Kwone Sang-woo, Soo-ae to play in SBS drama presold to Asian countries

Actor Kwone Sang-woo and actress Soo-ae will be teaming up for an upcoming TV series that will likely air during the second half of the year.

Kwone and Soo-ae have both signed on to play the lead characters in SBS' drama tentatively titled "Yawang" (in Romanized Korean) and the pair will begin the shooting in August, production firm Verdi Media told 10Asia in a brief phone interview Tuesday. "Yawang" is adapted from the third instalment of artist Park In-kwon's 21-part comic book "The President" and the second series was adapted into SBS' TV series of the same in 2010, in which Kwone and actress Ko Hyun-jung took the main roles.

"I loved the original piece (done by artist ParK) and did not hesitate at all to make my decision," Kwone was quoted as saying in a statement released by Verdi Media. " I'd like to express my new role differently from the character I played in 'The President'."

With scriptwriter Choi Ran of "Iljimae" (MBC, 2009) behind the screen, the drama will show Soo-ae as an ambitious woman who dreams to escape from her poor background to become the first lady and Kwone as a man who gives unconditional love to her. Thanks to the big name casts and the previous ratings record of the comic's first adaptation surpassing 30 percent park, the company is in talks with a number of distribution firms from Asian countries, including Japan and China, even before other cast members are finalized.

Kwone debuted as an actor in 2011 and rose to stardom in Asia after playing the male lead in 2003 TV series "Stairway to Heaven."

After gaining a huge fandom here and playing in dozens of features, most notably in comedy flick "My Tutor Friend" opposite actress Kim Ha-neul, Kwone got married to actress Son Tae-young, who first made public appearance through a beauty pageant.

Meanwhile, Soo-ae made her debut in 2002 and has produced a slew of TV series and movies during her decade-long career. She recently received more spotlights by starring in SBS' hit series "Thousand Days Promise" last year.

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