Made in Korea (Korean Drama): Plot Highlights, Cast & Character Relations, Disney+ Release Schedule, Review

Made In Korea | Official Trailer | Hulu

1. What does "Made in Korea" mean?

The title, "Made in Korea" (메이드인코리아), is actually a deliberate double entendre.

The first layer is the literal "country of origin mark," but with a dark irony: When introducing this drama, some Korean media mentioned that director Woo Min-ho's previous film "Drug King" (2018) featured "Made in Korea" as a "brand/mark" for drugs, used to package and export Korean-made drug products (especially to the Japanese market); the same report also pointed out that the term "Made in Korea" is believed to have originated from the concept of country of origin labels/stamps used on exported drugs in the past.

So you'll find that when the plot itself is set in the 1970s and involves intelligence agencies, smuggling, and drug networks, using "Made in Korea" as a title is tantamount to directly pasting "These dirty products are also 'made' by us" onto the cover.

The second layer is a larger metaphor: not only are "drugs made in South Korea," but also "monstrous power, greedy ambition, and people manufactured by the system" are made in South Korea. The official/media release of the work often uses a very harsh phrase to describe the male protagonist: treating the "country as a profit model," climbing all the way to the top of power in that chaotic yet rapidly developing era.

Using the most common and "positive" export label (Made in Korea) as the title of the drama creates a strong contrast: on the surface, it's a national brand and an economic miracle; on the other hand, it's about black gold, smuggling, and political shadows—this contrast itself is the kind of subject matter that Woo Min-ho has always liked to film.

II. When will the Made in Korea be released and how many episodes will it have?

The first season of "Made in Korea" consists of 6 episodes.

The premiere date is December 24, 2025, when it will be released on Disney+ with two episodes released at once; it will also be available on Hulu on the same day.

The release schedule for Season 1 is as follows (based on the official/mainstream media's published episode schedule): 12/24: EP1–EP2 12/31: EP3–EP4 2026/01/07: EP5 2026/01/14: EP6 (Season Finale)

III. Made in Korea drama plot

Made in Korea EP1 Plot

In 1970, the protagonist, under the Japanese name "Kenji Matsuda," boarded Japan Airlines Flight 351 from Tokyo to Fukuoka with the mission of delivering a briefcase to "Yuji Ikeda." Shortly after takeoff, the plane was hijacked by members of a radical organization affiliated with the Japanese Communist League, who demanded that it be diverted to Pyongyang. The entire EP1 revolves around this hijacking as the main event.

As the standoff on board escalated, the captain persuaded the hijackers to land in Fukuoka to refuel, citing "insufficient fuel." Meanwhile, Kenji noticed that some members of the hijacking group wanted to avoid bloodshed, so he intervened through negotiation. He argued that massacring the hostages would cost them political leverage and offered the methamphetamine in his briefcase as a bargaining chip in exchange for the release of some passengers, including women, children, and the elderly. This allowed the hijackers to push the situation to a more favorable position for themselves.

During the "Fighting in Fukuoka" ceremony, Kenji secretly handed a phone number/contact information to the mother of the child sitting next to him, triggering the intervention of the ground intelligence system. In order to prevent the plane from actually flying to North Korea, the South Korean side used air traffic control and airport arrangements to "disguise Seoul as Pyongyang" as an inducement (including flags and welcoming personnel, etc.), but the hijacker leader quickly realized the flaw, and the atmosphere on the plane heated up again. The Japanese and South Korean sides also had a clear struggle over "whether to take a hard line and how to deal with it".

As problems with the plane's engines and ventilation put the passengers in a more precarious situation, Kenji chose to end the stalemate in a more drastic way: he took advantage of the chaos to subdue the hijackers, regain control, and bring the incident to a close with "most of the hostages eventually being released"; in the final stage of the journey to North Korea, the Japanese vice minister (official) voluntarily (or was forced) to act as "guarantors" in place of the hostages, allowing the plane to reach North Korea and then turn back, and the Japanese hostages were also rescued one after another.

