The casting for tvN’s upcoming sports drama, Mental Coach Je Gal-gil (literal title) is finally confirmed. On March 18, the South Korean broadcasting network announced the final lead cast comprising Lee Yoo-mi, Jung Woo, Kwon Yool, and Park Se-young.
The lead cast brings a knowledge of multiple diverse projects they’ve been a part of. Lee Yoo-mi was a part of two international hit shows on Netflix—Squid Game and All of Us Are Dead. Jung Woo showed a whole new avatar of him in the popular and rather unique show Mad for Each Other.
Meanwhile, Kwon Yool was seen in Dali and the Cocky Prince and Park Se-young in School 2013.
Sports drama Mental Coach Je Gal-gil revolves around a Taekwondo prodigy who is expelled from playing sports after an accident. He returns as a mental coach for former and current athletes, helping them get better.
Jung Woo plays Je Gal-gil, the national athlete whose charms spread far and wide. Known for his relentless hard work, he causes an accident, making society label him as the unlucky Taekwondo prodigy.
Though he quits sports, his mental health takes a toll. Once he recovers, he comes back to where he was expelled from and becomes a mental coach for professional athletes.
Gu Tae-man, the director of the Human Rights Center in the Korean Olympic Committee, is a force to be reckoned with, too. The power-hungry director is a self-centered, stubborn man who can go to any limit as long as he stays on the top.
Tae-man is also a former Taekwondo gold medalist, and it was his decision that influenced many to ruin Je Gal-gil’s life.
Park Seung-ha is Je Gal-gil’s former mental health coach. As Gal-gil was her first-ever patient with trauma, Seung-ha had to go through an “unexpected hardship.” Fate brings Seung-ha together with the former athlete, but they’re both partners and advisors this time.
Lee Yoo-mi’s character, Cha Ga-eul, falls into a difficult slump for unknown reasons. Nicknamed the ‘Ice Princess’ for her cold attitude and poker face, she’s a former short-track speed skating gold medalist.
She’s stuck in a cycle of beating herself up for not being able to be productive, fearing that her life would disappear into nothing if she doesn’t play, and the degrading mental health slump that makes it hard for her to play.
Mental Coach Je Gal-gil will be directed by Son Jung-hyun and written by Kim Dan-bi. There has been no word on the show’s production, but the team plans to premiere it sometime in the second half of 2022.
It seems like the new tvN series is also venturing into the mental health space—a growing concept seen in recent K-dramas.
About Mental Coach Je Gal-gil
Mental Coach Je Gal-gil is an upcoming South Korean sports drama starring Lee yoo-mi (Squid Game, All of Us are Dead), Jung Woo (Mad for Each Other), Kwon Yool (Dali and the Cocky Prince) and Park Se-young (School 2013).
The tvN series has roped in Son Jung-hyun as a director and 2019 MBC award-winning screenwriter Kim Dan-bi.
The series revolves around a national Taekwondo athlete who becomes a mental health coach for professionals athletes after going through some harrowing times. He is made to quit his sports after an unfortunate incident and experiencing the extreme trauma, he aims to help other stuck athletes get getter with his help.
News Source: Naver (Newsen)
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