Disney+/Hulu has been confirmed as the global home of Uncle Samsik, the South Korean drama series starring Parasite‘s Song Kang-ho.
News of the 1960s-set series first emerged last year, at which point the network or streamer behind it hadn’t been confirmed. Disney+ has confirmed that it will launch globally this year, with Hulu doing the same in the U.S.
Uncle Samsik mark the first time in Song’s decades-long career that he has starred in a drama series, and it has now been confirmed that Byun Yo-han has joined the cast. Song will play the titular character and Byun as Kim San.
The series follows San, an ambitious idealist who is driven to turn his country’s fortunes around. He attracts the attentions of Pak Doochill (Uncle Samsik) a shady fixer who takes whatever steps necessary to help him accomplish his boss’s goals. Together, the pair form an uneasy alliance, navigating the complexities of the established system, united by their shared goal of a prosperous future.
Slingshot Studios, which announced the project under the title Uncle Sam Shik at BCWW last year, is producing. Shin Yeonshick (Cobweb, Cassiopeia) is the writer and director.
Uncle Sam Shik will mark the first time in Song’s decades-long career that he has starred in a drama series. He started his career in theatre productions before making his film debut in 1996 with Hong Sang-soo’s The Day A Pig Fell Into The Well. His subsequent credits include Sympathy For Mr Vengeance, Memories Of Murder, Snowpiercer and Parasite, which won four Oscars in 2020. He also worked with Shin on 2023 films One Win and Cobweb.
Song became the first South Korean male actor to win best actor at Cannes, taking the 2023 award for his role in Broker, a Korean-language film directed by Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda.