'Heroes' Who Withdrew During the Pandemic Are Emerging Again

'Hero' on Screen and Stage Simultaneously... OTT's 'Yakhan Yeongung' Too
"Dormant Content Floods Out, Causing Overlapping Keywords"

(From left) Lim Young-woong, Jung Sung-hwa, Yoon Je-kyun, Park Ji-hoon. Photo by Mulgochi Music, CJ ENM, Wavve

Content featuring heroes in their titles and names is gaining popularity one after another. It is truly the era of 'heroes.'

The movie Hero, depicting the last year of independence activist Ahn Jung-geun, and the popular musical of the same name, first performed in 2009, both opened on the 21st. The original drama Weak Hero produced by the Korean OTT service Wavve was released last month and quickly rose to fame as a sensation, while singer Lim Young-woong demonstrated his strong influence by selling out the large-scale Gocheok Dome concert.

From movies and dramas to famous singers, 'heroes' are all receiving high attention. As movies and content, which had been dormant due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have recently flooded the market, there has been an overlap of works with similar keywords.

'Hero' Reborn on the Big Screen

The movie Hero, directed by Yoon Je-kyun, known for the 'double ten million' hit Ode to My Father (2014), was released on the 21st after an 8-year hiatus. It portrays the last year of Ahn Jung-geun, who assassinated Ito Hirobumi in Harbin in October 1909, was sentenced to death by a Japanese court, and died as a martyr. The film vividly depicts the noble spirit and unwavering conviction of Ahn Jung-geun, a symbol of the independence movement known to all, who was not afraid of death to uphold his beliefs. This resolute life leaves a strong impression and deep comfort in the hearts of audiences living in this era.

Movie still from 'Hero'. Photo by CJ ENM

Musical Hero Returns to the Stage

Hero is meeting audiences simultaneously on screen and stage. The musical Hero opened on the 21st at the LG Arts Center in Seoul. Created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Ahn Jung-geun's assassination, the production originally premiered on October 26, 2009. The revived Hero offers a different charm from the movie enjoyed in theaters. Powerful numbers like 'Who is the Guilty?' and 'Song of a Man' are performed more grandly and vividly.

Movie still from 'Hero'. Photo by CJ ENM

Not Weak: Weak Hero

The native OTT service Wavve smiled brightly at the popularity of its original drama Weak Hero Class 1 (hereafter Weak Hero), released on the 18th of last month.

Weak Hero is a strong action growth drama about a seemingly weak boy. It follows top 1% exemplary student Yeon Si-eun (Park Ji-hoon) as he faces numerous acts of violence alongside his first friends Suho (Choi Hyun-wook) and Beom-seok (Hong Kyung). This school drama, which portrays teenage stories in a stimulating yet emotional way, gained popularity. The realistic depiction of adolescence, a time everyone has experienced at least once, resonated deeply. Particularly, the underlying critique of an unjust society and the coming-of-age struggles of three friends through friendship and tragedy drew fresh and intriguing responses.

Lim Young-woong: From Gocheok Dome to Hollywood

Lim Young-woong (31) continues his challenges. His nationwide tour concert, held 21 times across 7 cities from May to August, sold out all 170,000 seats. Even the Seoul Gocheok Dome concert, where it is said that even top idol groups struggle to fill all seats, was sold out amid intense 'picketing' (a portmanteau of 'piecing' and 'ticketing'). On the 14th of next month, the concert's live VOD capturing the excitement will be available on the OTT service TVING, and a theatrical version of the concert will be released at CGV theaters in March next year.

On February 11 and 12 next year, he will hold the Lim Young-woong concert I'm Hero in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, USA, meeting local fans. The Dolby Theatre is famous as the representative Hollywood venue where the Academy Awards (Oscars) are held annually. In 2020, director Bong Joon-ho and lead actor Song Kang-ho of Parasite, which won four Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, celebrated their awards on this stage. Last year, Youn Yuh-jung won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Minari at the same venue.

Singer Lim Young Woong. Photo by Mulgogi Music

Why the Craze for 'Heroes'?

Why are contents with the keyword 'hero' suddenly flooding the market? Industry insiders point to the COVID-19 pandemic as a major background.

An official from a production company said, "The keyword that has defined this year is undoubtedly 'hero.' It is an interesting phenomenon that movies, musicals, dramas, novels, and other popular culture contents share this keyword in their titles coincidentally." He added, "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, content had been dormant, but as the situation improved this year, a large number of works were released. The fact that many works share the same title indicates this trend."

The official also said, "Healing content that comforts audiences and viewers who have gone through difficult times recently is gaining popularity. Contents with 'hero' in their titles commonly reflect the times and feature heroes who give us strength. This is also related to the overall trend of content appealing to the public culture sector."