Lee Jun-ho to star as a dragon in fantasy romance 'Foreign Embassies in Korea'

Actors Lee Jun-ho and Hong Hwa-yeon will team up for the new tvN drama 'Foreign Embassies in Korea.' Set in an original world where humans and non-human beings coexist, the series combines romantic comedy with the fantasy genre. Lee will undergo a new acting transformation, playing a 'dragon'—a non-human entity—for the first time since his debut.

The new drama 'Foreign Embassies in Korea' (written by Shin Ha-eun, directed by Bae Hyeon-jin, planned and produced by Studio Dragon) is a fantasy romantic comedy set in the 'Foreign Embassies in Korea,' a secret diplomatic agency that manages 'foreign nationals' residing in the Republic of Korea. The story follows a human rookie diplomat who, due to an accidental mistake, is assigned to this agency and becomes fatefully entangled with a dragon ambassador who has been living while hiding his true identity. The project has confirmed its tvN programming and has entered full-scale production.

The 'Foreign Embassies in Korea' in the drama is a space with a concept entirely different from real-world diplomatic missions. As the name suggests, it is set as a secret agency that manages beings who have crossed over from 'I-guk' (a different nation), a world using the character 'I' (異) meaning 'different,' so they can live within human society without conflict.

The original worldview, where imaginary beings from East Asian legends and folklore—such as Haetae, mermaids, Gumiho, and dragons—coexist with humans in modern society, is garnering anticipation as a work that demonstrates the expansion potential of the Korean fantasy genre. It is evaluated to align with the recent trend where K-content secures competitiveness in the global market by modernizing traditional legends and folk imagination.

At the center of the drama is Cha Yeon, played by Lee Jun-ho.

Cha Yeon is the ambassador leading the Foreign Embassies in Korea and is a being whose true identity is a dragon. As a water deity who controls water, he is a multi-dimensional character who is usually as calm and inclusive as water, but reveals intense power like a massive wave when necessary.

Having lived alone for over a thousand years while staying in the human world, he is a being who has endured solitude through the repetitive daily life of long years. Then one day, a human diplomat who has not even lived a hundred years crash-lands into his life, causing his firmly closed emotions and destiny to begin to shake.

This work is also a special challenge for Lee.

He has proven his wide acting spectrum by moving between historical dramas, modern dramas, romantic comedies, youth dramas, and action genres. Having earned the title 'Master of Romance' through his delicate emotional acting and stable character portrayal, he will expand his acting territory once again by playing a transcendental non-human being for the first time in this work.

In particular, attention is focused on how he will express the restrained emotions of a mysterious being and the depth of an entity that has lived for thousands of years.

Hong Hwa-yeon takes on the role of Go Mi-woo, a human rookie diplomat who becomes fatefully entangled with Cha Yeon.

Go Mi-woo is a character with a unique background as a former Asian Games archery gold medalist. Recognized for her outstanding concentration and courage, she became a diplomat, but due to an unexpected personnel assignment, she ends up working at the Foreign Embassies in Korea, where humans are, in principle, prohibited from entering.

The core narrative of the work will depict the confusion and growth experienced by the realist Go Mi-woo as she encounters beings that cannot be explained by common sense, as well as the changing relationship with Cha Yeon.

The romance created by the meeting of these two extremely different beings—a rookie diplomat and a dragon who has lived for a thousand years—is expected to add the unique sensibility and lyricism of the fantasy genre based on the philosophical contrast between human and non-human, and the finite and the eternal.

Recently, in the domestic drama market, works that modernly reinterpret Korean traditional legends and fantasy have been steadily produced. As the method of combining folk imagination—such as Gumiho, Grim Reapers, Dokkaebi, and ghosts—with modern cities receives high responses from global viewers, the K-fantasy genre is establishing itself as a competitive content genre.

'Foreign Embassies in Korea' also attempts to differentiate itself from existing fantasy romances with its original setting that grafts Korean folklore onto the realistic subject of diplomacy. The idea of managing transcendental beings living hidden within human society through a diplomatic system is being evaluated as having both genre freshness and worldview scalability.

Furthermore, with the meeting of Lee Jun-ho, who has led hits with solid romance acting, and the next-generation star Hong Hwa-yeon, anticipation for the project is reaching new heights. Attention is focused on what kind of fresh entertainment 'Foreign Embassies in Korea,' which combines a new fantasy world with emotional romance, will provide to viewers.