The Story Behind the Romantic Spy Drama 'TEMPEST' Starring Jun Ji Hyun and Kang Dong Won

Kapanlagi.com - In anticipation of the premiere of the highly anticipated Original Korean series, TEMPEST, on September 10, Disney+ Hotstar held a Creators Conversation event on August 20 at CGV Yongsan, Seoul. The event featured the main creative team, including writer Chung Seokyung, directors Kim Heewon and Heo Myeonghaeng, production designer Kim Byunghan, VFX supervisor Hong Jungho, and Carol Choi, Executive Vice President of Original Content Strategy, The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific.

Carol Choi opened the event with a speech highlighting the positive momentum of Disney+ Hotstar in the Asia Pacific region. "Our latest original content has successfully ranked at the top in Korea and various countries in the Asia Pacific, and we have high hopes that TEMPEST will continue this positive momentum. I am very excited about TEMPEST for several reasons. This series presents a thrilling storyline, combined with a lineup of world-class international actors and the best production team, all delivering exceptional storytelling quality. TEMPEST is a cross-genre series that combines elements of espionage, romance, and action. Like our other global offerings, this story has its own uniqueness, yet ultimately touches on universal themes of power and ambition, truth and trust."

1. A Global Scale Cross-Genre Story about Power, Trust, and Romance

Chung Seokyung (credit: Disney+ Hotstar)

This drama follows the story of Seo Munju (Jun Ji Hyun), a skilled former diplomat who seeks to uncover the truth behind an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate. Protected by Paik Sanho (Kang Dongwon), a mercenary with a dark past, Munju gets embroiled in an international conspiracy involving the White House.

Writer Chung Seokyung shares her insights on the story development process, "I wanted to write a story that is universal enough so that anyone can feel as if it is their own story. It all started when Director Kim Heewon said he wanted to portray a romance led by a strong female character. From there, one question sparked another, and this story slowly took shape."

2. Realism as the Foundation of Drama

Director Kim Heewon emphasizes the importance of authenticity, "This drama follows a cyclical structure where actions continue to evolve within the storyline, and new developments arise organically from those actions. Throughout the creative process, we always focused on how to maintain the realism of the story. We want the audience to feel that this is a story that could happen in real life."

Regarding the various action scenes performed by Sanho, Director Heo Myeonghaeng added, "What is most important for us is achieving a balance between realism and style. Sanho's action scenes are based on techniques he developed to survive various missions. We strive to capture the movements of someone who has mastered everything, which we hope can enhance the excitement for a romantic spy drama full of action that not only presents spectacular visuals but also narrative depth."

3. Epic Production in 13 Countries

The production team also expressed full confidence in the execution of this series. With production design by Kim Byunghan and visual effects led by Hong Jungho, TEMPEST is expected to enhance a stronger emotional impact while expanding the narrative scale, as well as opening new possibilities for Korean dramas.

With 200 filming locations spread across 13 countries, production designer Kim Byunghan described TEMPEST as the most ambitious design project of his career. The team successfully blended realism with cinematic beauty to enhance emotional depth and global scale.

4. One of the Most Anticipated Korean Original Series on Disney+ Hotstar in 2025

With a lineup of renowned international players, the best creative team, and an unexpected storyline on a grand scale, TEMPEST is recognized as one of the most anticipated global projects of 2025. This series will premiere on Disney+ Hotstar with three episodes on Wednesday, September 10, followed by two episodes each week until the airing of the last two episodes on October 1.

Who can't wait to see the chemistry between Jun Ji Hyun and Kang Dong Won in TEMPEST?

(kpl/pit)