Dear X Webtoon Drama Premieres November 6 on TVING and HBO Max

Dear X, a live action melodrama thriller based on the WEBTOON series by VANZIUN, premieres on November 6 with its first four episodes dropping at 6:00 p.m. KST on Korean streaming platform TVING. The show launches simultaneously in South Korea and 18 countries across the Asia-Pacific region. A U.S. release date has not been announced yet.

The story centers on Ah-jin Baek, played by You-jung Kim, a top star who built her career by burying the pain of a difficult childhood. Two men orbit her life in very different ways. Jun-seo Yoon, played by Young-dae Kim, has been her lifelong protector and the one person she truly considers a safe place. Do-hoon Kim plays Jae-oh Kim, a man who survived years of abuse from his father and found purpose in Ah-jin, becoming her shadow out of a loyalty that borders on dangerous.

Director Eung-bok Lee described the series at a Seoul press conference on October 30 as a dark romantic thriller about a devil with the face of an angel and two people trying to protect her. He also mentioned that he learned a great deal from You-jung Kim during production.

Dear X marks TVING’s first global co-production with HBO Max. The original webtoon ran until 2021 and the English version is available on WEBTOON.

My take: The setup here is genuinely compelling. A star who weaponizes her own wounds, and two men whose devotion to her takes completely different shapes, is rich material for a thriller. Director Eung-bok Lee has a strong track record and You-jung Kim is one of the most compelling actors working in Korean drama right now. This one is worth watching.