Uncle Samsik: What’s Song Kang-ho’s Disney+ K-drama about?
Disney+Parasite actor Song Kang-ho makes his K-drama debut in Disney+’s Uncle Samsik, a period drama about two men and their dreams.
Disney Plus has joined the ranks of Netflix and Viki to develop some well-received K-dramas; everything from the most-talked-about superhero K-drama Moving to a worthwhile romance like Soundtrack #1. Its 2024 slate of newcomers also includes Uncle Samsik.
The K-drama has caught fans’ attention thanks to its star-studded cast, including lead actor Kang. While a household name in Korea, he broke into Hollywood by starring in the Oscar-winning movie Parasite. Uncle Samsik will be the first K-drama of his career.
With so much anticipation behind Uncle Samsik, there’s a lot to explore, from its storyline to its cast.
What is Uncle Samsik about?
Set in the 1960s, Pak Doo-chill appears in front of Kim San to support his dream of an industrial Korea.
Kim San is an ambitious idealist who graduated from a Korean military academy and studied economics in the United States. As a recipient of an Albright Scholarship, he dreams of nothing more than to turn Korea into a powerful industrial nation and push the country to an American level of affluence.
His ambitions capture the attention of fixer Pak Doo-chill, also known as Uncle Samsik. Driven to take care of his team and to achieve his own dreams, he supports Kim San. Together, the two men embark on an uneasy alliance while navigating the complexities of an established system.
Who’s in the cast?
Song Kang-ho will lead Uncle Samsik alongside Byun Yo-han. You can check out the full cast list below:
- Song Kang-ho as Sam-sik
- Byun Yo-han as Kim San
- Lee Kyu-hyung as Kang Sung-min
- Jin Ki-joo as Joo Yeo-jin
- Seo Hyun-woo as Jung Han-min
- Oh Seung-hoon as An Ki-cheol
- Joo Jin-mo as An Yo-seob
- Tiffany Young as Rachel jung
- Yoo Jae-myung as Jang Doo-sik
- Kim Min-jae as Yoo Yeon-cheol
- Roh Jae-won as Han-soo
- Kim Yool-ho as Baek Hyun-seok
- Oh Gwang-rok as Joo In-tae
- Ryu Tae-ho as Choi Han-rim
Uncle Samsik will be Song’s first K-drama role in his career. The actor has had multiple hits from Parasite, Memoirs of Murder, The Host, and Thirst to Chris Evan’s Snowpiercer. He made his debut on the big screen in 1996 with The Day a Pig Fell into the Well.
But the spotlight has also been on singer-songwriter Tiffany Young who will star as Rachal in Uncle Samsik. She made her mark as one of the members of Korea’s most famous K-Pop girl group, Girls’ Generation. In 2016, she debuted as a soloist and continued her career.
Uncle Samsik won’t be her first K-drama role as she also played a character named Rachel in Disney’s Reborn Rich alongside Song Joong-ki, Lee Sung-min, and Shin Hyun-been. For her newest K-drama, Rachel is the director of the Albright Foundation and leads the foundation’s projects.
The character begins to take an interest in Kim San’s goals of restructuring Korea. She exudes a kind and warm demeanor. In a rough translation of her interview with Herald Pop, she explained, “Rachel Jeong tried to analyze and interpret the psychological aspects of the character rather than her chemistry with other characters.”
The K-drama director called Young an actor with “penetrating power.”
When is Uncle Samsik out?
Unclea Samsik will release on Disney+ on May 15, 2024.
The K-drama will be a Disney+ original and will be available to international fans through the streaming platform. For American fans, Uncle Samsik will be available to stream through Hulu.
How many episodes of Uncle Samsik are there?
The K-drama will have a total of 16 episodes starting its premiere date in May.
The streaming platform will first release three episodes of Uncle Samsik on May 15. Its release schedule will then air two episodes every Wednesday until its three-part finale on June 19. There’s no news or indicator of the K-drama being in the works to get a second season.
With Uncle Samsik on Disney+ this month, there are other K-dramas to look forward to in May. Netflix is also set to release more than a few K-dramas in 2024.
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