Black Knight is the upcoming Korean streaming Drama. Kim Woo-Bin returns as the MC in a K-Drama after almost half a decade with this one. This promises to be a fantastic sci-fi edition of the Hallyu industry.
What Is Known Of Black Knight
Black Knight is a dystopian sci-fi drama to be released on Netflix on May 12 2023. It is one of the various streaming K-Dramas that are on the rise nowadays. This is a Netflix original series.
The sci-fi flick is based on a webcomic named Taekbaegisa translated as Delivery Knight in English. The post-Armageddon plot is written by Lee Yung-Yun and the Manhwa is illustrated by the same person. Taekbaegisa is a very popular Korean webtoon.
Black Knight’s screenplay was written by Cho Ui-Seok. The direction of the drama is done by him as well. The music of the series is composed by Choi Dong-Hoon, better known by his stage name Primary. Primary is a renowned hip-hop musician and record producer who has his own record label known as the PAKTORY.
The actors cast for Black Knight are clearly high profile. With just the name Kim Woo-Bin, it will garner numerous viewers from around the globe. Then there is Esom. She is a popular actress and model with a huge fan following. The legendary Song Seung-Heon is also part of this ensemble cast.
Synopsys Of Black Knight
The story is set in the year 2071, far away in the future. It is a horrifying time after the population of the world became almost extinct because of horrendous calamities caused by pollution and overpopulation. It is a dystopian future where survival can never be guaranteed through usual and by-the-book means.
In the year 2071, most of the Korean Peninsula has turned wastelands. Only 1% of the original population managed to survive the calamity. It is impossible to breathe in densely polluted air without respirators. Ordinary people are unable to go outside their homes.
In this life and death crisis of survival, one courageous group is the hope of mankind. They are known and revered as the ‘Delivery Knights’. Delivery Knights deliver packages to the citizens that are needed for day to day survival.
Among these Knights, there is one legendary person who goes by the identity of ‘Knight 5-8’. He is also a master of physical combat. He happens to meet a refugee named Sa-Wol who was saved by the beautiful Seol-A. Seol-A is an officer of the Defense Intelligence Command who takes care of Sa-Wol like her family. The lives of these three individuals are intertwined as they interact constantly. Knight 5-8 eventually helps Sa-Wol become a Knight.
This is the plot in general and these are the information we have as of now. The setting is very interesting and the story feels quite engaging. Along with the amazing cast and crew, this is a drama that seems to be destined for glory.
The Webtoon Taekbaegisa
The webtoon illustrated by Lee Yung-Yun has a devoted fan following as the story is catchy and engaging. There are two separate colorists for the Manhwa. The reason for completely two completely different individuals for the coloring job is kind of a mystery. There may have been issues that we are unaware of and so let’s not get too curious about it. The first part of the series was colored by Kim Min-Jung. The second part was done by Hong Jae-Joon.
In the opening chapter, we see a Delivery Knight delivering packages to Seol-A. After completing the task, he comes out and meets the overly zealous Sa-Wol. Sa-Wol tells the Knight that he also wants to become a Delivery Knight. Black Knight 5-8 is amused by the kids’ conviction and starts telling him how much of a chore the job is. As he was bashing his own profession a group of hooligans show up to rob the packages.
Knight 5-8 fights the brigands with utmost precision and martial expertise. Young Sa-Wol hides in a corner watching the Knight beat off the villains with awe. “I wanna be like that someday”, he marvels to himself. After beating the criminals convincingly Black Knight calls the police. The leader of the gang pleads to the authorities for his life. However, the officer in charge shoots him in the head while saying, “The reason you are dying is not because of your crimes, but simply because, you are a refugee!”. Quite the dark opening if you ask me.
Character Analysis
Everything we know about the characters is based on the depictions in the webtoon. The actors that are cast for the roles are amazing at their work and we can expect some fantastic portrayals. However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves as we have seen great actors butchering characters from fiction with their shallow performances.
Black Knight also known as Delivery Knight 5-8, is a charming and capable hero. His demeanor is serious and imposing, his interactions are sarcastic and condescending, and his ability to get the job done is awe inspiring yet scary at times. It will be interesting to see how Kim Woo-Bin portrays this character as he has played similar ones before albeit not in a similar setting.
The character of Seol-A is upright, independent, just, courageous, and caring. Well, a typical K-Drama heroine in a nutshell. In the Manhwa there is no uniqueness to this character. Let’s see if it is any different in the TV adaptation and how Esom portrays it.
Ryu-Seok is the antagonist as he keeps the inhabitants of the dystopian Korean Peninsula somewhat hostage. You may ask how! Well, he is a business tycoon and his company holds all the usable oxygen reserves in the fatally polluted post-armageddon times. Song Seung-Hyun is known for his romantic heartthrob roles and I have not seen him be an antagonist so far. So, I’m extremely curious to see how he plays this narcissistic villain.
What To Expect
Even I don’t know what exactly to expect from the upcoming Netflix original. It is all up in the air as of now. Honestly, I don’t even want to make any predictions either as we of Deshi Geek only are used to working with facts.
Even then, with such a popular webtoon being adapted into live-action and organizing such an ensemble cast does beg for our attention. Let’s hope it will be an entertaining watch for all of us who are K-Drama fans!