After the incident, the story immediately reveals "who Kenji really is": he is revealed to be "Baek Ki-tae," a high-ranking officer in the Busan branch of the South Korean KCIA (Central Intelligence Agency), and the drug briefcase that was leaked during the hijacking is closely related to his subsequent transnational smuggling business; at the same time, the series cuts to the Busan Prosecutor's Office at the end, allowing Prosecutor "Jang Geon-young" to appear and investigate the clue of "exporting methamphetamine to the Japanese underworld," officially turning the hijacking incident in EP1 into the beginning of a long-term confrontation between "Baek Ki-tae vs. Jang Geon-young."

Made in Korea EP2 plot

EP2's main storyline begins with the "Busan drug case": a young couple involved in drug trafficking are murdered in their home, and the suspects are two U.S. soldiers; the case leaves behind a surviving young child, which leads prosecutor Chang Chien-jung to decide to personally investigate the case to the end.

During the investigation, Chang Chien-jung found clues related to "picking up/meeting" in the victim's home and tried to extract more information from the involved US military personnel to confirm the contact points and times of the drug deal, preparing to "intercept" the drug deal and catch the gang behind it.

To avoid arousing suspicion (since the couple they were supposed to meet had died), Chang Chien-jung arranged for his colleague Wu Ye-chen to pretend to be a "couple" and meet Jiang Da-ri, the second-in-command of the Wan-cai Gang, at a coffee shop (written as C'est La Vie Cafe in the drama). On the way, due to a news broadcast/leaking information, Jiang Da-ri tried to escape, which turned into a chase and conflict. In the end, he was still suppressed by Chang Chien-jung's side and obtained key information.

At the same time, Baek Ki-tae of the KCIA was also being watched by his superiors: the Man-jae Gang's connections with the Japanese Yakuza were too high-profile and might affect the interests and intelligence cooperation of higher-ups. Therefore, his superiors ordered Baek Ki-tae to "deal with the prosecutor's line" and prevent the prosecution from uncovering the case.

Pai Chi-tai employed the tactics of an intelligence agency: while prosecutors were out, KCIA agents entered the prosecutor's office under the pretense of eavesdropping and searching through documents, and had their first direct confrontation with Chang Chien-jung after he returned to the office; Pai Chi-tai tried to get Chang Chien-jung to back down by using terms like "national security/communist forces," but Chang Chien-jung outwardly cooperated but did not actually buy it.

The climax of EP2 takes place at the Busan Hotel: the prosecution, through Kang Dae-il's clues, determines that Man-jae's gang is going to discuss a drug deal with the Japanese yakuza at the hotel. So the prosecution and KCIA set up wiretaps inside and outside the room to listen in and prepare to close in. When the contents of the deal are "recorded", both sides take action at the same time, but the KCIA uses a more forceful approach to block the prosecution from the outside (even using gas/lockdown methods to suppress them). In the end, the KCIA takes both sides away in one go.

The ending lays out the power dynamics of the underworld: KCIA superiors directly execute the Wan-jae gang leader, while Baek Ki-tae protects Kang Dae-il, pushes him into the position of successor, and openly admits his intention to expand the "meth business" into the Japanese market; and after returning to his office, Chang Geon-jung finally confirms that he has been wiretapped, digs out the listening device, and with the attitude of "If you dare to play like this, I'll play along to the end," pushes the showdown into the next episode.

IV. Made in Korea Cast and Character Introduction

I. Core Storyline: A direct conflict between two men

1) Baek Ki-tae (백기태) / Hyun Bin: On the surface, he is a calm and orderly "elite within the system," but in reality, he is at the center of the KCIA's power network and secretly operates smuggling and shady businesses, treating the "state" as a system for arbitrage. His most dangerous aspect is not his ruthlessness, but that he "looks too upright." His conflict with Jang Kun-young is not a simple black-and-white confrontation, but rather a clash between "a person who uses the system as a tool" and "a person who believes the system can still be repaired."

