The K2


The K2 is a 2016 South Korean television series starring Ji Chang-wook and Im Yoon-ah. It premiered on tvN every Friday and Saturday at 20:00 from September 23 to November 12, 2016 for 16 episodes.

Synopsis

Kim Je-ha is a former mercenary soldier for the PMC Blackstone. While in Iraq, he gets framed for the murder of his lover Raniya, a civilian. As a result, he runs away and becomes a fugitive. He returns to South Korea and by chance, gets offered to work as a bodyguard by Choi Yoo-jin, the owner of JSS Security Company and wife of the presidential candidate, Jang Se-joon. He accepts the job in exchange for resources that he needs in order to get his revenge on another presidential candidate, Park Kwan-soo, who previously ordered the killing of his lover. In the meantime, Je-ha gets assigned to guard Go An-na, the hidden daughter of Jang Se-joon, whose life is always threatened because of Yoo-jin, her stepmother. An-na, who has been reclused and lonely all her life, starts relying on Je-ha, who shows concern for her and protects her at all costs. They slowly fall in love with each other, which makes Je-ha torn between having to work with his ally, Yoo-jin, in order to get his revenge and protecting his new-found love, An-na, against his own ally.

Cast

Main

The drama is written by scriptwriter Jang Hyuk-rin, who wrote Yong-pal and directed by Kwak Jung-hwan of ''Neighborhood Hero.
Being depicted with a bodyguard action theme, the drama utilized various fighting techniques including systema, taekwondo, aikido, and jujutsu for its action scenes. It became the first Korean television drama to introduce the Bullet Time effect.
The first script reading was held in August 2016 at the CJ E&M Center in Seoul, South Korea. Filming began in September.
Some scenes of the drama, primarily in episodes 1 and 2, were filmed in Catalonia, followed by various places in Barcelona, Gaudí's Modernista Colònia Güell Crypt among other locations in Spain. The closing scene of episode 16 was filmed at Barcelona's Turó de la Rovira hill. The rest of the series was apparently filmed in Korea.
The male lead Ji Chang-wook, due to his casting, became the highest-paid actor for a tvN drama. He had special training and performed the action stunts in the drama by himself, without a body double. At the press conference, director Kwak expressed "On top of Ji's splendid action, the drama will tell the story of insatiable desire and political fights between people holding secrets of their own."

Original soundtrack

Reception

The drama received favorable reviews, topping cable channel viewership ratings throughout its 8-week broadcast. It was praised by viewers for good performances.

Ratings

In this table, represent the lowest ratings and represent the highest ratings.
The drama streams internationally on DramaFever with English subtitles. Its broadcasting rights were sold to Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, China, Thailand, Israel and Greece.
CountryNetworkAiring dates
South KoreatvNSeptember 23, 2016 - November 12, 2016
SingaporeHUBOctober 9, 2016 - November 27, 2016
Malaysia8TVJanuary 2, 2017 - February 21, 2017
Hong KongTVB Network VisionKorean Drama March 6, 2017 - April 25, 2017
Hong KongTVBTVB J2May 24, 2017 - June 26, 2017
CINEMO!May 7, 2017 - June 25, 2017
Digital TV Network
ABS-CBN
PST
Jeepney TV
Asianovela ChannelStarting September 3, 2018
TaiwanEBC東森戲劇September 7, 2017 - October 11, 2017
TaiwanEBC東森戲劇September 8, 2017 - October 12, 2017
Taiwan
Hong Kong
Macau
Malaysia
Singapore
Indonesia

Myanmar
Sri Lanka		TVN ASIA with subtitles.November 14, 2017 - January 2, 2018
IndonesiaSony OneFebruary 13, 2018 - March 9, 2018
True4UApril 5, 2018 - May 31, 2018
HTVJanuary 4, 2018 - and HTV2 YouTube Channel: September 23, 2016
GreeceStar ChannelJune 1, 2020
IndonesiaTrans TvJuly 24, 2020

Awards and nominations