Moving (South Korean TV series)

Moving is a 2023 South Korean action fantasy sci-fi television series written by Kang Full, and co-directed by Park In-je and Park Yoon-seo. The series stars an ensemble cast including Ryu Seung-ryong, Han Hyo-joo, Zo In-sung, Cha Tae-hyun, Ryoo Seung-bum, Kim Sung-kyun, Lee Jung-ha, Go Youn-jung, and Kim Do-hoon. Based on the eponymous webtoon by Kang, the series is a supernatural drama that deals with three teenager high school students and their parents who discover their super powers. It was released from August 9, to September 20, 2023. After seven days of availability, it became the most watched Korean original series on Disney+ globally and Hulu in the United States, based on hours streamed.

Moving won 6 awards at the 2023 Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards including Best Creative, Best Lead Actor, Best Writer, Best Newcomer Actor and Actress, and Best Visual Effects awards.

Main

 * Ryu Seung-ryong as Jang Ju-won
 * Hui-soo's father who opens a fried chicken shop. He has healing abilities and superhuman strength, although he can still feel pain. He is a former gangster turned former ANSP agent with the code name Guryongpo, and Doo-sik's partner during his time in the ANSP.


 * Han Hyo-joo as Lee Mi-hyun
 * Doo-sik's wife and Bong-seok's mother who opens a tonkatsu restaurant, whose senses are enhanced to a superhuman level. She is a former ANSP intelligence analyst.


 * Zo In-sung as Kim Doo-sik
 * Mi-hyun's husband and Bong-seok's father. He is a former ANSP black ops agent who operated under the code name Moonsan, with flying abilities.


 * Cha Tae-hyun as Jeon Gye-do
 * Kim Joon as young Jeon Gye-do
 * A theater actor turned bus driver who has the ability to generate electricity.


 * Ryoo Seung-bum as Frank
 * Kim Tae-yul as young Frank
 * An American-raised assassin who has healing abilities. He pursues the retired agents under the orders of the CIA.


 * Kim Sung-kyun as Lee Jae-man
 * Gang-hoon's father who opens a mini mart. He possesses superhuman strength and speed, but is cognitively impaired.


 * Lee Jung-ha as Kim Bong-seok
 * Han Chang-min as young Kim Bong-seok
 * Mi-hyun and Doo-sik's son, and a student of Class 3–3 at Jeongwon High School. He has the flying abilities and enhanced five senses, which he inherited from his parents.


 * Go Youn-jung as Jang Hui-soo
 * Park Soo-ah as young Jang Hui-soo
 * Ju-won's daughter, and a student of Class 3–3 at Jeongwon High School. She has healing abilities, which she inherited from her father.


 * Kim Do-hoon as Lee Gang-hoon
 * Kim Si-woo as young Lee Gang-hoon
 * Jae-man's son, and the class leader of Class 3–3 at Jeongwon High School. He has superhuman strength and speed, which he inherited from his father.

Jeongwon High School

 * Kim Hee-won as Choi Il-hwan
 * A former Special Forces 3rd Brigade member turned PE teacher, under the orders of the NIS, who teaches the superhuman children.


 * Yu Seung-mok as Jo Rae-hyuk
 * The principal of Jeongwon High School. He is actually a NIS black ops agent, and under the orders of Yong-jun, he searches for the agents with superpowers, and gathers any students with powers.


 * Shin Jae-hwi as Bang Ki-soo
 * A delinquent student of Class 3–3 at Jeongwon High School. He has conflicts with Gang-hoon, and is aware of the existence of the superhumans.


 * Shim Dal-gi as Shin Hye-won
 * A transfer student at Jeongwon High School. She is also Hui-soo's classmate at their former school Jangkyung High School.


 * Kim Jong-soo as Hwang Ji-sung
 * A former NIS agent turned security guard at Jeongwon High School.


 * Jeon Seok-ho as Yoon Sung-wook
 * A NIS agent who becomes a part-time PE teacher of Jeongwon High School.


 * Park Han-sol as Han Byul
 * A student of Class 3–3 at Jeongwon High School. She is a vlogger who loves to capture everything that happens in school with her camera. She has a crush on Gang-hoon.


 * Yoon Sa-bong as a cleaner
 * A North Korean agent who disguises herself as a cleaner at Jeongwon High School.

National Intelligence Service

 * Moon Sung-keun as Min Yong-jun
 * The fifth director of the NIS Security Planning Department. He observes and gives orders to the agents with superpowers.


 * Kim Shin-rok as Yeo Woon-gyu
 * Formerly Mi-hyun's superior, she now works with Yong-jun to observe the agents with superpowers. She plans and controls everything well for the success of the missions.


 * Baek Hyun-jin as Jung Sang-jin
 * A retired agent with the code name Jincheon. He has superhuman strength.


 * Choi Deok-moon as Jeon Yeong-seok
 * A retired agent with the code name Bongpyeong, and Gye-do's father. He has the ability to generate electricity.


 * Kim Gook-hee as Hong Seong-hwa
 * A retired agent with the code name Naju. She has the ability to see through everything.