2) Jang Kun-young (장건영) / Jung Woo-sung is positioned as an extremely pragmatic and almost obsessive prosecutor: he pursues the "entire chain", not a single case; therefore, once he sets his sights on Baek Ki-tae, he will use all procedural and non-procedural methods to dig out the truth, at the cost of sacrificing his own interpersonal relationships and safety boundaries.

II. Main Characters Group Portrait

3) Baek Ki-hyun (백기현) / Woo Do-hwan: Baek Ki-tae's younger brother, a military officer (an elite with an Army Academy background). He is often used in the drama to represent the "value gap between brothers": one believes in discipline and honor, while the other uses discipline as a fig leaf. This storyline is prone to tragedy because the more "righteous" he is, the more likely he is to become a shield that Baek Ki-tae needs to exploit.

4) Bae Geum-ji (배금지) / Cho Yeo-jeong: The madam of a high-class geisha house (a place frequented by the powerful and wealthy). She is not simply a woman of pleasure, but more like a "node of information and transactions": who owes whom, who is afraid of whom, and who is being held hostage by whom—clues can often be found in her establishment. Her charm usually doesn't rely on love, but rather on "making people willing to entrust their secrets to her."

5) Oh Ye-jin (오예진) / Seo Eun-soo: A former detective, she later becomes Jang Gun-young's most capable partner (acting as a secretary, assistant, and detective partner all at the same time). Her acting skills mostly lie in "turning the prosecutor's intuition into tangible evidence": surveillance, contacting informants, and exposing rhetoric are all her battlegrounds.

6) Choi Wei-ji (최유지) / Won Ji-an: Her character name in the publicly available information is Choi Wei-ji, but the official promotion also mentions the character name "Ikeda Yuji (이케다유지)". Overall, she is more like "a Japanese yakuza/underground network agent + high-level lobbyist", responsible for connecting money, people, goods and relationships across borders, so that Baek Ki-tae's business can operate not only in South Korea.

7) Chun Seok-jung (천석중) / Jung Sung-il: A powerful figure at the level of Chief of the Presidential Security Service (close to the core of the highest power). This type of character usually does not need to commit crimes personally; a single word or tacit approval can determine who is protected and who is abandoned. He is also often the ceiling and ticket to "how high Baek Ki-tae can climb".

8) Kang Dae-il (강대일) / Kang Gil-woo: The second-in-command of the Busan local gang (Manjae faction), controlling the local economy and the gray market. This storyline is often used to illustrate that when central power (KCIA/political-business) pushes downwards, local forces are not eliminated, but rather reorganized into "more efficient tools."

9) Pyo Hak-soo (표학수) / Roh Jae-won: A contemporary of Baek Ki-tae and also within the KCIA system (both from the same circle with a background in the government academy system). His dramatic function is often as a "mirror"—allowing the audience to see how Baek Ki-tae builds factions within the system, how he deals with his own people, and how cheap betrayal really is in this world.

10) Osamu Ikeda (오사무이케다) / Lily Franky: A Japanese yakuza boss. This type of person usually doesn't rely on violence, but on "allowing you to do business": a single word from him can disrupt or disrupt cross-border supply chains, making him an obstacle that Baek Ki-tae will inevitably encounter when venturing into overseas markets.

11) Hwang Guk-pyeong (황국평) / Park Yong-woo (Park Yong-woo) KCIA Busan branch chief and Baek Ki-tae's superior. The more "superior" one is, the more often one plays two roles: on the surface, it is control and discipline, but behind the scenes, it is the distribution of spoils and the cover-up; he may also be the "old order" that Baek Ki-tae needs to deal with first.

III. Supporting Roles

12) Baek So-young (백소영) / Cha Hee: Baek Ki-tae's younger sister, usually a source of pull between "family and conscience", and may also be drawn into power struggles as a hostage or bargaining chip.

