Gil Soo-young
- Ryu Hye-rin as Sun-mi
- as Yoon-hee
Special appearances
- as Kang Yoon – Cheol's father
- Kim Na-woon as Yoon Mi-ho – Cheol's mother
- Seo Shin-ae as Kang Soo-yeon – Cheol's sister
- Choi Min-young as Kang Joon-seok – Cheol's brother
- Hwang Seok-jeong as Webtoon Writer
- Ahn Se-ha as Kim Poong-ho – Yeon-joo's blind date
- as Anchorman
- Heo Il-hoo
Production
The series is helmed by director Jung Dae-yoon, who directed She Was Pretty, and writer Song Jae-jung, whose previous works include Nine: Nine Time Travels and Queen and I.The first script reading of the drama was held in May 2016.
The drama is Han Hyo-joo's small screen comeback after six years.
Original soundtrack
Part 8
Part 9
Charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Remarks |
| Title | Year | KOR Gaon | Sales | Remarks |
| "Where Are U" | 2016 | 67 |
| Part 1 |
| "Please Say Something Even Though It Is A Lie" | 2016 | 30 |
| Part 2 |
| "Falling" | 2016 | 60 |
| Part 5 |
| "Without You" & Yeoeun ) | 2016 | 98 |
| Part 9 |
Other adaptations
A Thai remake of the drama, Switch On was aired on Channel 3 on November 19, 2021. The adaptation changes the setting of the alternate universe from a webtoon to a virtual reality video game.An American adaptation, titled Angel City was in development at The CW. The project will be produced by CBS Studios with Craig Plestis as executive producer.
A Malaysian remake of the drama, which also titled W: Two Worlds premiered in November 2023 on Viu and aired its final episode in early January 2024.
A Chinese remake of the drama titled "The Next stop W" started streaming in 2023. Available on WeTV, it is a shortened version of the drama set in Guangzhou.