Canneseries: Korean Series ‘Pleasant Outcast’ Is Companion to ‘Concrete Utopia’ Hit Film
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“Pleasant Outcast,” a 10-part Korean series that is set to appear at Canneseries next month, is a companion piece to “Concrete Utopia,” the hit film from last year that was selected as South Korea’s Oscar contender.
Both the Lotte Cultureworks series and “Concrete Utopia,” a dystopian drama-thriller set in a post-apocalyptic Seoul, are adapted from best-selling webtoon “Cheerful Outcast,” by Kim Soong Nyung. The film was frequently compared to William Golding’s seminal novel from the 1954 “Lord of the Flies” and its 1964 film adaptation.
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Using the first part of the webtoon, the series follows Dong-hyun, a high school junior, who barely survives his day-to-day bullying at school. “When he wishes all were dead, an unexplained powerful earthquake destroys his school. Trapped in isolated circumstances, the hierarchy and power reshuffle as students struggle to survive, while continuous collapses and accidents kill more students. In this collapsed and extreme world, the true human nature starts to awake,” said Lotte in a supplied synopsis.
Produced by Climax Studio, which previously made hit shows “D.P.” and “Jung-E” for Netflix, the show is directed by Min Yong-keun (“Soulmate”) and Yang Soo-hee from a screenplay by CAA-represented Kim Bo-tong (“D.P.”).
Its cast is headed by Won Ji-an “D.P.” and the upcoming “Squid Game” Season 2; Sung Yu-bin (“Mr. Sunshine”); and Cho Hyun-chul (“D.P.,” Inspector Koo”).
Climax Studio also produced “Badland Hunters,” that was presented as a Netflix original and aired in January this year. It was also carved out of the same IP and has been widely described as sequel to “Concrete Utopia” though Lotte refutes the description. Directed by Heo Myung-haeng, “Badland Hunters” starred Korea’s biggest action star Don Lee (“The Roundup”).
“We are excited to participate again in Canneseries with ‘Pleasant Outcast,’ which was based on the same webtoon as our Korean Oscar nominee ‘Concrete Utopia,’ which ranked among the top ten box office films in Korea last year,” said Choi Byung-hwan, CEO of Lotte Cultureworks.
“It is an honor to bring such unique and thought-provoking content like ‘Pleasant Outcast’ to the global stage and [we] look forward to expanding the exposure of Korean content through quality events like Canneseries,” said Hugh Cha, head of global partnerships at Lotte.
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