 * Kwon Han-sol as Ms. Kim
 * A loyal secretary to Yong-jun.


 * Park Byung-eun as Ma Sang-gu
 * A ruthless and sadistic NIS black ops agent.

People around Jang Ju-won

 * Kwak Sun-young as Hwang Ji-hee
 * Ju-won's wife and Hui-soo's mother who died from a car accident when Hui-soo was young.


 * Moon Jung-dae as Kim Gwang-jin
 * Ju-won's boss.


 * Lim Seong-jae as Bae Min-gi
 * Ju-won's subordinate.


 * Park Sung-il as Jeon Jae-sung
 * The leader of the Ulsan gang.


 * Baek Joo-hee as motel owner

People around Lee Jae-man

 * Park Bo-kyung as Shin Yoon-young
 * Jae-man's wife and Gang-hoon's mother.


 * Lee Hae-young as chief officer

North Korean agents

 * Park Hee-soon as Kim Deok-yun
 * A North Korean military officer who risked everything to follow orders and complete his mission.


 * Jo Bok-rae as Park Chan-il
 * A North Korean agent with speed and monstrous strength.


 * Yang Dong-geun as Jung Joon-hwa
 * A North Korean soldier with flying skills.


 * Kim Da-hyun as Bae Jae-hak
 * A North Korean soldier with faster-than-human reactions and excellent shooting skills.


 * Park Kwang-jae as Kwon Yong-deuk
 * A North Korean soldier with recovery ability and superhuman strength.


 * Kim Joong-hee as Lim Jae-seok
 * A North Korean deserter who can destroy the surrounding area with waves created by the friction of his palms.

Special appearances

 * Son Byong-ho as Kim Hyun-sung
 * The minister of MSS.


 * Lee Ho-jung as Yang Se-eun
 * Seong-hwa's daughter. She has the ability to see through everything, which she inherited from her parents.


 * Son Bo-seung as the handicapped son of a butcher
 * as Kim Young-tak
 * A student at Jeongwon High School. He is found ineligible and transfers to another high school. He is originally one of the characters in Kang Full's past comic, Timing.

Episodes
All episodes were written by Kang Full, and directed by Park In-je and Park Yoon-seo.

Production
South Korean webtoon artist Kang Full rose in popularity in 2003 with his romance webtoon Love Story. Kang then explored other genres, including the superhero genre with Timing (2005) and Moving (2015). On January 6, 2020, it was announced that Studio & New would produce a television series based on Moving. It is the first screen adaptation of Kang Full's webtoons to be scripted by the author himself. On September 9, 2020, it was revealed that Zo In-sung who last appeared in 2014 TV series It's Okay, That's Love has received offer to appear in the series. In August 2021, it was reported that series was being produced by Studio & New. Due to its extensive use of special effects, Moving had a high production budget ranging between billion. The series includes over 7,000 CGI shots. On October 13, 2021 Disney+ announced Moving as their tentpole show for pan Asian market. In February 2021, it was reported that the joint production agreement was cancelled and Park In-je would replace director Mo Wan-il due to differences between co-producers JTBC and Next Entertainment World.

On October 29, 2021, lineup of the lead stars was revealed by releasing the photos from the script reading of the cast. After completing the casting of the series on August 23, 2021, it began filming on August 26. By January 2022, about half of filming was completed. The production staff members were divided into two teams: the second team was led by director Park Yoon-seo.

Original soundtrack
The show's soundtrack album was released on January 19, 2024.

Release
Moving, after facing delays in production, premiered on Disney+ on August 9, 2023. It was made available in 65 markets and countries through the platform and in the United States through Hulu. The first seven episodes were released on August 9, followed by two episodes per week on every Wednesday, and the final three episodes on September 20.

Critical response
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the series has an approval rating of 100% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10.

Pierce Conran of South China Morning Post rated the series five out of five and wrote, "In adapting his own webcomic for the screen, Kang Full has stitched together a rich canvas combining a multitude of characters who weave in and out of his story, each of them fleshed out and given their moment to shine."

Viewership
After seven days of availability, Moving became the most watched Korean Disney+ original series on the platform globally and on Hulu in the United States, based on hours streamed. In its first week of release, Moving became the most watched series in numerous countries in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, including South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and countries in Southeast Asia, based on hours watched. The series also had the biggest premiere ever on Disney+ in South Korea, based on hours watched in its first week of availability. The executive vice president of original content strategy of The Walt Disney Company (APAC), Carol Choi, said the response "exceeded our expectations". Variety called the series "the next breakout hit from Asia after Squid Game".

After Moving premiere, the use time of Disney+ in South Korea increased by 145%, reaching an all-time high of 196 million minutes in the series' fifth week of availability.

On December 15, 2023, Walt Disney Company Korea announced that Moving became the most-watched local original series of the year on Disney+ in South Korea.

Accolades
Moving with six nominations was the most nominated series at the 2023 Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards. All six nominations were converted into awards at the award show on October 8, 2023.