SEOUL– Tving’s new series “Island” will tell a fantasy story of characters who fight evil forces trying to destroy the world, based on a popular webtoon under the same name.
The original cartoon, co-written by Youn In-wan and Yang Kyung-il, was published in 1997, and was remastered as a webtoon series that ran on Naver Webtoon from 2016 to 2018.
“Island” revolves around a grim journey of the three main protagonists who uncover a dark secret hidden on Jeju Island and confront those who try to destroy the world.
Kim Nam-gil plays an immortal monster hunter who has been protecting the world from evil demons for thousands of years. Cha Eun-woo is an exorcist who was adopted overseas soon after his birth and later dispatched to Jeju Island. Lee Da-hee appears as a rich heiress who possesses a powerful strength of which she is unaware.
Director Bae Jong, who produced the 2005 film “Welcome To Dongmakgol,” said he faced difficulty in adapting the famous webtoon for his drama debut but was drawn to the “provocative and attractive plot.”
Kim said he was also at first hesitant to take the role of the half-person, half-monster character Vahn as he was afraid of disappointing the cartoon’s fans.
“I have been a big fan of the original cartoon. I turned down the lead role twice due to pressure in adapting it for the drama, just like the director,” Kim said in a press conference Thursday.
The most difficult part for him was acting for computer-generated imagery scenes to create a mysterious character with mighty power.
“As the character is not fully human, it had to depend on CGI to depict its power,” he said. “There were many tricky parts.”
“Island” will be available on the local stream platform Tving on Dec. 30. It will premiere globally on Amazon Prime Video on the same day.
Source: Yonhap News Agency