Yet another fantasy romance series -- “Tomorrow With You”-- is set to follow the recently concluded hit tvN series “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,” which featured a hybrid of modern times and traditional Korean folktale elements.

A love story featuring time travel and mystery, “Tomorrow With You” is a “a mix of genres,” according to its producer Yoo Je-won, who spoke at a press conference in Seoul on Monday.

“But it’s heartwarming and comforting,” he said. “I hope viewers focus on the romance rather than the genre.”

“I tried to imagine a woman who exists in real life,” said actress Shin Min-ah, who portrays female protagonist Song Ma-rin, 31, a former child actress-turned-struggling photographer.

Song is easily annoyed and prone to excessive drinking, believing her best days are behind her. One day, miraculously, she meets Yoo So-joon, played by Lee Je-hoon, who appears to be the man of her dreams -- wealthy, intelligent and handsome.

Yoo, it turns out, is able to travel through time by hopping onto a subway train.

Fearless and arrogant, Yoo uses his supernatural ability to amass wealth. On one fateful journey into the future, Yoo realizes his destiny is inextricably linked to that of Song, and proposes to her.

“Imagine there is a fantastic secret behind your husband, that he is a time traveler ... who has proposed marriage for secretive and fateful reasons. ... Married life, which some call a deathbed devoid of the spark (of dating), could be filled with the most fantastic romance at times,” reads a summary provided by the show’s creators.

Yoo, however, ultimately discovers his abilities are limited when it comes to life and death, the show’s trailer reveals.

“The subway becomes an important motif,” said producer Yoo. An intriguing point of the show is that “fantastical events happen in this mundane setting through which people travel every day,” he added.

Lee was excited to star in his first romantic comedy, a change of pace from “heavy, dark stories,” he said. The actor previously starred in last year’s critically lauded “Signal,” also a time-slip thriller series where investigators from the past and future communicate via walkie-talkies to solve crimes.

“Tomorrow,” a 16-episode series that has already been filmed, will begin airing on Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays on cable network tvN. The show is available outside Korea via streaming sites DramaFever and Viki.



‘Guardian’ breaking through Chinese wall

“Tomorrow” comes after the end of the record-breaking series “Guardian,” which ranked a 20.5 percent viewership on tvN, unprecedented for a cable channel, according to Nielsen Korea.

Its popularity has spilled over to China despite the barriers that Beijing put up against Korean entertainment amid a diplomatic row between the two countries.

Since Wednesday, the drama has become the most-searched keyword on the country’s social media platform Weibo.

Its lead Gong Yoo was voted the most popular actor of 2016 on Chinese online community Douban, while pirated clips of the show are reportedly in circulation. Chinese celebrities such as Shu Qi and Vivian Sung professed to be fans of the show on social media.

Since August last year, Korean entertainers have been banned from starring in Chinese television dramas, while Chinese authorities are delaying the approval of a slew of Korean dramas scheduled to air there. 



Love story intertwined with death, fate

One prominent trend emerging in Korean entertainment in 2017 is the coexistence of polar opposites -- fantastical and hyperreal content -- according to a report released by the Korea Creative Content Agency on Monday.

While some viewers look to face reality head on through political thrillers or documentaries exposing the society’s ills, others seek to escape from reality into fantasy, the report said.

The notions of fantasy and fate underline both tvN series.

In “Guardian,” the male lead Kim Shin is a warrior who has been rendered immortal after being struck with a sword in the chest. He wanders the earth for centuries to meet his destined “bride,” the only one able to relieve him from his painful existence.

“Tomorrow” also revolves around the idea of destined love and intertwined fates -- the two lead characters are meant to die at the same time on the same date, according to the show’s trailer.

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)