Korean fantasy action series ‘Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938’ airs first episode 

BY Jonathan Hicap
May 7, 2023 00:50 AM

The Korean fantasy action series “Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938” premiered on May 6 on Prime Video globally and tvN in South Korea. 

According to polling firm Nielsen Korea, episode 1 of  “Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938” ranked first nationwide and in the metropolitan area in South Korea on paid platform subscription households (cable, IPTV and satellite).  

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“Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938” stars (clockwise from top left) Lee Dong-wook, Kim Bum and Kim So-yeon (Prime Video, tvN)

In the metropolitan area (Seoul, Gyeong-gi and Incheon) in South Korea, “Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938” debuted at No. 1 with a rating of 7.4 percent, peaking at 8.9 percent, to rank first in the same time slot on all channels including terrestrial. It was watched by 942,000 people in the metropolitan area. 

Nationwide, the first episode ranked first with a rating of 6.463 percent, peaking at 7.6 percent. It was watched by 1.65 million people in South Korea. 

Among the 20 to 49 age group, “Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938” got ratings of 3.6 percent in the metropolitan area, peaking at 4 percent, and 3.4 percent, peaking at 3.9 percent, nationwide, ranking first in the same time slot across all channels including terrestrial. 

“Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938” stars Lee Dong-wook, Kim So-yeon, Kim Bum and Ryu Kyung-soo. 

The action-packed series is a continuation of the original “Tale of the Nine Tailed,” which aired in 2020 and starred Lee Dong-wook and Kim Bum. 

Lee Dong-wook plays the role of “gumiho” (nine-tailed fox) Lee Yeon who ends up in the year 1938. The first episode saw Lee Yeon meeting his half brother Lee Rang, played by Kim Bum. 

Kim So-yeon of the drama “The Penthouse: War in Life” is Ryu Hong-ju who has some history with Lee Yeon. Ryu Kyung-soo is Cheon Mu-yeong, a long-time friend of Lee Yeon. 

In an interview with Manila Bulletin and other Asian media outlets, the four stars talked about their roles. 

About their coolest fight scenes in “Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938,” Lee Dong-wook said, “I had way too many action scenes. It was almost like every morning I’d wake up and someone would yell, ‘Fight!!’ And I’d be right on the set fighting.” 

“But among those scenes, the most memorable would be the battle between the Lee Yeon living in 1938 and Lee Yeon who has traveled back in time from modern day. So it’s literally Lee Yeon vs. Lee Yeon. We managed to shoot it quicker than expected but there was so much work to be done because I had to do double action from both sides. It was very challenging but very memorable and also a lot of fun,” he said. 

According to Kim Bum, “Personally, in the previous season a lot of action scenes from Lee Rang…the purpose of them was to destroy and demolish. However, in this season, there are action scenes where I fight and give it all in order to protect something. So that was the most memorable and something I’m looking forward to the most.”

“For me, it would have to be the scene you all probably saw in the trailers, the one where I have a fight scene with Lee Yeon on the train — literally on the top of the train. I had to fight with a sword that was almost as tall as I was, so that was definitely a unique experience and the most memorable,” said Kim So-yeon. 

Ryu Kyung-soo said, “I think I have a lot of memorable action scenes, and I remember having a lot of action scenes just in general. But one scene in particular is a wire-action scene that I did where I’d be walking on the wall. I have to admit it hurt a lot. My sides really hurt and ached. So I’m very curious to see how that ends up on the screen.”

Prime Video subscribers in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, and Japan can watch a new episode of “Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938” weekly, every Saturday and Sunday. The show will launch globally everywhere else later in the summer.

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