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Pierce Conran
Journalist, producer and consultant Pierce Conran has been based in Seoul since 2012, where he served as the Korea Executive for LA-based production company and sales agent XYZ Films and as a long-time editor of the Korean Film Council’s English website KoBiz until 2021. Born in Ireland and raised in Switzerland, he received an MA in Film from Trinity College Dublin and is currently the Korean drama critic for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, as well as a programming adviser for the Fribourg International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest in the United States.
Journalist, producer and consultant Pierce Conran has been based in Seoul since 2012, where he served as the Korea Executive for LA-based production company and sales agent XYZ Films and as a long-time editor of the Korean Film Council’s English website KoBiz until 2021. Born in Ireland and raised in Switzerland, he received an MA in Film from Trinity College Dublin and is currently the Korean drama critic for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, as well as a programming adviser for the Fribourg International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest in the United States.
Areas of Expertise:
Korean film and K-dramaLanguages Spoken:
English, French, Korean
Ji Sung stars in The Judge Returns, Nam Ji-hyun and Moon Sang-min clash in To My Beloved Thief, and Park Shin-hye is Undercover Miss Hong.
Made in Korea, set in the 1970s, is a political thriller exploring power, corruption and moral ambiguity under an authoritarian regime.
Here are our 15 favourite Korean dramas from the past year, which also include Dear X, Typhoon Family, Way Back Love, Aema and Nine Puzzles.
Choi Soo-young plays a lawyer defending Kim Jae-young’s K-pop star – who she’s secretly obsessed with – in this new Korean drama.
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While it has a compelling concept and potentially great characters, Cashero’s poor writing means the K-drama fails to deliver.
Loneliness and redemption are explored through family drama and romance in Love Me, starring Seo Hyun-jin, Yoo Jae-myung and Chang Ryul.
Starring Yoo Ji-tae, Lee Min-jung, Lee Beom-soo and Kwak Do-won, new Korean drama Villains is already in danger of being quickly forgotten.
Lee Min-ho may be joining Moon Ga-young in period drama Scent of the Night, while Han Hyo-joo has been confirmed to appear in Your Ground.
Kim Woo-bin, who is marrying fellow K-drama star Shin Min-a this month, has proved he has the acting chops to match his good looks.
Jung Kyung-ho plays a judge aspiring to join the Supreme Court, but ends up working as a pro bono lawyer in a large law firm.
Park Seo-joon and rising actress Won Jin-ah lack chemistry in this Korean drama about a couple repeatedly thrown together and torn apart.
K-pop star Yuna will play an actress in My Favorite Employee, while Jung So-min and Ryoo Seung-bum are looking at roles in Dealer.
Bold performances and punchy scripting keep this murder mystery Korean drama engaging from start to finish.
December brings a raft of thrilling new K-dramas, such as Made in Korea with Hyun Bin, and romcoms like I Dol I with Choi Soo-young.
The third series following the Rainbow Taxi vigilantes gets off to an action-packed start as the gang takes on the yakuza in Japan.
Shin Hye-sun and Na In-woo have signed up for the romcom 1/24, while Ji Chang-wook will appear in another romcom, Merry Berry Love.
Ahn Eun-jin gives her most convincing leading turn yet as a sweet-hearted but frustrated jobseeker in this drama that ramps up the passion.
Korean actress Ahn Eun-jin made the big time in Hospital Playlist and with her role in romantic drama My Dearest. We look back at her career.
K-drama Moon River, a body-swap romcom set in the Joseon era, starts slowly. Hopefully, Kang Tae-oh and Kim Se-jeong can get things moving.
Kim Ji-won will headline investigative thriller Detective Park Mi-ok, while Kim So-hyun is in talks to star in a drama with Choo Young-woo.
Framed for a crime, Ji Chang-wook’s character seeks vengeance against a diabolical mastermind in Disney+ K-drama The Manipulated.
Netflix’s As You Stood By tackles domestic violence – a worthy subject, but the K-drama falters with melodrama and incoherent storytelling.
Lee cheekily plays a superstar actor sick of being typecast opposite Lim Ji-yeon’s reporter in this understated, easy-going romantic comedy.
Catch all the new shows, from the third season of Taxi Driver to a Joseon era drama to Nice to Not Meet You with Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae.
Ryu Seung-ryong plays a middle-aged salaryman whose life begins to unravel in this new drama that satirises the supposed ‘Korean dream’.
Lim Ji-yeon will headline romcom Wonderful New World, while Han Suk-kyu will star with Yoon Kye-sang in crime drama Kin and Sin.
Kim Min-ha and Lee Joon-ho star as an accountant and the playboy heir of a trading company during the late 1990s’ Asian financial crisis.
Sticking to the fake marriage romcom formula is working so far for Would You Marry Me, starring Jung So-min and Choi Woo-shik.
Appearing now in Would You Marry Me, the young-looking, goofy Choi Woo-shik is best known for his roles in Parasite and Train to Busan.
