Will ‘My Name’ become the next ‘Squid Game’?

“Once you start (the first episode), you won’t be able to stop until you finish it all,” said Kim Jin-min, the director of the Netflix original series “My Name,” at an online production presentation live-streamed on YouTube on Tuesday. His remarks drew attention since it came from someone, who topped Netflix’s domestic streaming rankings with “Extracurricular.”

Eyes are on “My Name,” which will be released simultaneously in 190 countries on Oct. 15, since it is another Korean series Netflix is releasing after its mega hit “Squid Game, which was released simultaneously in 190 countries on Sept. 17.

There are expectations that “My Name” will become the next “Squid Game.” This is because the series is directed by Kim, who has been recognized for both quality and popularity of his previous work by dealing with the story of a teenager getting into the criminal underworld, such as a prostitution ring. Crime-thriller “My Name” starring Han So-hee, Park Hee-soon and Ahn Bo-hyun is a story about Ji-woo (played by Han So-hee) becoming a member of the organized crime ring “Dong-cheon,” where her father was also a member, to avenge the murder of her father. After learning from Moo-jin, her father’s friend and the boss of Dong-cheon, that it was a cop who killed her father, she goes undercover in the police department as a mole.

For wild action scenes, the cast trained at an action school two to three months before filming. Most of the action scenes in the eight-episode series were performed by the actors without the help of wires or computer graphics. As if reflecting the expectations for the series, the stock price of Studio Santa Claus, the producer of “My Name,” surged 13.85 percent to close at 3,700 won.

Director Kim appeared confident, saying, “Once you start (the first episode), you won’t be able to stop until you finish it all.” On the other hand, the cast looked nervous. Han So-hee said she is a bit nervous and feels pressure and Park Hee-soon said he is both excited and nervous at the same time. “My Name” is also attracting attention since it is the next work of director Kim, who directed the Netflix original series “Extracurricular.”


Hyo-Ju Son hjson@donga.com