Made in Korea 2 Cast on How Nine Years Changed Their Characters

The three lead actors of the Korean drama “Made in Korea 2” opened up about their returning roles during an interview with ELLE Korea, sharing insights into how their characters have progressed in the forthcoming second season. The pictorial and conversation appear in ELLE Korea’s September issue.

What Came Before

The first season of “Made in Korea” presented a pair of opposing forces locked in a high-stakes confrontation during the 1970s, a pivotal decade in South Korean history. Hyun Bin’s character, Baek Ki Tae, embodied naked ambition, a man willing to pursue wealth and dominance at any cost. Against him stood Jung Woo Sung’s prosecutor Jang Geon Young, a figure who sacrificed his own future in an effort to halt Baek Ki Tae’s ascent.

That foundational conflict established the dramatic premise: two men on collision course, each representing a different response to the same systemic pressures and opportunities of their era.

Where Season 2 Picks Up

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Nine years separate the end of the first season from the beginning of the second. In that intervening span, the central characters’ circumstances have shifted dramatically. Baek Ki Tae now stands at the apex of his power, having consolidated influence and resources. Jang Geon Young, meanwhile, has spent those nine years building toward a counterattack, gathering ammunition and allies for what he sees as his reckoning.

The dynamic expands in Season 2 with the introduction of Baek Ki Hyun, played by Woo Do Hwan. This is Baek Ki Tae’s brother, and he is charting his own course toward authority—one that diverges from his older sibling’s methods. The collision of these three ambitions, each distinct yet all powerful, creates situations that spiral beyond anyone’s control and generate ruptures that cannot be mended.

Baek Ki Tae: From Climber to Tyrant

Hyun Bin returns to the role that defined much of his screen work over the past years. “This is the first time I’ve held onto a character for this long,” he remarked to ELLE Korea. “My feelings toward Baek Ki Tae are a little more special.”

The extended relationship with the role has allowed Hyun Bin to construct a fully realized vision of how Baek Ki Tae has changed. The version audiences encounter in Season 2 is not simply the same ambitious man, grown older. Rather, he has undergone a fundamental shift in temperament and conduct.

Boldness as Default

“He has become bolder,” Hyun Bin stated. “The more power he gains, the bolder his way of dealing with things naturally becomes.”

This increased boldness manifests not only in dialogue and decision-making but in the physical vocabulary the character employs. “Everything has changed, from the way he speaks to people, the way he walks and the way he behaves, to details such as how his tie and shirt collar are styled,” Hyun Bin elaborated.

The actor’s attention to these granular shifts reveals an approach to character work that treats costume and movement as texts to be read. A tie worn differently signals not just a style choice but a psychological state—the loosening or tightening reflecting inner certitude or disorder.

Jang Geon Young: The Cost of Patience

Jung Woo Sung’s prosecutor has endured an arduous nine years of waiting and preparation. That suffering has left its mark. “Geon Young, who endured hardships for nine years, has become tougher and more aggressive,” Jung Woo Sung reflected.

But hardness alone does not define the character’s evolution. In Season 2, a philosophical dimension emerges that complicates both Jang Geon Young’s struggle and Baek Ki Tae’s triumph.

The Illusion of Victory

“What has become clearer in Season 2, however, is that both Jang Geon Young and Baek Ki Tae are ultimately like small bubbles swept up by the tides of their era,” Jung Woo Sung observed. This metaphor—of men as insignificant particles caught in historical currents—reframes the entire conflict.

The drama itself grapples with this tension. “‘Made in Korea’ is a story that portrays various kinds of people struggling within an organization. It poses the larger question, ‘Just because you achieved the values you pursued, does that make them truly legitimate values?’” Jung Woo Sung said, articulating what he sees as the show’s fundamental inquiry.

The question goes beyond plot machinations. It asks whether the personal victories that drive individuals through their lives carry meaning, or whether historical forces and systemic constraints render such triumphs hollow.

Baek Ki Hyun: A Third Path

Woo Do Hwan joins the ensemble as Baek Ki Hyun, a figure who has navigated the nine-year interval differently than his older brother or Jang Geon Young. Maturation has accompanied professional advancement for Ki Hyun. “Ki Hyun has been promoted during that time and has become more mature. There is more for him to take responsibility for, and he probably came to believe that he needed to build up his own power to protect his family,” Woo Do Hwan explained.

The motivation animating Ki Hyun’s choices differs from his brother’s self-interested accumulation. Where Baek Ki Tae pursued power for its own sake, Ki Hyun has come to see authority as instrumental—a means to shield those he cares for. This distinction in motivation creates the “different path to power” that Season 2’s premise identifies.

Learning from Mastery

Woo Do Hwan approached his work alongside two established actors with humility and intensity. “I closely observed how the two senior actors approach their acting and their lives. I was always open to the director’s direction, and I prepared more than anyone,” he said.

His long-term aspirations reflect this seriousness. “I also aspire to be an actor who can continue to work on projects this good even 10 or 20 years from now,” Woo Do Hwan expressed, suggesting that meaningful work—not merely fame or financial success—constitutes professional fulfillment.

Episode Schedule and Structure

The second season comprises six episodes in total. “Made in Korea 2” will premiere on September 9 with episodes 1 and 2 released simultaneously. Two episodes will then air each Wednesday, providing viewers a consistent rhythm for following the unfolding drama.