4 things about the Korean mystery thriller Jirisan

Jirisan stars Gianna Jun as Seo Yi-kang, and Ju Ji-hoon as Kang Hyun-jo. (Photo: tvN)
Jirisan stars Gianna Jun as Seo Yi-kang, and Ju Ji-hoon as Kang Hyun-jo. (Photo: tvN)

Recently, there are a number of disaster-themed shows, including the J-drama Japan Sinks: People Of Hope, and the Chinese film Cloudy Mountain. Jirisan is the latest addition, shedding light on difficulties faced by the park rangers, who are responsible for search and rescue on Mount Jiri.

Here are four things to know about the iQiyi Original K-series Jirisan, which premiered on the platform on Saturday (23 October).

1. It is named after an actual mountain, and filmed at Jirisan National Park.

Jirisan is named after the mountain of the same name, located in the southern region of South Korea. Standing at 1915 metres tall, the tallest mountain in mainland South Korea — the second-tallest mountain in South Korea after Jeju Island’s Hallasan — sits in the Jirisan National Park, where the drama series is filmed at. As such, K-drama Jirisan guarantees spectacular views of the landscape. Its realistic scenes also help to immerse the audience into the perils and vastness of the mountain.

2. It features some of the cast and production team of Kingdom, and some familiar faces from other popular K-dramas.

Jirisan stars Jun Ji-hyun, also known as Gianna Jun, as a seemingly cold and harsh experienced ranger Seo Yi-kang, and Ju Ji-hoon as a rookie ranger Kang Hyun-jo, who sees visions of lost trekkers on Mount Jiri. Coincidentally, both of them acted in the well-known political horror series Kingdom previously: Ju Ji-hoon as Lee Chang, and Gianna Jun as Ashin.

In addition, Jirisan sees some other familiar faces among its cast members, such as Sung Dong-il, who acted in Park Shin-hye’s Sisyphus: The Myth, and Jo Han-cheol, who was in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. In Jirisan, Sung plays the role of the rangers’ head, similar to the one he had in Sisyphus: The Myth, while Jo plays a supporting role of a ranger team leader, which sees a more serious side to him than in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha.

Jirisan is also produced by AStory, and written by Kim Eun-hee; both of whom participated in Kingdom as well. Kim imbues the series with interesting and mysterious concepts, including a unique sign for lost trekkers, which may keep the audience coming back for more.

3. It is directed by Lee Eung-bok, who has multiple notable works under his belt.

Apart from the established cast and production team, Jirisan is further backed by prominent director Lee Eung-bok. Lee has previously worked on the apocalyptic horror series Sweet Home, fantasy series Guardian: The Lonely And Great God, and action romance series Descendants Of The Sun. With all these experiences and achievements, Lee adds not just nerve-wracking scenes in Jirisan, but also mystery and suspense to engage the audience.

4. It focuses on the life-saving golden period of 30 hours.

As Jirisan follows the search and rescue missions of the park rangers, the first episode of the 16-episode series starts off with a focus on the life-saving golden period of 30 hours. The general guide in such rescue operations is that the chances of surviving are greatly reduced after the golden period. Zooming in on this crucial period, Jirisan sets out an exciting storyline amidst the unforgiving weather and disasters on the mountain.

New episodes of Jirisan are available on iQiyi International app or iQ.com every Saturday and Sunday, 8pm (SGT). Jirisan is also available on tvN (Singtel TV CH 518, StarHub TV CH 824) from 24 October, every Sunday and Monday 9.15pm (SGT).