13) Jang Hye-eun (장혜은) / Lee Joo-yeon: Jang Gun-young's younger sister, often used to portray the cost and vulnerability of the prosecutor in his private life.

IV. Actors' Instagram

— Jung Woo-sung: @tojws

— Woo Do-hwan: @wdohwan

— Cho Yeo-jeong: @lightyears81

— Seo Eun-soo: @jj_minii

— Won Ji-an: @wonjianolive

— Jung Sung-il: @ygmicael

— Kang Gil-woo: @ordinary_giru

— Roh Jae-won: @jaewon__roh

V. Role Relationships in Made in Korea

First, grasp the core storyline of the entire series: Baek Ki-tae (KCIA, and also a smuggling mastermind) and Jang Kin-young (prosecutor) are the two main characters who clash head-on. Baek Ki-tae operates the system and the black market as one entity; Jang Kin-young takes "lifting the entire chain" as his mission. The two are not just in conflict over a single incident, but their conflict will escalate into a total collision involving the system, politics and business, the underworld, and cross-border forces.

Baek Ki-tae's camp (KCIA + family connections + underground business connections) is the "center of the network" in the entire series. In the KCIA Busan line, he has his superior Hwang Guk-pyeong (a high-ranking officer/branch chief in the Busan branch), and in the same system, there are "insiders" like Pyo Hak-soo who assist in operations, clean up messes, and monitor each other. In the family line, Baek Ki-hyun is his younger brother (an elite officer from the military academy). This line is clearly written in the off-screen settings: the younger brother both respects his older brother and wants to escape the shadow, which means he is the most easily affected personal variable for Baek Ki-tae.

Jang Gun-young's team (the prosecution's case-handling line) is relatively "simple but tough." He works within the Busan prosecution system, and his most reliable support is Oh Ye-jin: publicly portrayed as a detective by training, she is also his secretary and investigative partner, responsible for turning Jang Gun-young's intuition into usable clues and evidence, allowing the prosecution's line to directly confront the KCIA's intelligence methods. EP1–EP2 have already established their working relationship as "highly trusting frontline partners."

The underworld and cross-border trade are the "battlefield" in the power struggle between Baek Ki-tae and Jang Gun-young. The Busan local gang (Manjae Gang) is a key point in the smuggling network, and the prosecution is investigating the line that "Manjae Gang exports methamphetamine to the Japanese underworld." The Japanese side is represented by Ikeda Osamu (a underworld boss) and Ikeda Yuji/Choi Yuji (different names/dual identities of the same character, belonging to the Japanese underworld and involved in lobbying and connecting). Simply put: Baek Ki-tae needs the Manjae Gang and the Japanese underworld to get the goods out; Jang Gun-young needs to uncover this cross-border chain to bring Baek Ki-tae down.

The power center and intelligence exchange line connects the "underground transactions" to the "higher levels." Chun Seok-jung (Presidential bodyguard/a figure in the core power circle) represents the layer near the highest power, while Bae Geum-ji (a high-class geisha house madam) is another crucial node: her place is a gathering place for the powerful and the exchange of interests. In dramatic conventions, such characters usually possess connections and leverage, able to direct intelligence, favors, and deals to Baek Ki-tae or anyone who can afford the price. The significance of this line is: even if the prosecution catches gangsters, they can be suppressed by a single word from "those higher up."

