[HanCinema's News] Director Kim Han-min Confirms New Drama Adaptation of Jing Bi-rok

At a recent event sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency in Seoul, director Kim Han-min confirmed that his next project would be a television drama. Kim Han-min stated that the new project would be based on the historical document "Jing Bi-rok" regarding the Japanese Invasion of Korea from 1592-1598. A fifty episode version of "Jing Bi-rok" aired on KBS in 2015.

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However, that version was created for public television, and deliberately methodically educational in scope. Kim Han-min, who has already made three major blockbusters about Admiral Yi Sun-shin, is expected to make a version of "Jing Bi-rok - 2023" more in line with the artistic sensibilities of his films. Kim Han-min has promised that this story will integrate the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean perspectives of the war to create a single coherent whole.

Kim Han-min has claimed that the sheer scale of the war is such that he believes he can make a version of such scope it could be called the Game of Thrones of East Asia. Kim Han-min also cited Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers as influences on this new project, suggesting more of an emphasis on lower level soldiers and higher level politics compared to his previous work. Kim Han-min said the series would not focus on admiral Yi Sun-shin.

Previously, Kim Han-min made three feature films to tell the legendary admiral's story. The newest of these, "Noryang: Deadly Sea" still does not have a confirmed release date. Purportedly the script for this project is nearly complete and the casting has already been finished, with filming set to begin next year. Kim Han-min stated that the new "Jing Bi-rok - 2023" would air via an OTT streaming platform, but did not mention which one, as negotiations are likely ongoing.

Written by William Schwartz