W (TV series)

W is a 2016 South Korean television series, starring Lee Jong-suk and Han Hyo-joo. Consisting of 16 episodes, it aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00 (KST) on MBC from July 20 to September 14, 2016. W centers on the clash between "two worlds": the real world and an alternate universe inside a webtoon, from which the title of the television series was taken.

The series received praise for its unique premise and ranked first in Content Power Index in its premiere week. It achieved modest ratings of 11.63%, topping viewership ratings in its time slot for its entire run.

Plot
A romance takes place between Kang Cheol (Lee Jong-Suk), who is super rich and exists in the webtoon “W,” and Oh Yeon-Joo (Han Hyo-Joo) who is a surgeon in the real world.

Main

 * Lee Jong-suk as Kang Cheol
 * The lead character of the popular comic series W. He is the co-CEO of the e-commerce company JN Global, owner of broadcasting channel W, and an Olympic gold medalist in shooting in his youth. His family was murdered by an elusive murderer, yet Kang Cheol was immediately suspected to be the killer due to his shooting background. After being proven innocent, Kang Cheol seeks vengeance on the murderer through his broadcasting channel W. When he is stabbed on the rooftop of his penthouse by the murderer, he meets Oh Yeon-joo who saves his life and with whom he falls in love.


 * Han Hyo-joo as Oh Yeon-joo
 * Hyun Seung-min as teenage Yeon-joo
 * Park Min-ha as child Yeon-joo
 * A second-year resident cardiothoracic surgeon in Myung-sei Hospital. She is the daughter of the Oh Seong-moo, author and illustrator of the famous webtoon W. A fan of her father's work, she goes to his studio to investigate his sudden disappearance. There, she is pulled into W 's alternate universe and meets its protagonist Kang Cheol, with whom she eventually falls in love.

Characters from the webtoon W

 * Kim Eui-sung as Han Sang-hoon
 * The real killer of Kang Cheol's family. His identity is not revealed until much later, and his face resembles the comic series's author Oh Seong-moo. Before Seong-moo gives him a name and face, he mostly appears as a shadowy, faceless human form.


 * Jung Yoo-jin as Yoon So-hee
 * Kang Cheol's long-time secretary and his friend since they were in high school. Her romantic feelings for Kang Cheol are subtly alluded to throughout the series through her actions and behavior around him, which lead to readers’ general expectations of their marriage. Originally intended to be the main female character who would later become Kang Cheol's love interest, she is replaced by Yeon-joo when Kang Cheol falls in love with her.


 * Lee Tae-hwan as Seo Do-yoon
 * Kang Cheol's loyal bodyguard and close friend. Using his knowledge of martial arts, he trained Kang Cheol to fight and is always alongside him in beating bad guys.


 * Park Won-sang as Han Cheol-ho
 * A secondary antagonist of the webtoon. He is a power-hungry prosecutor and a member of Congress who is also the presidential prospect of a new democratic party. To gain political popularity, he becomes the prosecutor in charge of Kang Cheol's case when the latter was accused of his family's murder.


 * as Son Hyun-seok
 * The director of Project W, a program specializing in criminal investigation, and the general manager of the broadcasting channel W.

People around Oh Yeon-joo

 * Kim Eui-sung as Oh Seong-moo
 * Yeon-joo's father and a famous artist who created the webtoon W. Once a failed webtoon artist, alcoholic and divorcé, he gains popularity from W. However, he notices that his webtoon and its characters have taken on a reality of their own. As a result, he perceives Kang Cheol as a monster and seeks to eliminate him.


 * Lee Si-eon as Park Soo-bong
 * An apprentice of Seong-moo and confidante of Yeon-joo


 * Nam Gi-ae as Gil Soo-sun
 * Yeon-joo's mother and Seong-moo's ex-wife.


 * as Park Min-soo
 * Cardiothoracic surgeon and Professor at Myung-sei Hospital. He is a passionate fan of W


 * Kang Ki-young as Kang Suk-beom
 * Second-year resident cardiothoracic surgeon at Myung-sei Hospital and Yeon-joo's friend


 * as Gil Soo-young
 * Yeon-joo's aunt


 * Ryu Hye-rin as Sun-mi
 * Seung-moo's apprentice


 * as Yoon-hee
 * Seung-moo's apprentice

Extended
• as Assemblyman

• Noh Haeng-ha as Kim Yoo-ri

• :Nurse at Myung-sei Hospital.

•  as Team Leader Park

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• Park Geon-ryool

• Lee Yoon-sang

• Yeo Woon-bok

• Oh Hee-joon as Motel receptionist

• Kang Chan-yang

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• Dong Yoon-seok

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• Min Joon-ho

• Yoo Pil-ran

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• Joo Dong-hee

Special appearances

 * as Kang Yoon – Cheol's father
 * Kim Na-woon as Yoon Mi-ho – Cheol's mother (episode 1)
 * Seo Shin-ae as Kang Soo-yeon – Cheol's sister (episode 1)
 * Choi Min-young as Kang Joon-seok – Cheol's brother (episode 1)
 * Hwang Seok-jeong as Webtoon Writer (episode 6)
 * Ahn Se-ha as Kim Poong-ho – Yeon-joo's blind date (episode 6)
 * as Anchorman (episodes 1, 4)
 * Heo Il-hoo

Production
The series is helmed by director Jung Dae-yoon, who directed She Was Pretty, and writer Song Jae-jung, whose previous works include Nine: Nine Time Travels and Queen and I.

The first script reading of the drama was held in May 2016.

The drama is Han Hyo-joo's small screen comeback after six years.

Other adaptations
A Thai remake of the drama, Switch On was aired on Channel 3 on November 19, 2021. The adaptation changes the setting of the alternate universe from a webtoon to a virtual reality video game.

An American adaptation, titled Angel City was in development at The CW. The project will be produced by CBS Studios with Craig Plestis as executive producer.

A Malaysian remake of the drama, which also titled W: Two Worlds premiered in November 2023 on Viu and aired its final episode in early January 2024.

A Chinese remake of the drama titled "The Next stop W" started streaming in 2023. Available on WeTV, it is a shortened version of the drama set in Guangzhou.