Kidnap Game: Dr Han Ji Joo: The Man at The Centre of The Storm

 

KIDNAP GAME

 

DR HAN KI JOO

 

THE MAN

AT

THE CENTRE

OF

THE STORM

Seven cities. Seven abductions. One email, and a question no one wants to answer: How far will you go to save the person you love? That is the premise of kiDnap GAME, the global thriller, directed by Yusuke Kato, that arrives this October with one of the most ambitious ensembles Asian television has assembled. The thriller is written by Ken Tate and Kaoru Yoshikawa. The production is a collaboration of Japan's Fuji TV, Hong Kong's MakerVille and South Korea's SIMSTORY.     Japan's Kentaro Sakaguchi, Taiwan's Alice Ko, Hong Kong's Stanley Yau, Singapore's Carrie Wong, the Philippines' Joel Torre and Thailand’s Narpornkamon Chaisaeng stand alongside the legendary South Korean actor whose presence gives the series its gravity: Lee Joon Gi.   A  GLOBAL STAR WHO NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION   Lee Joon Gi’s popularity, fame, and reputation, including personal reputation, extends well beyond the screen, with concerts and fan events that have filled venues across East and South-east Asia, and a public profile, from magazine covers to brand projects, that very few Asian actors can match. After his debut he went on to command the screen in The King and The Clown, My Girl, Time Between Dog and Wolf, Iljimae, Gunman in Joseon, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, Criminal Minds Korea, Lawless Lawyer, Flower of Evil, Again My Life and Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun, and also made a Hollywood appearance in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. Across these roles runs a rare gift for playing men divided against themselves, which is exactly what this series asks of him. Lee Joon Gi is the name that travels. His casting carries kiDnap GAME across borders and languages, and it is the clearest signal of the project's global ambition. That reach has been earned over more than two decades of film and television. It began in 2006 with The King and the Clown, the breakout role that made him a star and swept the year's Best New Actor honours at the Baeksang Arts Awards, the Korean Film Awards, the Golden Cinema Film Festival and the Korea Youth Film Festival, along with Best Actor at the Max Movie Awards.   Recognition then followed him abroad, and it has never stopped.  In 2007 he received the Rising Star Award at the Hawaii International Film Festival in the United States and an Overseas Star Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China. Thailand's tourism authority presented him with a special plaque of appreciation in 2009.   Japan's Skapa Awards gave him their Grand Prize in the Korean wave category in 2012.   https://sg.news.yahoo.com/lee-jun-ki-wins-the-grand-award-during-000553045.html   The Seoul International Drama Awards named him Outstanding Korean Actor for Arang and the Magistrate in 2013 and for Gunman in Joseon in 2015.   Taiwan's KKTV Awards made him Actor of the Year for Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo in 2016.   In 2018 he was named Soompi's Actor of the Year for Criminal Minds Korea.   Singapore's StarHub Night of Stars Awards honoured him as 2018 Best Male Asian Star for Lawless Lawyer.   Few Korean actors can claim recognition on this scale, from Seoul to Shanghai, Tokyo to Taipei, Singapore and Thailand  to the United States.        THE GAME   The abductions strike Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok, Manila and Naha at once. As the world's headlines catch fire, a single message reaches each victim's family:   "You have been entered into the kiDnap GAME. How far will you go to save your loved one? Only one person can be saved."   Each participant receives a different mission, and each must finish it before the others. There are ten days on the clock, no eyewitnesses and no trace of where the hostages are held. The seven players are strangers, divided by nationality, background and faith. Why were they chosen? What ties them to the mastermind? As the motive is not really ransom, is it something darker such as trafficking?    THE QUESTIONS WAITING TO BE ANSWERED   SEOUL Lee Joon Gi plays Dr Han Ki Joo, a celebrated Seoul surgeon whose life is built on one principle: save lives.  The promotional material leaves a trail of unsettling clues. Dr Han appears to travel from Seoul to Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo. Was he completing his mission, or hunting the mastermind after a loss too terrible to bear? An undertaker seems to appear before him, and he stoops to pick up a fallen rose, an image that suggests grief. Has his daughter died?   DR HAN KI JOO A FATHER ON THE EDGE His wife, Nam Ah Joon, played by South Korean star, Kim Jae Kyung, is the CEO of a beauty brand.  When Ri An, his visually impaired daughter played by Choi Sol Yu, is abducted, that principle collides with something older and more primal, a father's instinct to protect his child at any cost. It is the kind of role that rewards an actor who can convey desperation with restraint, and few do it as well as Lee. The question the series poses to Dr Han is whether a man who has dedicated his life to healing can hold on to his convictions when everything he loves is at stake.   https://www.instagram.com/jg_k_drama/reel/DdnZdL9yinF/?hl=en  https://www.instagram.com/jg_k_drama/reel/Ddn2Wwuyz-5/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/jg_k_drama/reel/Ddny1jlyUtE/?hl=en     TOKYO   In Tokyo, he seems to cross paths with Niide. They are rivals, each racing to save someone dear. At one point Han appears to level a gun at the detective.  Yet a later scene, by the Han River in Seoul, hints at an uneasy truce. When the stakes are this high, are the seven simply flawed human beings, or something closer to savages?       SINGAPORE     Fans have followed the production closely. Footage from Joo Chiat and along the Singapore River showed Lee and Carrie Wong filming a devastating scene, with Wong kneeling in tears as Lee stood with his back to her, head bowed. Wong plays Janice Lau, and says she shares the most scenes with him.     TAIPEI       https://www.instagram.com/jg_k_drama/reel/DdoI8GiyyT7/?hl=en https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3iJ6YDJc-4   Lee was also spotted filming at Taoyuan International Airport with Sakaguchi. Will he share the screen with Alice Ko? The world will find out soon.       KIDNAP GAME   CHARACTER RELATIONSHIP CHART REVEALED  A LOOK AT THE CHARACTERS' BACKSTORIES AND RELATIONSHIPS SEOUL: Dr Han Ki Joo, a world-renowned surgeon whose daughter is taken.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ9ZVal_Fxo   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWysNzaz6SU TOKYO: Toshiro Niide, an elite detective whose wife is abducted. He is instructed to ferret out the mastermind and he collaborates with Dr Han and works with a junior detective to solve the case.   TAIPEI: Christina Lin, an influencer and model whose husband is missing.   SINGAPORE: Janice Lau, a flight attendant whose fiancé is taken.   MANILA: Miguel Garcia, a taxi driver whose granddaughter is abducted.   BANGKOK: Am Tanawan, a nightclub hostess whose close friend and lover is kidnapped.   NAHA: Higa Kuranosuke, an IT start-up founder whose mother is taken.     WATCH IT https://www.instagram.com/p/DeGJejdE2Fl/?stkn=MWJiMm52dTVlMzJheQ%3D%3D&img_index=8   https://www.instagram.com/tina_tian_jg/reel/DeJlS-nPBn9/ First Episode  6 October 2026 (Tuesday), then weekly (Every Tuesday)     Fuji TV: 9:00 PM JST   Channel A: 10:00 PM KST   Viu: 9:00 PM SGT / MYT / PHT / NST (8:00 PM WIB / ICT)   Disney+: 10:00 PM SGT / MYT / PHT / NST (9:00 PM WIB / ICT)