Lee Dong Hwi Is Lee Je Hoon's Untamable "Crazy Dog" Partner In "Chief Detective 1958"

Mar 30, 2024

Lee Dong Hwi has shared his thoughts on his upcoming drama “Chief Detective 1958”!

“Chief Detective 1958” is a brand-new prequel to the classic Korean series “Chief Inspector,” which ran for 18 years from 1971 to 1989 and achieved an incredible peak of 70 percent ratings back in its heyday. While the original show was set in the 1970s and 1980s (present day at the time), “Chief Detective 1958” will be set even earlier, in 1958.

Lee Je Hoon will be playing a younger version of the titular chief detective Park Young Han, while Lee Dong Hwi will be playing Kim Sang Soon, a fierce and slightly unhinged detective who teams up with him to fight injustice and catch criminals.

Due to his intensity, grit, and insistence on doing everything his way, Kim Sang Soon has become known as a “crazy dog” who bites the bad guys and doesn’t let go. Full of pent-up fury at the corruption in society, Kim Sang Soon is just starting to grow exhausted from his lonely fight when he meets Park Young Han, a detective who is both similar to and different from him at the same time.

In newly released stills from the upcoming drama, Kim Sang Soon has a cynical gaze and world-weary aura as he seems to get lost in thought. In another photo, the detective looks intimidating as he skillfully points a gun at someone with a calm expression.

Lee Dong Hwi Is Lee Je Hoon's Untamable

However, a final photo captures a totally different side of the character: after having a few drinks, Kim Sang Soon is all smiles as he blissfully cuddles his adorable dog Soon Nam with an intoxicated glow.

Lee Dong Hwi Is Lee Je Hoon's Untamable

When asked why he decided to star in the drama, Lee Dong Hwi replied, “The fact that I’d be able to attach my name to ‘Chief Inspector,’ a legendary drama that received love for a very long time, and in particular, the fact that I’d be able to work together with Lee Je Hoon.” He added, “I also had strong faith in the director, with whom I’d worked on a previous project, so there was no reason for me not to join the drama.”

Lee Dong Hwi went on to describe Kim Sang Soon as “a righteous character who has a lot of loyalty and fearlessly jumps into situations no matter what lies ahead.”

Finally, he expressed his admiration for actor Kim Sang Soon, who played the character in the original series.

“The character created by [actor Kim Sang Soon], who was simply the essence of Sang Soon himself, was so cool and charming that I personally wanted to become more like him,” said Lee Dong Hwi. “In order to depict [Sang Soon’s] detailed backstory, which wasn’t in the original series, and to portray the character in a way that didn’t clash [with the original version], I spent a lot of time discussing, analyzing, and trying different things with the director and writer.”

“Chief Detective 1958” will premiere on April 19 at 9:50 p.m. KST.

cr: Soompi