Bai Jitai (KCIA/Smuggling Mastermind)

→ Supervisor: Huang Guoping (Senior Executive at KCIA Busan Branch)

→ Same system/action line: Pyo Hak-soo (KCIA staff member, one of our own)

→ Family: Baek Ki-hyun (younger brother, an elite officer at the military academy; he both respects his older brother and wants to escape his shadow)

→ Local Executive Unit: Manjae Gang (Busan gang, smuggling hub; incorporated/utilized by Baek Ki-tae)

→ Cross-border cooperation partner: Osamu Ikeda (Japanese yakuza boss)

→ Matchmaker/Lobbying Partner: Yuji Ikeda/Yuji Choi (Key figures in the Japanese underworld and cross-border relationships)

→ Intelligence and Connections Hub: Bae Geum-ji (High-class geisha house madam, a hub for powerful and influential people)

→ Possible upper-level ticket/ceiling: Chien Hsi-chung (Presidential security/core power circle)

Chang Chien-ying (Prosecutor / Investigating the Smuggling Chain)

→ Frontline partner: Oh Ye-jin (former detective; secretary + investigation partner)

→ Target of investigation: Wan Cai Gang + Japanese yakuza (cross-border methamphetamine smuggling chain)

→ Biggest opponent: Baek Ki-tae (his KCIA status caused obstacles for the prosecution at every turn)

VI. Evaluation of Made in Korea

My current impression of "Made in Korea" is that it brings the "Woo Min-ho style political thriller" into the pacing of a TV series: it doesn't rush to feed you with exciting moments, but first lays out a large and cold web of the rules of power operation, class thresholds, and the process of how black money is legalized. The longer you watch, the more you feel that it is not about a single crime, but about how an era molds people into tools.

What I like most is its contrasting design. Baek Ki-tae isn't a "bad guy" in the traditional sense; he's more like a manager running a business with a state-machine mentality. Jang Kin-young isn't simply a paragon of justice either; his toughness and obsession make him more like a chisel: every strike will backfire. This arrangement makes the conflict not a "battle between good and evil," but rather "order against order." The audience is forced to choose sides between two sets of logic, or at least admit that they are also persuaded by one of them.

Narratively, its ambition is clearly greater than that of a typical crime drama. Episode 1 uses a hijacking incident to expose cross-border politics, intelligence tactics, and transactional thinking; Episode 2 immediately shifts the scene back to Busan, bringing the underworld, the prosecution, and the KCIA into a room where they clash. The advantage of this approach is that it makes the world feel very three-dimensional, and everyone seems to exist not just to advance the plot. The trade-off is that it doesn't cater to viewers who just want a lighthearted watch; it's packed with information, has a dense web of relationships, and requires you to be willing to follow its rules.

The actors were used quite effectively. Hyun Bin's character would be boring if he only played the "ruthless" type, but in this film, he seemed to be the one "calculating." Every calm pause and every seemingly considerate word he uttered was like an assessment of costs and leverage. Jung Woo-sung, on the other hand, portrayed the prosecutor with a sense of "pressure," not the kind of passionate shouting, but the kind of pressure where you know he'll relentlessly pursue you until you break down. The two, one cold and the other hard, acted like "knives on a negotiating table," making you anticipate how they'll counter each other's moves the next time they meet.

However, it's not without its risks. The first risk is pacing: it's very confident in its setup, which some may find "slow," especially if you're expecting a clear resolution or twist in each episode; it might feel more like a continuous chess game. The second risk is the sheer number and power of the characters. If the function (interests, fears, vulnerabilities) of each supporting character isn't clearly defined later, it becomes "good at creating atmosphere but difficult to empathize with." The third risk is a recurring problem with period dramas: if the 1970s are merely used as a backdrop for art and costumes, without truly imbuing the characters with the "institutional weight of the era," the latter part easily devolves into a typical gangster-political drama, lacking any real impact.

Overall, I would describe "Made in Korea" as a "heavy-handed political crime feast": its appeal doesn't rely on sweetness, humor, or romance, but rather on the intertwining of power, fear, and interests. If you enjoy the chilling feeling of "no one is clean, but everyone has their reasons" found in dramas like "Ministers Standing Next" and "New World of Evil," this is for you. If you're looking for a fast-paced, plot-twisting story with satisfying twists and turns in every episode, you might need to be patient and wait for it to tighten up before it truly becomes enjoyable.