Nam Joo-hyuk's 'Donggung' hits Netflix global top 3 in first week back after military discharge
Netflix's 'Donggung' hits 3rd globally and rules South Korea. For Nam Joo-hyuk, it's his first role since military service.
Donggung landed hard. Released on the 17th, the Netflix historical fantasy drama claimed 3rd place in global TV viewership and has stayed #1 in South Korea every day since.
Nam Joo-hyuk, 32, is back after military service. He plays Gucheon, a role that demanded months of sword-action training. Cho Seung-woo takes the king. Noh Yoon-seo plays Saenggang, a court lady who hears ghost voices. Director Choi Jung-gyu adapted the script from married writers Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won.
"The script had many fun elements from the moment I read it," Nam said. The ghost-world setting hooked him. So did the concept of wonggui (vengeful spirits) and gwimae (evil energy accumulated in places), plus the mystery coiling around the royal family.
Shooting against invisible CG posed its own problem. "Coordinating with computer graphics you can't see was difficult but fun, overcoming the limits of imagination," he said. "It felt like a game." The ghost-world set was 80–90% physically built before filming started, which kept the immersion real.
Nam reflected on what comes next. In his 20s he gravitated toward romance comedies (his phrasing), but the pull toward action and mystery never left. "In my 30s I want to show various colors in different genres," he said. "I plan to take on new challenges."
He also noted that overseas viewers already deep in Korean period dramas should find the palace-within-the-ghost-world setting genuinely fresh.
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