[PREVIEW] KBS TV series "Fugitive Plan B"

From left, upcoming KBS TV series "Fugitive Plan B" main cast Rain, Lee Na-young and Daniel Henney pose during a photocall of a press conference for the drama held at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, South Korea on September 27, 2010. [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

Gee-woo (played by Jung Ji-hoon), an international investigator who has his smirking eyes hidden behind sunglasses, receives a request by Jini (played by Lee Na-young) one day to seek out Melchidec, a questionable character. Mutual trust is most important in an investigator-client relationship but for a certain reason, the two end up not trusting each other. And as soon as he accepts her request, Gee-woo, accused of killing his own colleague, starts being chased by detective Do-soo (played by Lee Jung-jin).

KBS TV series "Fugitive Plan B" is a drama which is impossible to get a clear idea of. There is no answer to questions; why Jini requested a case to Gee-woo, why she needs Melchidec to be found, why Do-soo so persistently chases after Gee-woo. Like actor Gong Hyung-jin said, "Fugitive" is "a drama with many secrets, with every character having a story hidden within them." But its spectacular size and attractions seen in the drama, such as the action sequences shot for three months throughout Asia including Japan, Beijing, Shanghai, Macao and the Philippines, and the two-shot of Gee-woo and Do-soo, are enough to make the viewer forget such questions.

Scenes from "Fugitive Plan B" [KBS]

"Fugitive" has been receiving heated interest since its planning stages due to the collaboration of director Gwak Jeong-hwan and writer Chun Sung-il who are responsible for creating KBS drama "The Slave Hunters," considered the masterpiece of the first half of 2010, and its cast composed of heavyweights including Jung Ji-hoon, Lee Na-young, Daniel Henney and Lee Jung-jin. "Fugitive," which based on action integrates various genres including romance, as seen through the love triangle amongst Jung Ji-hoon, Lee Na-young and Daniel Henney, and the mystery surrounding a gold bar discovered for the first time in 60 years, is like director Gwak says, "A very different genre from 'The Slave Hunters' and a drama with a different atmosphere." But apart from the fact that the show is set in a different time period, the fate of the main characters who chase and are chased, are no different from "The Slave Hunters." Regarding this, Gwak explained he "focused on action to show a new form of fun which is usually not seen in dramas." Hence, with Jung Ji-hoon who said the action sequences "were not too tough to handle" because he had trained in the United States for a year for film "Ninja Assassin" and Lee Na-young whom Gwak praised as "the first Korean actress to pull off such action sequences without a double," is expected to make the splendid action stand out furthermore.

More than anything, "Fugitive" will be starting ahead of the race for the sheer fact that it has been handed the baton from "Bread, Love and Dreams" which ended its run with viewership ratings of over 50 percent. On top of this, if it succeeds with its strategy of slowly revealing each character's secret while showing plenty of action scenes, director Gwak's hope of "Fugitive" becoming "more fun than SBS 'Athena,' dubbed the second season of 'IRIS," may become reality. Even with the story and imagery set aside, the fact that Jung Ji-hoon, Daniel Henney and Lee Jung-jin will be in one scene seems a good enough reason to watch the first episode. The show premieres on KBS2-TV on Wednesday at 9:55 P.M.

Reporter : Lee Ga-on
Photographer : Lee Jin-hyuk eleven@
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@