Shin Sung Rok has played unforgettable negative roles in Liar Game and You From Another Star and this is the reason I find his newest role in upcoming Kairos quite refreshing where he plays a father whose life is turned upside down when his daughter is kidnapped. The drama is a fantasy thriller which also stars Lee Se Young as a woman whose mother goes missing. The two leads contact each other mysteriously in a way that their timeline is different — she is one month in the past when they connect through a phone. The two then set out to find their loved ones. The two actors have previously worked together in Trot Lovers (2014) as second leads. I adored Lee Se Young in Hwayugi aka A Korean Odyssey and she is sporting a brand new short hairdo here.
The time twisting and kidnapping storyline is giving déjà vu as the 2013 thriller God’s Gift – 14 Days had similar elements. But there it was time travel, whereas here it is parallel timelines, something like Signal. The synopsis sounds intriguing and hopefully it will be satisfying from start to finish unlike many fantasy dramas that leave us frustrated.
Kairos is a Greek word that means the right, critical, or opportune moment (source). The Korean drama also stars Nam Gyu Ri (Heartless City) as a violinist and Shin Sung Rok’s wife, and Itaewon Class fame Ahn Bo Hyun plays his right-hand man at the construction company where the hero is the director. Finally, Kpop group WINNER’s Kang Seung Yoon (Prison Playbook) plays Lee Se Young’s friend.
Kairos premieres next week in the slot of Mondays and Tuesdays.
The Drama Corner 